Washtenaw Farmer Shop Talk--What do ya'll want to learn??

[Megan DeLeeuw]

Hello fellow farmers,

The Washtenaw County Conservation District & River Raisin Watershed Council  are organizing a shop talk for Washtenaw on Feb 21st at the Farm Council Grounds from 9am-12pm--free lunch included! This is organized as part of the Farmer-Led Conservation Group  that seeks to help farmers reduce pollutants in the western lake erie basin--and generally adopt conservation practices. This group has traditionally focused their efforts on larger conventional farmers but I think we have different needs here in Washtenaw.  

We want organize the event around topics Washtenaw farmers need to learn about. Here is a list of what I as thinking: 

-Soil Nutrient Management in Hoop Houses 

-Pasture management

-Maximizing use of cover crops for soil building (and nutrient run off reduction)

-Brainstorming/troubleshooting addressing conservation concerns (smaller groups addressing different topics--more interactive model)

We also plan to have the Institute for Water Research come and demo online tools they have for modeling your farm and erosion potential, etc. 

Let me know if you have any ideas--I want to solidify the agenda and speakers by early next week.

Cheers,

Megan

--

Megan DeLeeuw

District Manager

  

Washtenaw County Conservation District

Office: (734) 205-1219

Cell: (734) 718-5506

--

Megan DeLeeuw/ Farmer & Owner

Cell: 734.718.5506

 

[Megan DeLeeuw]

Hey again,

Just wanted to give you an update. The agenda changed based on feedback I received. We will NOT be covering nutrient management in hoops but can certainly do that in the future. Here is the updated agenda:

Washtenaw County Farmer Shop Talk

Thursday, February 21^st

9 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds (5055 Ann Arbor-Saline Rd, Ann Arbor 48103)

 

·         Evaluating natural resource concerns on your farm with free online SAIS tool  (Jeremiah Asher, Institute for Water Research)

·         Drainage and water quality control options (Lenawee County Deputy Drain Commissioner, Ed Scheffler )

·         Tillage reduction discussion ( Washtenaw County Farmer and WCCD Chairman Matt Koenn)

·         Getting the most out of cover crops (Ricardo Costa, Michigan State University Extension)

·         Funding options for conservation practices (Solomon Andrews, NRCS & Nick Machinski, Washtenaw MAEAP Techician)

                                                       Free lunch included. RSVP by Wednesday, Feb 20^th at megan....@macd.org, 734.205.1219.