Registration ends Tuesday for a farm soil improvement workshop Thursday in Ridgeway

The Land Stewardship Project and Winneshiek Soil and Water Conservation District will host a workshop called, "Cover Crops, No-Till & Grazing: Evaluating the Economics and First Steps to Improving Soil Health."  The workshop will run from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.Thursday at the Ridgeway Community Center, but registration will close the end of business hours Tuesday.

Southern Minnesota farmers Grant and Dawn Breitkreutz, Tom Cotter and Myron Sylling will be on a panel, as will Northeast Iowa farmers Mark and Ethan Imoehl, Jerome Fulsaas, Parker Beard and John Lubke.

The cost of the workshop is $15 per person ($10 for an additional farm partner and $30 for a family), which includes a noon meal featuring local foods. To register by Tuesday, contact LSP's Liana Nichols at (507) 523-3366 or the Winneshiek SWCD at (563) 382-4352, extension 3.

Says Decorah-based USDA/NRCS District Conservationist Todd Duncan, "There is more and more interest in building soil health these days.  This event is a chance for area farmers to hear from farmer-speakers in southern Minnesota and from northeast Iowa that have been achieving success with cover crops, no-till and intensive rotational grazing."