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69th SWCS International Annual Conference July 27-30, 2014 Lombard, IL
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Jennifer Filipiak, Natural Resources CoordinatorSoil & Water Conservation Society Conference
July 28-30, 2014
Beyond the Cover Crops 101 Field Day
Emerging, innovative methods for engaging farmers and landowners in cover crops management
©NRS
Cover crops in Illinois…are non-commodity crops either interseeded into living cash crops or planted onto bare fields during fallow periods to save topsoil, improve soil quality, and increase nutrients available to plants
• Soil quality, increased SOM• Erosion control• Fertility improvements• Weed suppression• Insect control• Nutrient retention/availability
Oats and annual ryegrass drilled end of August on silage cut field, © NRCS
Illinois Agriculture
©AFT
Cover crops in Illinois
Radish + Rye©B Stikkers
Crimson clover©T Taylor
Cereal rye©AFT
Annual ryegrass + clover©NRCS
Annual ryegrass©NRCS
Cover Crops 101 Field Day
Important, but limited in topic and geography
©AFT
Cover Crops 101: The winter meeting
Farmer panels, Farmer presenters!Seed vendors, dealers, etc.
©Illinois Dept of Agriculture ©AFT
Innovations…
New audiences Expand geography Regional, state venues
Formats for advanced topics Applied research, deep dive
The pathway for new gurus…
New Audiences
Peer‐to‐peer learning, acknowledges women as the experts & decision makers on their own land.
Conservation staff (women) participate in discussion – no hierarchy, no lectures
Meetings without men for first part of the day
(after a meal) Farm visits to see practices on the ground and discuss with farmer and staff
Non-operator women landowners
©AFT
©AFT
No stupid questions Healthy soil resonates: “sweet” “alive” Need follow up Get landowners to field days?
New AudiencesNon-operator women landowners
©AFT
Expand Geography
Picture of signStatewide: IDOA Cover Crop Initiative
Evolution of IDOA’s “Tillage Seminars”
Reduced tillage + cover crops + nutrient mgt = healthy soil/resilient operation
Theme consistent, content varies regionally
Expand Geography
Mendota
Normal
Mt Vernon
Formats for Advanced Topics
© Talk.buffalostate.edu
FarmerFarmerResearcher
Researcher
© NRCS
Fishbowls & clickers
Formats for Advanced Topics
6/28/13: Roots for Improvement 101, indoors
11/19/13: Roots… II Presenters 30”, Networking 90” Planning, soil pit
Progressive Field Days
©AFT
3/14/2014: Roots… III Herbicide, seed choice, test
plots 6/20/2014: Seeds over East
Central Illinois Seed installation only
New cover crop gurus…
Farmer/Outreach professional pairs
$10k max Media training Support listserv conference calls
14
Cover Crop Champions
New cover crop gurus
Expectations:- 150 farmers, 10 crop advisors- Interviews- Articles
15
Cover Crop Champions
©IDOA
New cover crop gurus…
Year 19 champions$65k
Year 27 champions$46k
16
Cover Crop Champions
New cover crop gurus…Train the trainers
3-year program, NFWF Workshops and networking 3 specialists CC demo sites Training sessions General outreach
Community College network
Innovations, to sum up: New audiences Non-operator women landowners
Expand geography (regional, statewide) Conservation Cropping Systems Statewide initiative, highway signs
Formats for advanced topics Fishbowls & Clickers Progressive field days
Pathways for new gurus… Cover crop champions Train the trainer
Networking: farmers, researchers, vendors
Lessons learned: success!
Farmers love to hear about research if…
Partnerships, esppublic/private
©M Peterson
Lessons learned: needs more work!
Tailor your message/training Missing: chemical dealers,
implement dealers, farm managers Provide a pathway for new
educators (farmers, extension, etc.)
©B Margraf
Acknowledgements
IDOA Champaign SWCD Practical Farmers of Iowa National Wildlife Federation Dr. Shalamar Armstrong & Dr. Joel
Gruver Mike Plumer
Jen Filipiak, [email protected]
American Farmland Trust –saving the land that sustains us by
protecting farm and ranchland, promoting sound farming practices and keeping
farmers on the land!www.farmland.org
©Lussier Photography