Cropping symposium now monthly series

PULLMAN — Palouse Conservation District (PCD) shifted its annual Palouse Alternative Cropping Symposium to a virtual platform.

It features with a monthly presentation series titled “Soil Health Sit Down.” An educational series for agricultural and livestock producers on soil health. The first is scheduled for next week.

Presentations are dedicated to providing a venue for local growers, industry professionals, and researchers to share insights and innovations geared toward improving soil health.

The goal is to encourage grower-to-grower dialogue surrounding cover crops, companion crops, and alternative cropping systems that have the potential to be adopted on the Palouse, according to the conservation district.

Starting in November and going through February, the monthly series is on the third Wednesday of the month at 7 a.m. The first presentation will be Nov. 18 from 7 - 8 a.m. via Zoom. Isaac Madsen, Washington State University Extension agronomist, will discuss alternative production systems on the Palouse, including intercropping Canola and peas, and integrating livestock grazing into a Canola rotation.

Jakin Berns, from Green Cover Seed in Nebraska, will share information on developing custom cover crop seed mixes through the Green Cover Seed SmartMix Calculator.

PCD invite producers and the community to join the virtual conversation by pre-registering for the event at http://www.PalouseCD.org/Soil-Health-Sit-Down.

Future presentations are Dec. 16, Jan. 20, and Feb. 17, 2021.

The series is sponsored and supported by Green Cover Seed, Shepherd’s Grain, Roots of Resilience, Plants of the Wild, and Community Colleges of Spokane. Raffle prizes provided by the sponsors are awarded to people in attendance.

PCD works through voluntary, incentive-based programs to assist landowners and agricultural operators with the conservation of natural resources throughout the district. The district’s mission is to foster the voluntary conservation of natural resources by providing the tools, education, technical expertise, and financial assistance to support our local community.