Healthy Soil, Healthy Herds: The Power of Nutrient Cycling and Managed Grazing

In collaboration with the Jewell County and Mitchell County Conservation Districts, the Kansas Soil Health Alliance is hosting a soil health event in northcentral Kansas. Additional co-hosts include the Kansas Grazing Lands Coalition and the Milford Lake Watershed WRAPS (Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy) program. The event will be held on August 21^st and 22^nd with one and a half days of speaker presentations and in-field demonstrations.

Attendees will check-in on Thursday, August 21^st from 2:30-3:00pm at the Mitchell County Fairgrounds located at 1320 N. Walnut in Beloit, prior to the speaker presentations. Brice Custer of Custer Farms and Soil Pro Seeds will present on the “Economics of Soil Health,” including using diverse and flexible crop rotations and rethinking irrigation from inches per acre to profit per acre. Following a short break, Dr. Lance Gunderson of RegenAg Lab, will speak about “Interpreting Haney Soil Tests.” Dr. Gunderson will be providing real world recommendations based on local farmer Haney tests. The evening will continue with dinner where guests will have the opportunity to have conversations and ask questions, followed by two farmer-led panels. The first panel will discuss using alternative/non-synthetic fertilizers to achieve increased profit per acre and increased plant health, while the second panel will discuss grazing.

Day 2 of the event will focus on field tours and demonstrations. Attendees will check-in at the Mitchell County Fairgrounds from 7:30-8:00am before boarding an air-conditioned charter bus. The group will travel to the first field stop where Chad Simmelink will discuss a nitrogen rate trial where nitrogen was applied at varying rates based on current farm rates, Haney Soil Test recommended rate, and a low rate. Following this stop, attendees will travel to Zach Bruns’s farm for hands-on grazing and soil health demonstrations led by Candy Thomas, retired NRCS Soil Health Specialist and Kansas Soil Health Alliance board members.  Zach will also show how to manage grazing duration based on different grazing goals and provide a sample of the grazing plans his ranch uses on their pastures and cover crops. Boxed lunches will be provided for attendees to eat on the way to the next stop where they will view the results of a spring burn and discuss burn planning.  Guests will then travel to the last stop which features a warm season cover crop plot seeded following wheat harvest operated by Greene Farms.  Attendees will be able to see individual plant species as well as a blend of all species before travelling back to Beloit to end the day.  

The Mitchell County Fairgrounds will serve as the hub for check-in, parking, and classroom sessions. Attendees are responsible for their own lodging. To register, visit the Kansas Soil Health Alliance website at https://kssoilhealth.org or call Jennifer at 785-545-5628. The $15 registration fee covers 3 meals, snacks, transportation, and learning materials. Due to space on the bus, the event will be capped at 40 participants.