Working With Neighbors to Integrate Livestock and Improve Soil
Thursday, June 11 | 2:15 – 3:15 p.m.
Tom’s goal is to improve the soil on his family’s century farm. To do this, he has been working with neighbors Jim Funke, Jon Merrill and Conner Allender to integrate cattle, sheep and poultry into his cropping system in a variety of ways. They’ve been practicing management-intensive grazing for four years on selected areas.
We’ll see areas where unrolled hay bales were fed prior to cash crop planting and where stockpiled grazing took place. We’ll also see how chickens follow cows, along with pictures showing where soils that were once poor have become productive again. Not only is Tom seeing life come back to the soil and farm, he is building community in rural Iowa in the process.
Host: Tom Wind
The Farm: Tom and Sue Wind steward their family’s century farm in Jamaica, Iowa. Tom has declared his life goal is to manage his soils in order to increase soil organic matter by 4%. To do this, he has partnered with nearby farmers to integrate diverse crops and pastured livestock.
Topics:
- Integrating livestock with cattle and sheep
- Management-intensive grazing (MIG)
- Diverse cropping systems
- Soil health
Format: Virtual Field Day
Platform: Facebook Live
By registering, you’ll receive email reminders leading up to the event with instructions on how to join, and a link to participate, if applicable.
This field day is sponsored by Premier 1 Supplies.
Acknowledgements
This material is based upon work supported by the Natural Resources Conservation Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under number NR186114XXXXG002. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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