Soil Workshop with Dr. Kris Nichols & Farm Tour at Armstrong Acres
Join us for an afternoon at Armstrong Acres to check out how Clay and Ash apply rotational grazing, see their the pastured poultry operation and much more. Followed by a workshop about soil health with Dr. Kris Nichols.
When: June 14, 2019
Where: Armstrong Acres, Farm near Hythe-AB
Directions from Hythe- follow Highway 43 towards Dawson Creek, turn left onto Range Rd 120, then turn right onto Township Rd 740, after 2 km it will be the first house to your right.
Schedule:
- 1.00 pm Introduction and Farm Tour at Armstrong Acres
- 3.30 pm Soil Workshop with Dr. Kris Nichols
- 7.00 pm Potluck
What to bring:
- Top Soil from your land (2 cups) and something heavy (like a book) to use for weight
- A potluck dish (salad or dessert)
- A plate and eating tools
- A chair
Cost: $25/ person
Register: Buy tickets for Young Agrarians- Soil Workshop, Farm Tour, Potluck
About the Workshop:
Get the Dirt on Soil Health and Carbon
Soil health is critical to your productivity, to reducing climate impacts, including drought and flood, and to improve your bottom line. Are you doing everything possible to build and manage it?
This interactive workshop with Dr. Kris Nichols, internationally recognized soil microbiologist will take you underground to examine the soil microbiome and see close-up what happens to the soil microbiology when you change the top of the soil.
We will discuss:
- The science behind soil carbon sequestration and how it is related to soil health,
- How to increase soil carbon and soil health by working with the microbes on your land
- how building healthy soil mitigates drought, flooding, and helps you to make the most of your rainfall,
- how to reduce input costs
- where and how farmers and ranchers fit into the climate change solution
- economic and agronomic benefits of taking a proactive approach
- how to make a climate assessment of your operation
- the underlying scientific knowledge that informs these practices and links them to climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Be prepared to get your hands dirty! We will be hands-on as we will study soil cores up close and build soil assessment tools for you to take home and implement on your land tomorrow.
Facilitator Bio:
Soil Microbiologist, Kutztown, PA
Dr. Kristine Nichols is a world-renowned leader in the movement to regenerate soils for healthy food, healthy people and a healthy planet by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural production, sequestering carbon in the soil, and providing abundant and nutritious food. Dr. Nichols was the Chief Scientist at Rodale Institute from July 7, 2014-January 12, 2018 where she oversaw approximately fifteen research trials on organic agriculture, including the Farming Systems Trial®, the longest-running side-by-side U.S. study comparing conventional chemical agriculture with organic, biologically-based methods. Prior to joining the Institute, Dr. Nichols was a Research Soil Microbiologist with the USDA, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in North Dakota for 11 years and a Biological Laboratory Technician with ARS in Beltsville, MD for 3 years.
Her research and professional achievements have focused on the impacts of cropping and grazing systems on soil microbiology, nutrient cycling, and soil aggregation to improve soil health and water quality. Her most recent work involves mycorrhizal fungi and the investigation of glomalin – a substance produced by AM fungi. Glomalin contributes to nutrient cycling by protecting AM hyphae transporting nutrients from the soil to the plant and to soil structure and plant health by helping to form and stabilize soil aggregates. Kris has been examining the impacts of organic management practices such as crop rotation, tillage practices, cover crops, and livestock grazing on soil aggregation, water relationships, and glomalin as ways to improve economic and environmental sustainability by increasing soil health and resiliency in plant production.