NEMAHA, Iowa — Seth Smith, of Coon River Farms, will host a virtual field day in partnership with Practical Farmers of Iowa and University of Northern Iowa’s Center for Energy & Environmental Education exploring early interseeding of cover crops for grazing on Friday, June 26, from 12:15-12:45 p.m.
The event is free to attend and will take place on Facebook Live. To join in, visit practicalfarmers.org/field-days and click the link found on the page for this event.
You do not need to have a Facebook account to participate – but those without an account will not be able to comment or ask questions. The field day is sponsored by OCIA Chapter 1 of Iowa and Prairie Creek Seed.
Seth operates Coon River Farms with his wife Etta and Seth’s father, Lynn Smith, near Nemaha. The integrated crop-livestock operation comprises 1,900 acres, primarily in organic row crops with a feed yard, cow-calf herd and hogs.
During the field day, Seth will:
- show videos of a cover crop he interseeded in early June, and guests will check in on how it’s growing.
- discuss his corn planting population, row width and hybrid selection
- show how he has rigged up his cultivator to interseed multi-species cover crops
- discuss how he interseeds multispecies covers in both organic and conventional crop fields. Seth’s goal is to get several weeks of fall grazing out of the cover crop in order to save money on feed.
This event is part of Practical Farmers’ 2020 field day season, which includes more than 60 virtual events hosted by farmers located across the state, and beyond, on topics spanning the agricultural spectrum.
New this year, we have planned several event series that will let participants check in with certain farmer hosts throughout the season to learn about different facets of farm management. All of these events are free and offered a la carte: guests are welcome to attend all events in the series or pick the ones they’re most interested in.
Practical Farmers’ 2020 field days are supported by sustaining sponsors Albert Lea Seed; Barn2Door, Inc.; Grain Millers Inc.; Iowa Sustainable Ag Research and Education; Niman Ranch; Scoular; Sunderman Farm Management Co.; Trees Forever; USDA-NRCS; and Welter Seed and Honey Company, as well as several major sponsors, including: Bio Till; Center for Rural Affairs; Conservation Districts of Iowa; Farm Power Implements; Gandy Company; Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance; Iowa Farm Bureau Federation; Iowa’s Center for Agricultural Safety and Health; KWS Cereals; La Crosse Seed; Man@Machine; Organic Valley – CROPP Cooperative – Organic Prairie; Pipeline Foods; and Prairie Creek Seed.
— Practical Farmers of Iowa
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