UAF hosts cover crop and soil health forum

Fairbanks farmers can access a national forum on cover crops and soil health via the internet at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Tuesday, Feb. 18 from 9 to 11 a.m.

The meeting, which opens with a live video stream from the National Cover Crop and Soil Health Conference in Omaha, Neb., will feature Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Howard G. Buffett, farmer and philanthropist. Panel presentations by leading cover crop farmers from across the nation will follow. About 200 concurrent forum locations throughout the country will provide a unique opportunity to experience the conference and discuss ways to organize and energize efforts to enable the soil health movement at the grassroots level. In Fairbanks, comments will be gathered and shared with the national committee after the webinar.

Cover crops are used to manage soil fertility and quality.

The national conference is sponsored by the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education and the National Resource Conservation Service and will bring together key leaders, researchers, innovators and policy makers in American agriculture to examine the benefits, opportunities and challenges associated with improving the health and function of soils through the adoption of soil health management systems.

The UAF forum will be held in the O'Neill Building, 905 Koyokuk Drive, room 307, on the UAF West Ridge. Parking is available by permit either in front of or behind the International Arctic Research Center. The UAF event is hosted by the School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences and the UAF Cooperative Extension Service.

For more information, contact Professor Milan Shipka or 907-474-6184.