Crowds gather for successful Farming Evolution

 Nearly 180 people came an average of 106 miles to attend the Wednesday-Thursday, Feb. 15-16, Farming Evolution 2017 workshop at the Phillips County Event Center. The long distance award went to a traveler from Montana who came 733 miles for the event.
    Odette Menard, world-recognized expert adviser in soil and water conservation, was the keynote speaker at the workshop.
    Menard explained the three basics for a healthy soil: cover and feed the soil, cover and feed the soil at all times, and cover and feed the soil properly.
    She talked extensively about soil life and how no-till brings out the best in the soil, crops and the bottom line. Earthworms and soil microbes, the “underground livestock,” must be fed to keep the soil alive and healthy, said Menard. Diverse rotations and cover crops are the best way to feed these microbes.  More microbes mean better water infiltration into the soil.  
    How tillage is harmful to soil was well illustrated by Rudy Garcia and Clark Harshbarger, Natural Resources Conservation Service soil scientists. Holyoke NRCS conservation technician Tim Becker and area producer Steve Tucker projected soil microbial activity via microscope on the big screens for all to view.  
  

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