Farmers who want to improve their soil’s health and cut input costs while benefiting Ohio’s water quality should consider adding cover crops to their fields.

Additional benefits for growers to add cover crops, such as oilseed radish, cereal rye, Austrian winter pea and crimson clover, include reducing soil erosion and nutrient losses, according to Alan Sundermeier, an Ohio State University Extension educator.

Farmers who want to learn more about cover crops, including how to decide which ones are best for their soils, can attend the Cover Crop Soil Health Workshop March 29 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Greene County Fairgrounds, Buckeye Room, 100 Fairgrounds Road in Xenia.

The workshop is offered by the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at Ohio State University in conjunction with the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Greene Soil and Water Conservation District.

The workshop discussion will also focus on how the use of cover crops can have a positive impact on improving the state’s watersheds, says Jim Hoorman, regional soil health specialist with the Northeast Region NRCS-Soil Health Division for Ohio and Michigan.

Topics for the daylong event include:
• ecological farming practices
• soil ecology and nutrient recycling
• biology of soil compaction
• soil demonstrations
• economics of cover crops
• how to keep nutrients out of surface water
• cover crop selector tool
• homegrown nitrogen
• grasses and brassica in a crop rotation
• an open discussion on cover crops in a crop rotation

The registration costs $35 and includes lunch and handouts. For more information or to register, contact the Greene SWCD at 937-372-4478.

Source: OSUE