Cover Crop and Soil Health Workshop

The USDA-NRCS & Lincoln County SWCD are hosting a Cover Crop Workshop at the Elsberry Plant Materials Center, 2803 N. Hwy. 79, Elsberry, MO 63343 on Wednesday, April 2 starting at 8:30 am.

Registration starts at 8:30am and presentations will begin at 9:00am. Lunch is FREE and will be provided by the Lincoln County SWCD. View demonstration cover crop plots planted in the fall of 2013 and listen to several different speakers talk about characteristics of healthy soils, why you should consider planting cover crops, benefits of grazing cover crops, different types of cover crops and available programs within NRCS that benefit soil health.

Topics to be covered include:

• Cover Crop Grazing Cattle – Rob Kallenbach, University of MO
• Cover Crops in Corn/Bean Rotation: Follow-up – Charlie Ellis, University of MO
• Soil Cores – Ralph Tucker, USDA-NRCS
• Soil Health:  Right Reason to Plant Cover Crops – Doug Peterson, USDA-NRCS
• Cover Crop Basics: Starting with the Right Species – Jerry Kaiser, USDA-NRCS
• Soil Health Programs – Renee Cook, USDA-NRCS NRCS
• Cover Crop Demonstration Plots: Follow-up – Ron Cordsiemon, USDA-NRCS
• Cover Crop Demonstration Plots: Follow-up – Allen Casey, USDA-NRCS

Registration RSVP is due by March 21(free and it includes lunch). Seating is limited to the first 50 people. Please respond to Janice Cragen at the Lincoln Co. SWCD at 636-528-4877 ext 3. For more information you can call the Elsberry Plant Materials Center at 573-898-2012.

Directions to the Elsberry Plant Materials Center:

·       From I-70 take exit 220, Hwy 79, north 28 miles, turn left at the USDA-NRCS Plant Materials Center sign. The PMC is before you get to Hwy JJ.

·       From Hwy 61 turn east on Hwy B, travel 11 miles until you get to the intersection of Hwy B and Hwy 79, then turn right (south) and travel approximately 1 mile and turn right at the drive after Hwy JJ.