The 2017 Southern Soil Health Field Day is set for Saturday, Aug. 5 in Hickory, N.C. The field day will include a morning bus tour of JRH Grain Farms in Catawba County and afternoon sessions with soil health experts speaking.

 Registration for the field day begins a 8 a.m. at the Crowne Plaza at 1385 Lenoir Ryne Blvd. SE in Hickory. Field tours in the morning will feature corn and soybeans grown with and without cover crops. A buffet lunch will be provided.

 Afternoon speakers are Ray Archuleta, conservation agronomist with USDA’s  National Resource Conservation Service in Greensboro, N.C.; Rick Haney, USDA Agricultural Research Service soil scientist in Temple, Texas; Bismarck, N.D. farmer Gabe Brown, who has had great success using a combination of cover crops and grazing to build organic matter on his family farm;  and Catawba County farmer Russell Hedrick who has gained nationwide recognition for his use of cover crops and conservation to improve yields and build soil health.

The field day concludes at 5:30 p.m. and includes a tour of Foothills Distillery  in Conover. There is a $35 registration fee for the field day. Late registration after July 19 is $75. To register, click here.