Productive stands of cover crops in the fall or spring don’t just happen. And they’re not the result of happy accidents — at least, not on a consistent basis. Instead, they result from careful planning and sometimes a few lessons in the school of hard knocks. Today, you can perhaps shorten the time spent in that school of hard knocks by taking advantage of training opportunities and learning from the experiences of others who have used cover crops longer than you have.

One such opportunity happens Nov. 14 at the Purdue University Agronomy Center for Research and Education, better known as ACRE or the Purdue Agronomy Farm, near West Lafayette, Ind. A one-day program, Cover Crops Fall Field Training, commences at 9 a.m. and concludes at 3 p.m., local time.

It’s sponsored by Purdue Extension, the Conservation Cropping Systems Initiative (CCSI) and the Midwest Cover Crops Council.

Sheila Schroeder, CCSI Northwest Program manager, says the program will focus on educating ag retailers, certified crop advisers, Natural Resources Conservation Service staff, soil and water conservation district staff, and Extension personnel.

“The goal is to educate them so they can better advise the farmers which they work with,” Schroeder says. “However, we would love to have farmers attend as well. This is hands-on training that should be useful to anyone.”

Space is the limiting factor, so register soon, she advises. Register online by Nov. 1. For more information, email [email protected], or call 219-863-0197.

If you can’t make this meeting but are interested in attending other cover crop and reduced-tillage events, consider asking to be placed on the CCSI Soil Health Newsletter list. Typically appearing monthly, the newsletter provides a calendar of all conservation-related events happening in Indiana and surrounding areas. This includes both live and virtual field days and training sessions.

Details about the events plus contact information are usually provided. To learn more about the newsletter, email [email protected].