With increased interest in planting green and many PA No Till Alliance members sharing their experiences with this practice, the Alliance has developed a Planting Green Guide to be released at their annual Field Day on July 27.

The guide joins the popular 'No-Till Tips' and 'Cover Crop Tips' as valuable resources for farmers adopting these important soil health practices.

The Field Day will begin at 8 a.m. on July 27 at the farm of Jeff and Sue Frey, Future View Farm, 12 Radcliff Road in Willow Street, Lancaster County. All are invited to this event, which – if pre-registered by July 21 - is FREE! (If not pre-registered by July 21, the cost to attend is $10.)

The Alliance has planned a full day of activities which include educational presentations, a cover crop plot walk, and panel discussions with industry and government representatives, as well as no-till farmers.

New to the event this year is a farmer-owned planter display, featuring a vintage 1983 Allis Chalmers no-till planter, retro-fitted for use today.

Planters will be on display, with the owners in attendance to share information about the pieces of equipment. Steve Berger, well-known speaker and corn-soybean-pig farmer from southeast Iowa will provide the keynote presentation, talking about the importance of cover crops. 

The event will also include a variety of panel discussions, focusing on topics including Practical Experience and Lessons Learned when "Planting Green," Growing Your Own Cover Crop Seed, Why Water Quality Matters, and Summer/Alternative Forage Options.

In addition to speakers and panel discussions, the event also features a Cover Crop Seed Give-Away, sponsored by PSU/SARE, a tour of various cover crop plots and a soil pit by Jeff Graybill, and a soil health demonstration by Leroy Bupp.

To conclude the program, Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding and Karl Brown will be in attendance at 3 p.m. for a celebration of the 10th anniversary of REAP and recognize the No-Till Alliance for their support.

The Alliance also offers a "Meeting of the Minds" dinner/discussion on Wednesday, July 26 which begins at 6:30 p.m. The focus will be on ‘Manure Management in No-Till and Cover Crops,’ with the opportunity to converse with other dedicated farmers and industry professionals. Come out and join the conversation!

If pre-registered by July 21, both the Meeting of the Minds and the Field Day are FREE. Pre-register via email to: jhowes@pennag.com, calling 717-651-5920, or mailing the registration form.

If not pre-registered, cost to attend each event is $10, collected at the event.

For more information, visit the PA No Till Alliance Field Day webpage.

[Posted: July 17, 2017]

7/24/2017