A Comprehensive Farmer’s Field Day
When: August 26th, 8am - 2:30pm
Where: Dykhuis Farms, 3759 46th St. Hamilton, MI 49419
Contact: ottawacd@macd.org or call 616-842-5852 Ext. 5
Free to all attendees.
Taking place for the first time in 2019, the district and a number of partners hosted a farm field day on Smallegan Farms in Hudsonville. The event, focused on agricultural education, with noted national and Michigan industry experts sharing their knowledge with over 130 local farmers and conservation and agribusiness professionals. Fred Yoder, a climate-smart agriculture advocate, shared his experiences with cover crops on his own farm, breaking down the economics of the practice. Christina Curell, a soil health expert with Michigan State University Extension (MSUE) demonstrated how different practices such as no-till agriculture and cover crops can affect soil structure. Jerry Grigar with the Natural Resources Conservation Service shared his experience with implementing no-till agriculture on his own farm. Joe Scrimger, a retired soil consultant, taught farmers how to read their soils by what weeds are growing in their fields.
This year’s field day will showcase new and emerging practices that promote soil health, give producers practical conservation knowledge that they can use to evaluate their operations, and bring new knowledge to West Michigan. On-site demonstrations will showcase cover crops and how they respond to West Michigan’s microclimate, different termination options for cover crops, and early season interseeding of cover crops into 30” or 60” rows of corn. Additionally, attendees will hear presentations such as how to balance economic and environmental decision-making, research on “planting green,” and a multitude of conservation programs available to landowners.
As agriculture in West Michigan faces continued challenges – from extreme rainfall to groundwater shortages – cultivating resilience in our agricultural community is essential.
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