There are many benefits to utilizing cover crops, such as improved soil health and reduced erosion. It is the details of how and what to do that can present challenges. The Nebraska Cover Crop and Soil Health Conference will provide information to growers who are just getting started with cover crops and to those who are already making cover crops part of their operation.
The conference will take place on Thursday, Feb. 11 from 1:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. CST. The conference will be webcasted from the University of Nebraska Eastern Nebraska Research and Extension Center (ENREC) to hosting locations including Beatrice at the Southeast Community College Campus (details below). Attendees can join the webcast from the comfort of their own home or office too.
Topics and presenters include:
- Soil Sensing and Soil Health – Kristen Veum, Research Soil Scientist at USDA-ARS Cropping Systems and Water Quality Research Unit, University of Missouri-Columbia;
- Optimizing Your Cover Crop ROI – Rebecca Clay, Strategic Initiatives Agronomy Coordinator at Practical Farmers of Iowa;
- Using Aerial Imagery to Determine Cover Crop Impacts on Cash Crop Growth and Development – Dr. Andrea Basche, Assistant Professor, Agronomy & Horticulture University of Nebraska-Lincoln;
- Experiences and Economics Using Cereal Rye as a Cover Crop – Chad Bell, Farmer;
- Pathway toward a Healthy and Resilient Soil to Achieve Optimum Productivity and Environmental Quality: Cover Crops are Key! – Jerry Hatfield, Retired Director, National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment;
- On-farm Research of Incorporating Cover Crop into a 3 Crop Dryland Rotation, Ken Herz, Owner/Operator of Herz Land and Cattle, and
- Cover Crop Panel – discussion with growers, landowners, and consultants.
Registration and more details are available at: https://enrec.unl.edu/nebraska-cover-crop-conference/. There is no fee to attend, but pre-registration is required. Please register online or over the phone by calling 402-223-1384. If you choose to attend from home or your office, a link to join the conference webcast will be provided via email following registration. Day-of, walk-in registration will not be permitted at Southeast Community College in Beatrice. Early registration is encouraged as capacity limitations are in place in Beatrice – limit of 30 people. In-person check-in for those pre-registered will be at 12:30 p.m. in Beatrice at the Southeast Community College Academic Excellence Building (large northwest meeting room) located at 4771 W. Scott Road. Facial coverings/masks are required in Southeast Community College buildings. If this local hosting site in Beatrice is cancelled due to poor road conditions or COVID-19 directed health measures, registrants will be notified via email, phone, or text message.
CCA credits are applied for and pending. The conference is sponsored by Nebraska Extension and the Nebraska Soybean Board. Feel free to contact me at or 402-821-1722 with questions. Know your crop, know your tech, know your bottom line at croptechcafe.org.
