"Unlock your soil's potential" is the theme for the 36th annual Manitoba-North Dakota Zero Tillage Farmers Association Workshop and Trade Show scheduled for Jan. 6-8, at the Holiday Inn-Riverside in Minot, N.D.
"Many producers think that replacing tillage with a herbicide and pulling a no-till drill behind their tractor is all they need to know to do no-till," said Roger Ashley, North Dakota State University's Dickinson Research Extension Center area specialist in cropping systems, and one of the organizers of the event.
"However, there is much more to know and skills to develop to put together a profitable and sustainable no-till cropping system," Ashley said.
The workshop is the premier event in the region every year for producers to learn about what they can do to improve soil health and learn about what is new in zero tillage methods and equipment.
Some of the speakers, all highly-skilled in their field, include Dr. Barry Todd, weed scientist, University of Manitoba; John Stika, NRCS area resource soil scientist and soil health instructor; Dr. Yvonne Lawley, assistant professor in the Plant Science Department, University of Manitoba; and Dr. Larry Cihacek, associate professor of soil sciences, North Dakota State University.
"We can tell producers what the indicators are and what test results should be for healthy soils," Stika said. "Until recently we haven't been capable of providing more than just general recommendations for improving soil health."
On Monday, Jan. 6, there is an association meeting and international "show and tell."
On Tuesday, Jan. 7, the trade show opens at 7 a.m., and Dr. Barry Todd gives the keynote address at 8:30 a.m.
Todd has an extensive background in soils and crop protection, and in 2003, was appointed Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives in Manitoba.
"From the BSE crisis in 2003 to the floods of 2013, Todd has worked closely with agricultural organizations to ensure that producers and rural communities received support as they dealt with many challenges," Ashley said.
Todd was a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of his leadership in the establishment of Manitoba's nutraceutical and functional food research and commercialization cluster.
At 9:15 a.m. on Tuesday, Dr. Abbey Wick, soil scientist at NDSU, will speak on soil health and its components and complexities.
Stika speaks on evaluating soil health and ways to improve it at 10:45 a.m. on Tuesday.
Stika is an area resource soil scientist and soil health instructor with the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service. He has been extensively involved with soils education for nearly 30 years.
Producers will have a chance to learn about a number of scientific tests used in determining soil health at the workshop.
Stika equates managing soil health with making beer.
"Soil is a biological system that must be managed to foster the organisms of the soil food web so they can make the best possible soil out of what they have to work with," Stika said, adding it's essential that when managing either system (brewing or soil), producers need to recognize the roles played by micro organisms.
At 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Dr. Kris Nichols, USDA-ARS Northern Plains Laboratory in Mandan, N.D., will talk to producers on everything they might want to know about soil testing, including interpreting the recommendations.
An interesting topic on Tuesday afternoon at 2:15 p.m., Marla Rieckman, soil scientist at the University of Manitoba, will talk about vertical tillage and soil compaction.
Dr. Larry Cihacek speaks on tile drainage at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Cihacek is a certified professional agronomist and soil scientist specializing in fertilizer management in tillage and cropping systems. He has also authored or co-authored more than 80 papers and Extension publications on these subjects and has appeared on programs such as "Salt of the Earth."
At 7 p.m. on Tuesday, there will be farmer rap sessions with subjects such as cover crops, field mapping and zero tilling corn and soybeans in discussions.
According to Ashley, many producers have put off incorporating practices that will improve soil health because it is difficult to say what the use of a particular practice will pay the producer immediately or a few years into the future.