Maybe you’ve never planted the first acre of cover crops in your life. If so, then you owe it to yourself to make the trip to northwest Allen County, Ind., on Wednesday to attend the Soil Health Field Day. Or maybe you’ve used cover crops for five, 10 or even 15 years. You will be pleasantly surprised at what you can also learn by attending the same field day. On some levels, it’s two field days in one.

“We held a field day at Roemke Farms in 2017 with cover crop plots, and we’re going back this year because it’s a prime location with lots to show,” says Greg Lake, a farmer and soil conservationist with the Allen County Soil and Water Conservation District. Roemke Farms is on Indiana Highway 101 near Harlan. The field day begins at 3 p.m. and runs through 8 p.m. It includes dinner and time for visits with vendors.

The field day is split into two tracks, called “Soil Health 101” and “Soil Health 201,” Lake explains. The Soil Health 101 track covers the basics, including why increased organic matter and improved soil structure are important for both your soils and crop yield potential; Soil Health 201 goes deeper into how organic matter increases water-holding capacity, plus other topics.

The field day will also introduce you to the latest in equipment technology for seeding and growing cover crops and no-tilling, Lake says. Sessions on slugs and insects are also planned. James Wolff, Allen County Extension educator, will talk about the herbicide classification chart, which groups herbicides into modes of action. PARP (Private Applicator Recertification Programs) credit is available for the field day.

Reservations are helpful but not required. For more details, contact the Allen County SWCD at 260-484-5848.