August 17th, 2022
By Olivia Fuller
New York Soil Health Field Day to Showcase Practical and Innovative Practices for Farmers
Saratoga Springs, NY—Farmers across the state are dealing with the impacts of climate change as severe weather affects cropping and grazing plans for many operations. American Farmland Trust is holding a New York Soil Health Field Day on August 25 in Pavilion, New York, to help farmers address these challenges and see soil regenerative practices in action on a working farm.
Launched in 2018, the Genesee River Demonstration Farms Network, in partnership with AFT, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, and the New York Farm Viability Institute showcases the impacts of practical and innovative conservation practices on real working farms. While focused on the Genesee River Watershed, these resources are applicable to farming operations across the state and beyond.
Today, the Network includes 12 demonstration farms that span five counties and manage 48,000 total acres in the Genesee River watershed. The newly released annual report of the Genesee River Demonstration Farms Network outlines the success of the program’s third year, including promising results from early trials of ‘planting green,’ or planting a cash crop into a living cover crop, which can give farmers multiple advantages including earlier access to fields in the spring and a reduction of nitrogen and herbicide inputs. View the annual report and learn more about the Network at www.farmland.org/geneseeriverdemofarms.
Attendees of the New York Soil Health Field Day on August 25 will have the opportunity to view on-farm cover crop demonstration plots and to hear about the benefits and challenges of adopting soil health practices from service providers and farmers. Additional presentations include Healthy Soil for Climate Adaptation, Organic Methods for Cover Cropping Success, a Farmer Panel, and a Cover Crop Field Tour and Soil Pit to see living cover crop roots in action. The New York Soil Health Field Day is free to attend and includes lunch.
New York Soil Health Field Day
WHEN: August 25, 2022, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
WHERE: Gary Swede Farms Grain Storage Lot, 2204 Genesee Street, Piffard, NY
RSVP: www.farmland.org/nyfieldday2022
AFT’s full collection of soil health case studies, farmer videos, an interactive demonstration farms map, and upcoming events can be found at www.farmland.org/geneseeriverdemofarms.
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American Farmland Trust is the only national organization that takes a holistic approach to agriculture, focusing on the land itself, the agricultural practices used on that land, and the farmers and ranchers who do the work. AFT launched the conservation agriculture movement and continues to raise public awareness through our No Farms, No Food message. Since our founding in 1980, AFT has helped permanently protect over 6.5 million acres of agricultural lands, advanced environmentally-sound farming practices on a half million additional acres and supported thousands of farm families.