After a virtual year, the Lower Fox Farmer Roundtable returned in-person on February 17 at Van Abel’s of Hollandtown. Over 100 farmers, land owners, and conservation staff registered for this year’s “Economics of Carbon” event. We were glad to be back in person to provide an opportunity for producers to connect and share successes and challenges in implementing soil health practices on their fields.
After another successful event, we are already looking ahead to the 2023 Farmer Roundtable. If you are interested in sponsoring or being a part of the planning of the 8th annual event, please reach out to Katie at katie@fwwa.org.
The event kicked off with a Keynote address from Keith Berns titled “Carbonomics,” how a carbon-rich, healthy soil mirrors a healthy economy. Keith’s knowledge as co-owner of Green Cover Seed, over 20 years experience with no-till and cover crops, and extensive teaching experience was evident in his presentation.
After a delicious lunch of Van Abel’s famous broasted chicken, local conservation departments and Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance gave updates on their work in 2021 and opportunities for funding and research. Brent Peterson of Brown County/Lower Fox Demo Farms, Alex Krepline of Outagamie County, Amanda Kleiber of Calumet County, and Katie Woodrow of Fox-Wolf presented to the group.
On the Farmer Panel, local farmers led conversation on Lessons Leanred from Planing Green & Equipment Set Up for No Till. Randy Schmidt, Joe Van Asten, and Mike Pribyl all shared their successes in implementing soil health practices on their farms and answered questions from the audience.
Breakout sessions rounded out our afternoon, with topics on:
Low Disturbance/No-Till Manure Application Success, Trials, and Tribulations – Ray Diederich, Diederich Farm & Josh Krull, Waste Control Services
Successes in Interseeding – Pat Kane, Kane Farms & Nick Peltier, Brown County LWCD
Cover Crop Species: Your Questions Answered – Keith Berns
and OK, But Does it Work Here? Regional Alternative Forage & Roller-Crimped Rye Research Results – Kevin Jarek, Outagamie Extension Crops & Kolby Grint, UW-NPM Outreach Specialist (not pictured)
Event Sponsors
Thank you to our sponsors, who along with GLRI grant funding, made this event free to farmers
Event Partners
Thank you to our planning partners for the work ahead of and during the event!
Questions? Contact us:
Climate Smart Agriculture Project Manager: Katie Woodrow, 920.915.5767 or katie@fwwa.org
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