UAF hosts cover crop and soil health forum

February 13, 2014

UAF News

Cover crops are used to manage soil fertility and quality.
Cover crops are used to manage soil fertility and quality.


Nancy Tarnai
907-474-5042
2/13/14


Fairbanks farmers can watch a national forum on cover crops and soil health via the Internet at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Tuesday, Feb. 18, from 9 to 11 a.m.

The meeting, which opens with a live video stream from the National Cover Crop and Soil Health Conference in Omaha, Neb., will feature Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Howard G. Buffett, farmer and philanthropist. Panel presentations by leading cover crop farmers from across the nation will follow. About 200 forum locations throughout the country will provide a unique opportunity to experience the conference and discuss ways to organize and energize the soil health movement at the grassroots level.

The national conference is sponsored by the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program and Natural Resource Conservation Service. It will bring together key leaders, researchers, innovators and policymakers in American agriculture to examine the benefits, opportunities and challenges associated with improving the health and function of soils through the adoption of soil health management systems.

The UAF forum will be held in the O'Neill Building, 905 Koyokuk Drive, Room 307, on the UAF West Ridge. Parking is available by permit either in front of or behind the International Arctic Research Center. The UAF event is hosted by the School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences and the UAF Cooperative Extension Service.

ADDITIONAL CONTACT: Milan Shipka, mpshipka@alaska.edu or 907-474-6184.

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