HARRISBURG, Pa. — Are you a current no-till farmer or looking into the benefits no-till and cover cropping may provide to your farm? If so, you won’t want to miss the annual Summer Soil Health Field Days, hosted by the Pennsylvania No-Till Alliance. The two Summer Field Days – Tuesday, July 25 at Chris Pilgrim Farm, 190 Eich Road, Fredonia (Mercer County) and Thursday, July 27 at Penn England Farm, 10341 Fox Run Road, Williamsburg (Blair County) – will offer informative panels and demonstrations as well as educational presentations for those in attendance. Pre-register for the event by Tuesday, July 17 for free admission. After July 17, the event is $10 to attend. Further registration details may be found below.
Hosting the Field Day on both sides of the state allows for further adaptability to particular no-till and soil health experiences, based on geography and weather patterns. All are invited to attend Summer Field Days! We are excited to welcome Monte Bottens as keynote speaker. Bottens Family Farm is a multigenerational 2,000-acre farm located in Cambridge, Illinois and has been in the family since 1869. Their goal is to regenerate their soil by bringing diversity back to the land through livestock and cover crops and one day maybe vegetable and tree crops. The farm team’s daily challenges are finding ways to use technology to improve, reduce or remove outdated farming practices and create the very best living environment for the crops and livestock in their care.
In early 2018, Monte and his wife, Robyn, started a marketing platform called Grateful Graze to take their grass-fed proteins direct to consumer. The farm now raises cattle, pigs, and poultry on 150-acres of diverse pasture on-site and on nearby acreage. According to Monte, the livestock became an additional “crop rotation” which also includes corn, soybeans, wheat, cover crop mixes to what was once a monocrop system.
From no-till, to cover cropping, intercropping, and relay cropping, Bottens Family Farm uses a systems-based approach and makes minor and major adjustments each growing season based on what they’ve learned from replicated trials over time. The Alliance is excited to hear what we can learn from Monte’s extensive experience at the field day!
Also included in the field days will be a variety of breakout sessions and demonstrations including a drone cover crop seeding demo, cover crop pots, rainfall simulator, and equipment (new precision planter, no-till drill).
Additionally, a Meeting of the Minds dinner and discussion will be held the evening prior to each field day. Beginning at 6 p.m., join the Alliance for in discussing current cover crop and no-till challenges, with the opportunity to converse with other dedicated farmers and industry professionals. Come out and join the conversation!
Need overnight accommodations for either event? For the July 25th field day, overnight rooms are available at Cobblestone Hotel (Greenville). Call 724-588-4200 to reserve your room. Also, for the July 27th field day, overnight rooms are available at The Quality Inn (Altoona). Call 814-944-9661 to reserve your room.
If pre-registered by July 17, the Meeting of the Minds dinner, and the Field Days are FREE. Pre-register via email ([email protected]), calling 717-574-4510, or mailing the registration form. If not pre-registered, cost to attend each event is $10, collected at the event. More event information is available at www.panotill.org.
–Pennsylvania No-Till Alliance
