SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — A 2017 survey of 180 New York farmers noted many benefits from cover crop use including less erosion and increased weather resilience. Conversely, identified barriers to adoption include seed, termination and equipment costs, and implementing conservation practices on rented land. To minimize cost for farmers or farmland owners, it is important to know the optimal number of species to include in cover crop mixtures to maximize beneficial ecosystem services. Overcoming these barriers are critical to significantly expand cover crop adoption in commodity crop production and capturing soil regenerative benefits.
The upcoming soil health field day on Aug. 29, 2019, ‘Cover Crop Mixes and Interseeder Demonstrations,’ will share practical, field-tested demonstrations of advanced soil regenerative practices targeted to dairy, field and specialty crop farmers. Come learn from producer John Macauley and his evaluation of four cover crop mixtures: 1-way, 3-way, 5-way, 11-way and a check plot using winter hardy and/or winter-killed species. There will also be a live demonstration of a cover crop interseeder planting into corn. A complimentary lunch will be provided at noon.
Participants can expect to learn:
• How implementing soil regenerative practices can increase farm profitability from real-life case studies from two local crop and vegetable farms
• How the host farmer is evaluating optimal cover crop seed mixtures to minimize cost while maximizing beneficial impacts to soil health and farm productivity in Livingston County
• How to participate in the Genesee River Coalition of Soil and Water Conservation Districts’ Interseeder Program and see a demonstration of the interseeder planting into corn
• How farmers and farmland owners can work together to improve conservation on rented land
WHEN: Aug. 29, 2019, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
WHERE: John Macauley Farm, 5815 Swan Hill Road, Mount Morris, NY 14510
REGISTER BY: Aug. 25, 2019
Farmers, farmland owners, conservation agency personnel, ag consultants and other interested people in western New York can register online or contact Aaron Ristow at American Farmland Trust, aristow@farmland.org, 607-745-7165. There is no cost to attend and lunch and education materials will be provided.
This field day is part of the “Landowners and Farmers Working Together for Clean Water in the Great Lakes” project, a collaboration between American Farmland Trust, Cornell Cooperative Extension Northwest New York Dairy Livestock and Field Crops team, the Genesee River Watershed Coalition of Soil and Water Conservation Districts, IPM Institute and Utah State University funded by the Great Lakes Protection Fund.
CONTACT: Aaron Ristow, American Farmland Trust, Agricultural Stewardship Program Manager, 607-745-7165, aristow@farmland.org
American Farmland Trust is the only national organization that takes a holistic approach to agriculture, focusing on the land itself, the agricultural practices used on that land, and the farmers and ranchers who do the work. AFT launched the conservation agriculture movement and continues to raise public awareness through our No Farms, No Food message. Since our founding in 1980, AFT has helped permanently protect over 6.5 million acres of agricultural lands, advanced environmentally-sound farming practices on millions of additional acres and supported thousands of farm families.
–American Farmland Trust