The 23rd annual Arkansas Soil & Water Education Conference will bring together experts on the latest issues and trends in soil and water conservation, including a talk with an Arkansas farmer who has increased the profitability and sustainability of his family farm through soil health management.
The conference, being held virtually for the first time, will take place from 10 a.m. to noon today, Jan. 27. Registration is free at http://bit.ly/ASWEC-Registration.
Certified crop advisers can receive two hours of continuing education credits (CEUs). Winners of the 2020 Most Crop Per Crop irrigation yield contest for corn, rice and soybean will be announced along with the Conservationist of the Year Award.
“The conference has been a staple of Arkansas conservation practices,” said Adam Eades, district conservationist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service and chairman of the conference planning committee. “It’s a chance for farmers to hear from their peers and experts about topics that they can use to improve their farming operation.”
The conference is open to anyone interested in soil and water issues, including growers, crop advisers, agriculture supply company personnel, agriculture teachers and students.
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Guest speakers this year include James Rigby, a research hydrologist and acting branch chief with the U.S. Geological Survey’s Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center. Rigby will discuss “System-scale science to support groundwater resources: the present and future of the USGS Mississippi Alluvial Plain Project.” The study is one of the USGS’s largest ongoing water availability studies.
Richard Prickett with P&P Consulting, based in northeastern Arkansas, will discuss “Drone Elevation Data and Its Practical Uses.”
Adam Chappell, a farmer from Cotton Plant, will speak on “Plant Intensification and Profit versus Yield.” Chappel farms 8,000 acres in northeast Arkansas, growing corn, cotton, rice, soybeans and a mix of small grains. He and his brother Seth actively manage soil health to fend off herbicide-resistant weeds and have increased their farm’s profitability and sustainability.
Details: visit www.arkswec.com.