Cover crops and other soil-health practices will be the focus of an upcoming meeting for area farmers. The “Farmers Protecting the Cannon River Watershed” meeting will take place on Tuesday, March 15th from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at the Straight River Room, Rice County Fairgrounds.
Guest speakers for the event include Martin Larsen, an Olmsted County farmer, who no-tills 700 acres of corn, soybeans, and oats, while using different varieties of cover crops to improve his soil health. He is also a conservation technician with the Olmsted Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD). Soil scientist Steve Lawler with the Mower SWCD will also be presenting on the comparison of soil health and economic effects of cover cropping between conventional and conservation tillage systems.
Results of the Farmers Protecting Rice Creek Project will also be shared. The project features targeted planting of cover crops and monitoring of water exiting farm tile lines to track the improvement of water quality in local streams.
Funding opportunities for cover crop cost sharing and how local farmers can get involved in conservation will also be discussed.
A free lunch will be served. Attendees are asked to follow State and local mask guidelines when attending the event.
Register for the event by contacting the Rice SWCD at 507-332-5408 or at the following link: https://forms.gle/kVyEPK1cn7LEU6jC7
The event is sponsored by Clean River Partners, Compeer Financial, Bridgewater Township, MN-DNR, MPCA, Rice SWCD, St. Olaf College, and the Fisher’s & Farmers Partnership for the Upper Mississippi River Basin.
