Deborah Jeanne Sergeant, New York correspondent for Lancaster Farmer covered the 2021 Empire Farm Days Soil Health Center Programs:
Healthy Biota Can Lead to Healthy Soils
Soil health begins with understanding the soil biota, according to Janice Thies, associate professor of soil biology at Cornell University. She presented about the importance of critters that live in soil at the recent Empire Farm Days.
“Biota provides ecosystem services, including benefits like decomposing organic matter, release and cycle nutrients, nitrogen fixation, and mycorrhizae fungi,” Thies said. Continue reading
Conservationist: Cover Crops Give More Soil Stability
Want better soil?
Plant a cover crop between seasons. That was the message promoted at Empire Farm Days by Paul Salon, who has worked as a soil conservationist and district conservationist for USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service since 1979.
Salon demonstrated the positive effects of cover cropping through a variety of soil samples available for attendees’ viewing. He poured water through the sampled soil to simulate a significant rainfall event so he could show how much rain would flow through and how quickly the water flowed. Continue reading
Farmers Discuss No-Till at Empire Farm Days
Transitioning from conventional to no-till management challenges growers in a variety of ways. On a panel at Empire Farm Days earlier this month, farmers spoke about their journey toward no-till management. Continue reading