Soil Con 2025
2025-03-18 08:00 - 15:30 (America/New_York) | Oakwood Event Center, 849 E Lake View Rd, Syracuse, IN, 46567, United States
BringingSoil Health to You: Soil-Con: March 18, 2025
ByTashina Lahr-Manifold, SWCD Soil Health Specialist
Soil-Con 2025 will be held March 18, at the Oakwood EventCenter, Syracuse. This free conference is designed as a working meeting to explore the connections within soil health, soil fertility, ecological risk of pest management strategies, and developing long-term solutions for soil health. This all-day event will have three specialized speakers from across the U.S. coming to Kosciusko County!
The keynote address, Building Soil Health by Managing SoilFertility will be provided by Neal Kinsey, Kinsey Agricultural Services. Kinsey will talk about basic fertility management and how it can be used to improve soil health. Kinsey argues that you cannot have a functioning soil healthsystem, without balanced soils. Kinsey’s talk will focus on the positive effects of correcting soil fertility as part of management on farms. Kinsey will have local soil sample results and will share how he would suggest correcting these soils for optimal production. If you would be interested in analyzing your micronutrient balance, the district has funds available to help you sample your soil.
John Tooker, Professor and Extension Specialist in the Department of Entomology at The Pennsylvania State University will be presenting on the Relationships of Pests and Predators. His research group studies relationships among plants, invertebrate herbivores, and natural enemies to understand factors that regulate populations of herbivorous insects and slugs. The long-term goal of his research is to exploit ecological interactions for sustainable insect pest management.
RJ Rant will discuss the key principles of soil health management strategies that can improve nitrogen use on the farm through C: N ratios. You will learn how to grow your soil, feed your plants, and analyze nitrogen use in relation to carbon in the soil. RJ Rant is the owner of Terraform Ag and Nutrilink Biosystems. After graduating from Kalamazoo College, he took over management of his family’s blueberry farm and transitioned it to USDA Organic status. During this process he found that the products he needed to address his soil and plant needs did not exist, so he decided to create his own. Since then, he has been consulting for farmers across the country and designing products to meet the unique needs of their soils.
This event is free to attend. Registration is required. Please call the office (574-267-7445 ext. 3.) or visit our website(https://www.kosciuskoswcd.org/soil-con-2025) to reserve your seat.

Virtual: Cover Crop Summit
2025-03-18 08:00 - 2025-03-20 16:30 (America/New_York) | IN
The National Cover Crop Summitreturns March 18-20 withanother can’t-miss lineup of today’s most successful cover crop adopters,researchers and agronomists sharing their best seeding strategies, grazing andfeeding tips, variety selection secrets and more.
Signup today to attend this 100% FREE ONLINE EVENT. Requiring no travel expense ortime away from the office or farm, you will be able to participate from thecomfort of your own office through a series of free online presentation videosdelivering practical tips and information on managing cover crops to improvesoil health, protect the environment and enhance on-farm profitability. Sign upfor free today!
LEARNMORE AND REGISTER FOR FREE!

Cover Crop Cocktail Hour Registration
2025-03-18 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | IN
Hello!
Thank you to those who filled out our survey earlier this month. I’m excited to extend an invitation to our bi-weekly virtual gathering, the CTIC’s Cover Crop Cocktail Hour, commencing on February 4th, 2025, from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM Central Time. This event, specifically tailored for farmers in Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, is an excellent opportunity to delve into discussions about the crucial role cover crops play in our farming operations. Expect engaging guest speakers, breakout rooms, and networking opportunities to share insights and foster connections within the farming community.
Event Dates:

February 4th, 2025

February 18th, 2025

March 4th, 2025

March 18th, 2025

You can come to any or all of the gatherings, as your schedule permits. To register, simply click here or scan the QR code in the attached postcard. Please note: We will not be recording these sessions, so if you’re interested in this free exchange of conversation and ideas, please join us and participate!
Best,
Teagan Duffy (she/her)
WI Soil Health Specialist
Conservation Technology Information Center
Phone: 262-325-6637 | Email: duffy@ctic.org
