Soil plays an extremely important and large role in farming along with water, nutrients, sunlight, and air. Soil quality is the capacity of a soil to function in a manner to provide sustainability of plants and animals, maintain or enhance water and air quality, and support humans. Agricultural practices can either positively or negatively affect soil quality depending upon the manner they are implemented. Organic matter plays a very critical role in soil quality in that keeping organic matter levels high, or adding new organic matter every year is perhaps the most important way to improve and maintain soil quality.
Charlie Miller and his family have been farming vegetables and hay for over 50 years. The family began no-tilling grains in the 1960’s, limited no-till vegetables over the last 15 years, and the entire farm is now no-till for one year. This no-till field day will provide insight into the Miller Family Farm’s practices and how they focus their operation on increasing organic matter and soil quality through no-till corn and vegetable planting, crop rotations, cover crops, manure/compost additions, irrigation, and a high tunnel pilot project. Also discussed will be the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP)
Program and why it is so important for producers to consider for their operation, and how it will affect their future onfarm operations.
Presentations at the informational sessions will include:
No-till Corn Planting
Matt Schaffer, Schaffer Farms, Wayne County
No-till Vegetable Transplanting
Charlie Miller, Lackawanna County Conservation District
Seasonal High Tunnel System for Crops
Jennifer Matthews, USDA-NRCS & Charlie Miller, Lackawanna County Conservation District
Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) Program- Why it is so important for producers
John Esslinger, PSU Cooperative Extension & Kim Carlin, Crop Scout
Location -
Charlie Miller’s Farm
13046 Lower Maple Drive
Clarks Summit, PA 18411
July 9, 2010
Lunch will be provided therefore an RSVP is requested no later than Tuesday, July 2nd to the
Pocono Northeast RC&D Council at (570)282-8732 ext.4
Showing posts with label preservation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label preservation. Show all posts
Friday, June 18, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)