Back to top

Farming with Nature: Improving Soil Health on Vegetable Farms

Event date/time: 
Thursday, November 6, 2014 - 9:30am to 3:30pm

This workshop, designed to benefit farmers who grow vegetables, fruit and field crops,
will focus on the continued capacity of the soil to function as a vital living system that
sustains plant, animal and human health. Healthy soils rich in organic matter drain
better, have greater disease resistance, and better water holding capacity in times of
drought. Healthy soils are important to your bottom line!

Soil Health experts Ray Archuleta – a.k.a. Ray The Soil Guy – of the USDA Natural
Resources Conservation Service’s National Soil Health Team in Greensboro, North
Carolina; UMass. graduate student Julie Stultz Fine will cover the economics of soil
health, the benefits of deep zone tillage, and cover crops for soil health. Several Pioneer
Valley Farmers will speak about their soil health practices.

The day will include classroom presentations, hands-on demonstrations and field exercises
on rolling cover crops, a soil pit investigation, and a rainfall simulation on healthy and notso-
healthy soils. Pesticide recertification credits have been requested from MDAR.

Brought to you by:

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service; the Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden
and Hampshire conservation districts; UMass Extension and Northeast Sustainable
Agriculture Research and Education (SARE). This project has been financed with Federal
funds from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the Massachusetts Department
of Environmental Protection (DEP) under an s319 competitive grant. The contents do not
necessarily reflect the views and policies of EPA or DEP, nor does the mention of trade
names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.

Agenda for this location:

  • 9:00 am Registration
  • 9:45 am Welcome Christine Clarke, State Conservationist, NRCS, MA and conservation district representatives
  • 10:00 am A Soil Health Primer: Eye Opening Demonstrations Ray Archuleta, Conservation Agronomist, NRCS National Soil Health and Sustainability Team, Greensboro, NC
  • 11:00 am Break Refreshments provided by the Bristol County Conservation District
  • 11:10 am A Soil Health Primer, continued Ray Archuleta, NRCS
  • 12:00 noon Bristol County Conservation District Annual Meeting Open to all attendees
  • 12:30 pm Lunch Provided by the Bristol County Conservation District and Northeast SARE
  • 1:00 pm Cover Crop Cocktails for Sweet Corn Julie Stultz Fine, Graduate Student, UMass Amherst
  • 1:30 pm Field exercises at Bristol County Agricultural High School fields Kyle Medeiros, Bristol County Agricultural High School; Ray Archuleta, NRCS; Lisa Petruski, Soil Conservationist, NRCS MA
  • 2:15 pm Rolling Cover Crops Eric Young, farmer, Woodstock, CT
  • 2:45 pm Questions & Answers NRCS technical and financial assistance programs Ray Archuleta, NRCS; Mia Halter, District Conservationist, NRCS MA
  • 3:00 pm Adjourn
     

 

Contact's name: 
Mary McCaffrey
Contact's email: 
Contact's phone on day of event: 
508-990-2854
135 Center St Dighton MA