Conserving the soil and the water that runs underneath it are two topics that will headline the sixth annual No-Till Texas Soil Health Symposium in Canyon, Texas, Feb. 13 and 14^th.  

The conference, to be held at West Texas A&M University, will raise awareness about strategies “that will both help us conserve these resources and also make our operations more profitable,” says Muleshoe producer and symposium Vice President Kelly Kettner.

Kelly Kettner, Muleshoe, Texas, producer and No-Till Texas Soil Health Sypmosium vice president. (Photo by Shelley E. Huguley)

Grazing management will also be discussed. “We will talk about regenerative grazing and give the scientific reasons why this helps build our soil and make it absorb more water,” he told Farm Press.

Unique to this year’s agenda is the viewing of a documentary, “Roots so Deep,” by filmmaker and keynote speaker Peter Byck. “We are asking people to pre-watch Episode 1, and we are going to show Episode 4 on the afternoon of the first day of the conference,” Kettner says.

Byck, an Arizona State University professor in both the School of Sustainability and the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, is leading a $10 million research project comparing conventional grazing with Adaptive Multi-Paddock (AMP). This collaboration with 20 scientists and 10 farm families focuses on soil health, carbon storage, GHG cycling, microbial/bug/bird biodiversity and water cycling.

Soil health workshops

Registered guests will receive a link to watch the first episode before the conference.

Also on the agenda are the following workshops and guest speakers:

Symposium workshop

To register for the event or to learn more, visit No-Till Texas. Registration includes lunch on both days and access to the trade show and demonstrations, Kettner says. The conference will begin at 8 a.m.

“I hope attendees will leave our conference with an awareness that we can be profitable and still leave this land in good condition for our kids and grandkids.”