Building Agriculture Resiliency from the Ground Up! - March 16, 2017 - Yarmouth, NS

Join Perennia specialist Rosalie Madden for this free workshop on building agriculture resilience from the ground up! Topics discussed will be soil health, cover crops, soil management, maximizing fertility, and the importance of organic matter.

Building Agriculture Resiliency from the Ground Up!

Thursday March 16, 2017

Rudders

96 Water Street, Yarmouth, NS

11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Don’t be late, because we plan to cover a lot of ground!

Please contact Terry McKay at 902-638-2396 or Terry.McKay@novascotia. ca, or Gail Walsh 1-877-710-5210 (toll-free) to register by March 13, 2017.

Lunch is not included in the workshop but can be purchased on site.

Under the Covers follow up!

Due to room capacity restrictions, not everyone was able to join us at Under the Covers: Enhancing Profitability and Resiliency with Cover Crops, the workshop for farms of all types and sizes.  However, to help spread the good word, please find below the presentations and handouts from that educational day!

1. David Blanchard - Why Cover Crops 
2. David Blanchard - Meet the Cover Crops
3. David Blanchard - Cover Crops at Pleasant Hill Farm
4. David Blanchard - Cover Crop Economics
5. Rosalie Madden - Mineralization of Cover Crops
6. Dr. Nancy McLean - Alternative Cover Crops for Strawberry Rotations
7. Additional cover crop resources
8. Carolyn Marshall - Cover Crops Field Day Handout
9. Jason Stuka - Aggregate Handout

Amy Sangster leading a discussion about novel cover crops and root morphology

Jason Stuka demonstrating soil structure and aggregate stability

Carolyn Marshall updating the group on recent research on green manures and no-till

Under the Covers: Enhancing Profitability and Resiliency with Cover Crops

Cover crops are going to become increasingly important in the face of our changing climate.  Predictions for our region are that we are going to be facing more intense rainstorms with longer dry spells in between, something that we have certainly seen this year.

Intense rainstorms after a prolonged dry period often results in what is called overland flow; basically the water runs off the field in sheets and doesn't infiltrate the soil.  When this happens, soil often gets taken with the flow of water, causing erosion and exporting nutrients, resulting in economic loses to the farmer, and nutrient loading of our waterways.  Cover crops improve soil health and one of the ways that they do this is by increasing the permeability of the soil: instead of the water sheeting off the field, it infiltrates.  Cover cropping and good soil health will also help a crop withstand prolonged dry periods by improving moisture retention.

Please join us to learn more at Under the Covers: Enhancing Profitability and Resiliency with Cover Crops, a workshop for farms of all types and sizes, on Tuesday, September 15th in Room 214 at 90 Research Drive in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia.

9:00 AM     Registration/Coffee
9:15 AM     Welcome
9:30 AM     Why Cover Crops - David Blanchard
10:15 AM   Meet the Cover Crops - David Blanchard
10:45 AM   Online Decision Making Tool - David Blanchard
11:15 AM   Cover Crop Economics - David Blanchard
11:45 AM   Nitrogen Mineralization of Cover Crops - Rosalie Madden
12:15 PM   Lunch Provided
1:15 PM     Alternative Cover Crops for Strawberry Rotations - Dr. Nancy McLean
1:45 PM     Novel Cover Crops and Root Morphology - Amy Sangster
2:30 PM     Soil Health, Structure, and Aggregate Stability - Jason Stuka
3:15 PM     Green Manures and No-till - Carolyn Marshall
4:00 PM     Wrap up

To register please call Gail at 1-877-710-5210 (toll-free) or 902-678-7722 (local) by Wednesday, September 9, 2015.

 
A portion of the day will be in the field; please dress accordingly.