Anyone in driving distance of Salem ought to consider marking Jan. 31 on their calendar. It’s the date for a soil health workshop that promises to yield profitable information, whether you're currently in a no-till and/or cover crop system or not.

The Southern Region Soil Health Workshop begins with registration at 8:30 a.m. EST and continues until 3 p.m. It will be held at Cornerstone Hall, located just east of Salem and just north of Indiana Highway 56 on Jim Day Road. For a $10 registration fee, you get breakfast and lunch. Perhaps most importantly, you get handouts and access to a buffet of information related to crop management. 

Phil Needham of Needham Ag Technologies LLC will discuss residue management. If you haven’t heard Needham, you’re in for a treat. A native of Great Britain, he came to the U.S. decades ago to help farmers develop high-management, high-yield wheat systems, and has developed a huge knowledge bank related to no-till in all crops. He will also talk about boosting wheat yields and profits.

Soil compaction is on many people’s minds after the past year. Andrew Klopfenstein of Ohio State University will discuss tracks vs. tires as they relate to soil compaction, particularly when they’re on 1,000-bushel or bigger grain carts.

Contaminated cover crop seed, specifically rapeseed, caused issues in Iowa in 2016. Don Robison from the Office of the Indiana State Chemist will be on hand to discuss Indiana’s Certified Seed Law.

Danielle Walker, a Purdue Extension ag educator in Washington County, will provide information about the potential impact of spray drift on pollinators. She will also introduce you to the DriftWatch program, an internet-based effort to help farmers, commercial applicators, and specialty crop and enterprise operators identify sensitive operations before herbicide applications are made.

Pre-register by Jan. 25. Call 812-883-3704, ext. 3, to register. Credits are available for private applicators, commercial applicators and certified crop advisers. There are additional fees if you want to obtain these credits. For more details on certification, or for general questions about the workshop, call Danielle Walker at 812-883-4601.