Phosphorus Management and Farm Safety were Highlights of Annual Farming Conference
Phosphorus Management and Farm Safety were Highlights of Annual Farming Conference
LAWRENCE, MI – Nearly 100 local agricultural producers came together at the Van Buren Conservation District’s annual “Farming for the Future” conference on March 22 to learn about soil phosphorus, farm safety, nutrient management, gypsum, the soil food web, and more. Nationally recognized crop advisor Joe Nester gave the keynote address on the topic of how rainfall pH affects phosphorus in a way that can harm grower’s bottom lines and cause phosphorus runoff into our fresh water. Nester also discussed the 4Rs of Nutrient Stewardship: to apply the Right form of fertilizer at the Right rate at the Right time and in the Right place.
“Phosphorus runoff is a hot topic in the Lake Erie basin. We haven’t been focusing on it as much in our part of the state, but we know it’s important for both agronomic and environmental reasons,” said conference organizer Colleen Forestieri of the Van Buren Conservation District. “We’re working on a lot of projects involving phosphorus this year, so I wanted to bring in some experts on the topic to get a better understanding of how that nutrient works in the soil.”
Meeting attendees provided some great feedback. “Very informative…best meeting I’ve been to all year,” “learned new things that I’ve never thought about before,” and “I appreciate the opportunity to learn from experts in the field,” were a few of the overwhelmingly positive reviews of the event.
Colleen Forestieri also discussed cost-share programs like the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) that can offer funding to farmers to try conservation practices on their fields. Practices like no-till, buffer strips, grass waterways and cover crops may be eligible for cost-share in certain parts of Berrien, Branch, Cass, Kalamazoo and Van Buren County. For more information about practices and cost-share opportunities, contact Colleen Forestieri at the Van Buren Conservation District, (269) 657-4030 x 5.
