Soil health will be the focus of a workshop on Sept. 12 at North Dakota State University’s Dickinson Research Extension Center (DREC) ranch headquarters in Manning.

The program begins at 8:35 a.m.

Soil health workshop topics and presenters are:

• Importance of mycorrhizal fungi in crop and grazing systems - Heike Buckling, South Dakota State University soil microbiologist
• Fate of carbon in the ecosystem - Joshua Steffan, Dickinson State University, associate professor of soil microbiology
• Soil health principles and tabletop slake/water holding capacity demo - Hal Weiser, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) soil health specialist
• Web soil survey - Jeanne Heilig, USDA/NRCS soil scientist
• UC Davis Soil Web App - Hal Weiser, NRCS soil health specialist
• Introduction to soil health field indicators - Susan Sampson-Liebig, NRCS soil quality specialist
• DREC soil DNA project report - Songul Senturklu, NDSU visiting scholar

In addition to these workshop topics, there will be multiple field stations and two soil pits to view. The stations are:

• Station 1: Residue cover, biological decomposition - Doug Landblom, DREC beef specialist
• Station 2: Soil pit 1- Soil horizonation, color, texture - John Kempenich, USDA/NRCS soil survey team
• Station 3: Soil aggregates and structure - Jeanne Heilig and Susan Sampson-Leibig
• Station 4: Soil Pit 2 - Roots, pores and structure - Hal Weiser
• Station 5: Biological diversity, bio-pores, compaction and crusting - Joshua Steffan

The DREC soil health workshop and lunch are free of charge and are sponsored by: Agassiz Seed and Supply, Agweek, Butler Machinery Company, Dacotah Bank, Dakota Community Bank and Trust, Dakota West RC&D, Stockmen’s Livestock Exchange, Western Cooperative Credit Union and West Plains, Inc.

The DREC ranch headquarters are located at 11092 15th Street SW, Manning, ND, 58642. From State Highway 22, turn onto 15th Street SW and travel west 2.8 miles.

For more information about the workshop, contact Doug Landblom, event coordinator, at 701-690-8245 or douglas.landblom@ndsu.edu

NDSU Agriculture Communication – Aug. 27, 2019