No Till conference to be held
The day-long, interactive Southwest Regional No Till workshop for farmers will be held Jan. 30 at the Fred Rogers Center at St. Vincent College, Route 30 in Latrobe. Parking is free and participants’ registration fee includes morning refreshments, lunch and meeting materials. The conference will begin at 9 a.m. and conclude at 2:45 p.m.
This year’s keynote speaker, David Wolfskill, will teach farmers how to be both dollar- and soil-wise in “Getting Top Yields with No Till.” Wolfskill, a repeat winner of the 5 Acre Corn Club award, has a 300-cow dairy herd and since the 1980s has no-tilled 1,700 acres of corn, alfalfa, soybeans, and cover crops. He is passionate about the benefits of the no till system.
Sjoerd Duiker, of Penn State University, will cover the concept of Conservation Agriculture – how the three concepts of no till, diverse crop rotation and cover crops work together to increase production while protecting resources. Alicia Spangler, PSU agronomy educator, will discuss the statewide cover crop trials that have been used on dairy farms in Western Pennsylvania.
Compliance issues and ways farmers can stay in the good graces of state and federal regulations will be the topic for John Lohr of Farm Service Agency and Tom Sierzega of the Natural Resources Conservation Service. These speakers boast a combined total of over 60 years of experience helping farmers.
Vendors will be on hand throughout the day to answer questions and show the latest in equipment and other tools and resources to ensure success.
Cost is $30 through Jan. 20; after that date, the cost is $40. Visit www.wcdpa.com to register and pay online or to download a registration flyer to mail in with your payment.