(PRESS RELEASE – The Fulton, Williams, and Williams Soil and Water Conservation Districts invite you to the Annual “Field-to-Lake” Nutrient Management Field Day on Thursday, August 14th, at Stoney Ridge Farms in Waldron, MI.
Strong partnerships and generous sponsorships have made this annual educational field day a success over the past decade.
This year’s keynote speaker will be Nathan Brown, a first-generation farmer raising corn, wheat, soybeans, hay and a small cow calf operation near Hillsboro, Ohio, with his wife Jennifer, their twin boys, and daughter.
Brown was awarded No-till Farmer of the Year in 2018 and in 2019 was also selected as Cooperator of the Year by the Highland County Soil and Water Conservation District for his exceptional conservation practices and agricultural advocacy.
He is also a member of the Ohio Soybean, Corn and Wheat Growers Associations, Ohio Cattlemen’s Association,and the Practical Farmers of Iowa to name a few.
Brown has served various roles at local, state, and regional levels including several positions within his county Farm Bureau.
In 2013, Brown and his wife, Jennifer, were selected as Outstanding Young Farmers by the Ohio Farm Bureau, where they represented the organization at the American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting.
They were also selected to serve on the Ohio Farm Bureau Young Ag Professionals Committee. Brown was first elected to the Ohio Farm Bureau Board of Trustees and then to the Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation.
Brown’s keynote session will provide a discussion on soil health practices, an introduction into the Soil Your Undies Challenge, and a smoking tile line presentation with assistance from Williams County SWCD Technician Steve Slattman.
Following the smoking tile line demonstration, concurrent breakout sessions will be offered from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 11a.m. to 12 noon.
Local farmers Jay Williams, Les Seiler, and Denny Person will present their results from the Soil Your Undies Challenge. MSU Extension Conservation Agronomists will provide research data on interseeding cover crops as well as drone calibration demonstrations later in the afternoon.
Fulton County OSU Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator Kendall Lovejoy will provide End of Season Crop Scouting and Defoliation Calculations from the field.
John Craft, Channel Technical Agronomist, will offer a session on Nutrient Management: Recognizing your Limiting Factor. Craft’s presentation will focus on nutrient removal rates, deficiency ranges, and then finding a system balance.
Certified Crop Consultant, Russ Rice, will showcase Cover Crop Biomass Development from local fields and a project overview from farms across Northwest Ohio.
Caleb Fox and Danny Knapke will provide Herbicide Diagnostics fromthe Field, focusing on weed resistance and the importance of understanding herbicide MOA’s and the economic impacts of weed pressure in your fields.
After lunch, Paulding County OSU Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator Sarah Noggle will offer a game of farmer trivia ahead of a session on Farmer Mental Health which will be presented with Nathan Brown.
Afternoon sessions and demonstrations will include field tile ground penetration radar with Will Word from Word Construction, Drone Calibration with Smetka and Celovsky, and new funding opportunities for nutrient management in the Western Lake Erie Basin with Alison Bressler from the University of Michigan Water Center and Brooke Bollwahn with the Lenawee SWCD.
Field Day registration opens at 7:30 a.m. with morning refreshments prepared by the Doughbox Bakery and Biggby Coffee.
Infield keynote session begins at 8:30 a.m. with concurrent breakout sessions to follow. Local farm to fork lunch served at noon featuring food from Pettisville Meats & BBQ, Red Hen Country Market, Stoney Ridge Farms, and Keil Farms. Hillard’s Soft Serve Ice Cream available throughout the day.
11.5 CCA Credits and Michigan Pesticide Credits will be available. Stoney Ridge Farms is located at 14031 Broom Road Waldron, MI 49288. For more information or to register, please contact the Fulton Soil and Water at (419) 583-6517.