The New York Soil Health Initiative, King’s AgriSeeds, The New York State Interagency Soil Health Working Group, and Empire Farm Days have announced the Soil Health Center keynote speakers for the 2021 Empire Farm Days at Palladino Farms in Pompey, NY.
The keynote presentations will be at 10 am each day on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, August 3-5. The programming includes expert speakers, farmer panels, and cover crop tours and soil health demonstrations.
The Soil Health Center keynote speakers for 2021 will be Janice Thies, Ph.D., Cornell University; Cristine Morgan, Ph.D., Soil Health Institute; and Matthew Ryan, Ph.D., Cornell University.
Dr. Janice Thies is an Associate Professor of Soil Biology at Cornell University. She focuses her soil ecology research on indicators of soil biological quality, remediation of degraded soils, and sustainable soil management practices. She holds degrees from the University of Washington and the University of Hawaii. Thies was a key contributor to the Cornell Extension Soil Health Program Work Team and is co-author of the “Comprehensive Assessment of Soil Health – the Cornell Framework” training manual. She has served as an expert consultant to many national and international organizations.
Thies will speak on the linkages between soil biology and soil health. Soil biology underpins many of the critical soil functions that we depend on in agriculture. Learn from an expert about the various microbes and critters that drive essential soil processes.
Dr. Cristine Morgan is the Chief Scientific Officer with The Soil Health Institute. She is responsible for developing and establishing the scientific direction, strategy, and implementation plan for Institute research programs. Her duties include leading scientific research and coordinating projects at various institutions that advance soil health science and result in useful and reportable results. Morgan holds degrees from Texas A&M and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Before joining the Institute, Morgan was Professor of Soil Science at Texas A&M University in College Station, TX. Her emphasis was on soil hydrology, pedometrics, and global soil security. Among her many accomplishments, Morgan conducted ground-breaking research on how management practices influence soil-plant-water relations. She has a history of applying her knowledge for addressing real-world problems experienced by farmers and ranchers and is passionate about educating others.
Morgan will discuss lessons learned from the “North American Project to Evaluate Soil Health Measurements,” which evaluated 120 long-term agricultural research experiments across North America, making it the largest study of its kind. Listen to results hot off the press.
Dr. Matthew Ryan is an Associate Professor of Sustainable Cropping Systems at Cornell University. He works with farmers, students, and other scientists to evaluate cropping system performance in terms of crop yield, profitability, environmental impact, and resilience. His research is currently focused on expanding the utility of cover crops by overcoming obstacles that limit their adoption and developing management practices that maximize their benefits. Ryan is also interested in perennial grains, ecological weed management, conservation agriculture, agroecological theory, and the role of diversity in adapting to climate change. Much of Ryan’s research is field-based and conducted either on-farm or at the Cornell Research Farms in Central and Northern New York. Ryan’s team recently completed a guide for organic farmers on “Organic No-Till Planted Soybean Production.”
Ryan will present research on different approaches to reducing tillage, including extending rotations with perennial legume forages, rolled cover crops, and perennial grains. Learn about these different approaches to reducing tillage.
The Soil Health Center at Empire Farm Days is made possible by The New York Soil Health Initiative, King’s AgriSeeds, The New York State Interagency Soil Health Working Group, and Empire Farm Days.
For more information and the schedule of events, visit our Soil Health Center pages.