|
|
News & Notes March 2006
Thirty PA Representatives Attend National No-Tillage
Conference
Learn what works, what doesn't
What can a Pennsylvania farmer learn from a farmer from South America?
Plenty! Farmers from across the United States, Australia, South America
and the Ukraine attended the National No-Tillage Conference held in
St. Louis, Missouri from January 11-14, 2006.
According to DEP's Jay Braund, producers from around the world face
the same set of issues when working toward profitable no-till practices.
Attending a national conference allows a Pennsylvania farmer, who thinks
his or her soil is too cold for no-till, to meet a farmer from Maine
or North Dakota who is successfully implementing no-till practices.
Or a farmer who thinks his or her soil is too wet for no-till could
gain valuable information from a farmer who successfully uses no-till
on wet soil.
Braund identified three reasons producers attended the Conference. Beginning
no-tillers came because they heard good things about the Conference.
Producers with years of no-tilling experience attended in order to learn
new tips and strategies from farmers across the United States. Finally,
producers attended to share their success with other farmers who are
just beginning.
Thirty representatives from Pennsylvania with a variety of experience
levels attended the Conference and took advantage of the opportunity
to chat with other producers about what does and does not work for them.
"You meet a lot of good people. The attendees are the cream of
the crop. They are farmers who are willing to try something new. If
something didn't work for them, they will admit it," said Bill
Zick, Susquehanna County Conservation District's (SCCD) no-till specialist.
In addition to producers, Pennsylvania Natural Resources Conservation
Service, Department of Environmental Protection, and conservation district
staff attended the January event.
PACD coordinated a no-till scholarship program through its Pennsylvania
Chesapeake Bay Education Grant to host eleven participants at the Conference.
The average scholarship was $400. Two staff members from the SCCD received
scholarship funds to attend. Bill Zick has noticed an increase in no-till
in his county this year. "With fuel increasing in price, how many
times you run across the field before the seeds get in the ground becomes
an issue," said Zick. "Landowners are looking over the fence
to see what their neighbors are doing. If it's working they'll do it
too. If it's not working they are interested in why it's not."
The Conference allows a unique opportunity to exchange both good and
bad experiences.
PACD awarded Adams County Conservation District (ACCD) a Chesapeake
Bay educational mini-grant to take six farmers to the National Conference.
In addition, the district held a local no-till workshop. "The value
to Pennsylvania farmers attending the National No-Tillage Conference
is they will bring information from across the nation back to Pennsylvania
and then communicate that to farmers and other partners in our communities,"
said Braund. While attendees certainly share information "over
the fence," ACCD shared in a more formal way (see Bringing
It Home).
Brian Sneeringer, ACCD's Agricultural Conservation Technician, accompanied
the six farmers from his county. Sneeringer said the Conference gets
his county's farmers to think outside the box and try new things since
they are able to interact with farmers who are on the cutting edge.
There are farmers who have no-tilled for twenty years and they are still
trying to tweak their system by trying new things.
Whether they have two years of experience or twenty, all of the attendees
learned something from each other. Perhaps the beginners learned most
of all. "New producers attending the Conference learned that no-till
works. It isn't science fiction. Changes will have to be made on the
farm, but if you want to make it work, it will" said Braund. Farmers
from all over the world, with different climates and soils, prove it.
Bringing It Home
Two Pennsylvania conservation districts are implementing
projects as a result of the National No-Tillage Conference.
Adams County Conservation District
Local No-Till Workshop
PACD awarded the District a Pennsylvania Chesapeake Bay Educational
Mini-Grant to hold a local no-till workshop on February 27, 2006. Five
of the six farmers who attended the National No-Tillage Conference were
on hand to share what they learned with the seventy-two farmers in attendance.
"Farmers in Adams County know no-till is a good thing. They just
have to figure out how to do it," said Brian Sneeringer. "If
the goal is continuous no-till, then how do we get there?" This
question was the focus of the workshop. Seventy-two farmers in Adams
County will certainly be closer to that goal as a result of this workshop.
Susquehanna County Conservation District
Cover Crop Test Pilot
As a result of information learned at the conference, the District will
conduct a test pilot using rye grass as a cover crop. Currently, only
cereal rye is being used. A vendor at the Conference promised the district
enough seed to conduct the test pilot. After the results are obtained,
the District plans to share this information with producers at their
county no-till conference.
PACD Hires Part-Time Education Specialist
The Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. would
like to welcome its newest staff member, Education Specialist Kim Mumper.
Kim joined PACD in late February. She has held positions with several
agencies, including the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, International
Joint Commission and the National Park Service, focusing on water- and
resource-related education. Kim holds a master's degree from The Ohio
State University in natural resources and a bachelor's degree from Michigan
Technological University in biological sciences.
"For the past several years, I have been out of the conservation
education loop and am very excited to assist with the work of the educational
arm of the PACD," said Mumper.
Kim lives in the Harrisburg area with her husband and two children.
She volunteers with several groups, including "Caitlin's Smiles,"
which gives gifts to children with serious illness, and also plays volleyball
and gardens.
Kim will be working part-time out of the PACD office in Harrisburg and
can be reached at 717-238-7223 x 17.
Sponsorship Opportunities Available
The Conference Planning Committee is actively seeking sponsorships
for the NACD North East Region Meeting and PACD/SCC Joint Annual Conference.
The Conference will be held July 23-27, 2006 at the Penn Stater, State
College, PA. Information on the various sponsorship opportunities is
available on the PACD website at http://www.pacd.org/events/JAC06/default.htm.
Please pass this information along to entities that may be interested
in sponsorship. If you prefer, you may provide PACD with the contact
information and we will gladly pass the sponsorship materials on for
you. Questions should be directed to Molly Burns, 717-238-7223 or
molly-burns@pacd.org.
Page 4>
|
