This session covered basic soil health principles necessary to build soil health, such as minimizing soil disturbance, keeping the soil covered at all times, growing a living root year round and using plant diversity above ground to increase diversity below. It also reviewed soil health testing procedures.
Soil Health Planning Principles: Farming into the 21st Century (PDF)
Ray Archuleta, Conservation Agronomist, USDA-NRCS
Evaluating Soil Health on Your Farm (PDF)
Dr. Jill Clapperton, Principal Scientist and President, Rhizoterra Inc
Soil Testing in Nature's Image: Using Green Chemistry to Evaluate Soil Health (PDF)
Dr. Rick Haney, Soil Chemist/Microbiologist, USDA-ARS
Presentations from the National Conference on Cover Crops and Soil Health include:
- Broadcast of Opening Sessions
- General (Plenary) Session Presentations
- Soil Health Principles
- Innovative Ways to Seed Cover Crops
- Selecting Cover Crops
- Terminating Cover Crops for Maximum Benefits
- Integrating No-Till or Strip-Till with Cover Crops
- Cover Crops as Part of an Overall Nutrient Management System
- Environmental Impacts of Cover Crops
- Grazing Cover Crops and Benefits for Livestock Operations