Across the country, NACD Soil Health Champions are making headlines - sharing their experiences, their research, and their overall soil health journey. Below are just a few of the headlines from this past quarter.

Jack Boyer was interviewed by 6Park News, a web-based news source focused on the citizens of Iowa. He shared to a broad audience how his operation incorporates cover crops and no till and the benefits of both practices. He also mentions his on-farm research which shows the economic and environmental benefits of these practices. Click here for the full article.

In a section called “What I’ve learned from No-Tilling,” John Heermann shared in an interview how soil health drives nearly every farm management decision he makes. Heermann chronicles the changes he’s made in his operation since taking over from his father, including refurbishing and repurposing old equipment. Click here for the full article (subscription required)

In a section called “What I’ve Learned from No-Tilling,” Michael Taylor shared his experiences with no-tilling, cover crops, equipment, and how he is able to trim expenses while also building soil health. Click here for the full article (subscription required)

In this article for No-Till Farmer, Jack Boyer shares the results of his 2-year experiment comparing 30-inch and 60-inch corn and cover crops grown between. His results demonstrated that the biomass grown between the 60-inch rows was worth $150 - $300 per acre as grazing fodder, so it would prove profitable for livestock grazing. Click here for the full article examining his on-farm research (subscription required)

Please be sure to share your headlines with us! Send them to Beth Mason at beth-mason@nacdnet.org.

The Conservation and Agriculture Reach Everyone (CARE) Project is a collaborative effort led by the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts (OACD) with the Oklahoma Black Historical Research Project, Texas Agriforestry Small Farmers and Ranchers, and the Association of Texas Soil and Water Conservation Districts. The purpose is to increase the number of farmers and ranchers participating in conservation planning and programs to improve soil health, water quality, and the viability of working lands. The CARE Project places an emphasis on assisting socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers and ranchers. Working with this targeted group to expand their knowledge of innovative technology, soil health, and invasive species eradication will assist them in sustaining their farms. This project will build capacity of participating organizations to develop and implement conservation projects and strengthen the technical capacity of conservation districts to assist in both conservation planning and Farm Bill Conservation Programs.

Earlier this year, the leaders of the CARE Project, in collaboration with NACD, expanded the NACD Soil Health Champions Network with new members from the Project. Some of the dual members attended the NACD Annual Meeting, February 12 – 16, where they joined the discussion at the Soil Health Champions Coffee roundtable. Throughout the following days, these new members also heard from national speakers and attended breakout sessions focused on soil health, climate change, outreach and messaging, and various natural resource issues.

Looking ahead, NACD and the CARE Project will continue to seek opportunities for further collaboration and growth. For more information on the CARE Project, please visit the OACD website.

NACD was one of more than 350 exhibitors at the Commodity Classic tradeshow from March 10 – 12 in New Orleans. NACD Soil Health Champions Grant Victor and Phil Campbell from Oklahoma joined NACD staff and officers in meeting with attendees, sharing the good work of conservation districts across the country. Victor and Campbell were able to share their personal experience in the value of investment in conservation in their operations. NACD President and Soil Health Champion Michael Crowder from Washington State was also in attendance, helping NACD make connections with conservation partners and sharing his on-the-ground experiences with other landowners and land managers.

The Commodity Classic is the largest in-person, farmer-led, farmer-focused educational event which included more than 50 educational sessions in addition to the tradeshow spanning 200,000 square feet of exhibits. This annual event is presented by the American Soybean Association, National Corn Growers Association, National Association of Wheat Growers, National Sorghum Producers, and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers.

This year NACD held its 76th Annual Meeting in-person from February 12-16 in Orlando, FL. The event was attended by more than 650 registrants and more than 20 Soil Health Champions. The meeting offered Champions some soil health-focused sessions and opportunities to network with other members.

The NACD Soil Health Champion Coffee kicked off the meeting for Champions by offering a relatively informal opportunity for introductions and a little bit of sharing over coffee. Additional participants outside the network also participated to connect with this group of soil health-focused producers and land managers.

Champions Steve Tucker (NE), Christian Bench (NJ), Rodney Rulon (IN), Grant Victor (OK), and Jim Kopriva (SD) presented at breakout sessions, sharing from their on-the-ground perspective and experiences.

On Tuesday, February 15, Champion Bryce Wrigley (AK) was awarded the NACD/NRCS Olin Sims Conservation Leadership Award at the closing Appreciation Banquet. This annual award is in honor and memory of NACD past president Olin Sims. Recipients of this award are recognized for their outstanding leadership at the state and local level.

As the NACD Soil Health Champions Network enters another year, NACD would like to hear from you on how we can strengthen the network; recruit more members while also increase our diversity of memberships; promote an exchange of ideas, questions, issues; and provide more value to our members.

If you know someone who would like to join this network, please forward the Recruitment Package linked to our website or have them contact Beth Mason.

A Soil Health Champion had heard this popular cover crop was possibly toxic for grazing but wanted to be certain. She was looking to integrate livestock into her operation through inviting area sheep and cattle to graze her cover crop of Hairy Vetch.

A: Horses should not graze on Hairy Vetch. Many things are toxic to horses.

Cattle can graze on Hairy Vetch. Hundreds of thousands of acres of hairy vetch mixes are grazed every year with cattle without incident, however, there are documented cases of vetch toxicity

The most prevalent type of toxicity is usually the photosensitivity in black hided cattle with consumption of vetch, which is very rare but does exist if it's all the cows have left to eat or if they are hungry and moving into a pasture with lots of vetch. If vetch is a relatively small part of the mix and the cattle grazing and rotations are managed properly, it will not be an issue. Grazing stands of straight vetch could lead to issues.

There is also a neurotoxin in the seed of vetches and highly recommended not to feed it through mineral or as grain. However, we have seen vetch sprout in manure pats and many people feed hay that has some vetch seed in the bale. Many people have grazed through vetch before that was heavily podded to drying down and saw no issues; however, that's not to say that it couldn't happen. Most vetch is very indeterminate and so the cattle often graze the tops (still green and growing), particularly targeting the blooming flowers and not the grain or seed on the bottom of the plant.

Lastly, there is a fusarium (leaf mold/wilt) that can be very toxic to cattle in humid climates, where the vetch is not the toxin but rather the fusarium. It occurs as a result of the vetch thickening and little wind movement in a very dense stand with high humidity. This happens in thick stands of vetch. If it is part of a mix or thinner stands, it is generally not an issue. This potential toxicity is identified by seeing yellowing or wilting plants in the middle of a thick and healthy stand of vetch.

Answers courtesy of Champion Keith Berns (NE), Co-Owner and Sales Manager of Green Cover

NACD Soil Health Champion Mitchell Hora made the Forbes 30 under 30 list for social impact for his soil health work. Hora is a seventh-generation farmer from Ainsworth, IA who began working with farmers around the world while a student at Iowa State University. He founded Continuum Ag in 2015, which created a soil health software tool called TopSoil, a data tool farmers can use to improve their soil health.

Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture Kate Greenberg awarded NACD Soil Health Champion Patrick O’Neill of the Mosca-Hooper Conservation District, one of the 2021 Conservation Excellence Awards for his soil heath work. O’Neill has contributed extensive expertise to Colorado Department of Agriculture's development of the soil health initiative. As a soil scientist and the owner of Soil Health Services, PBC in the San Luis Valley, O’Neill participated in nearly every Colorado Collaborative for Healthy Soils Committee meeting to develop a soil health initiative that’s appropriate for conservation districts to deliver to their constituent farmers and ranchers.

NACD Soil Health Champions Shannon and Melinda Sims of Wyoming are now contracting with Ranch Management Consultants as instructors for the Ranching for Profit Schools and as facilitators for the Executive Link meetings. The whole Sims family is part of the NACD network and through this new role, they are sharing what they have learned in how to best manage their ranch for soil health and a profit.

To become an instructor, RFP teachers spend at least two years learning the RFP curriculum and the RFP teaching processes before they teach their first class. Instructors like the Sims use a combination of classroom techniques, real-life case studies, and some humor for good measure.

A resource from ContinuumAg is the TopSoil Podcast which was re-launched February 1.

This podcast has already examined the following topics with more to come:

To listen, search and subscribe to TopSoil wherever you get your podcasts or visit the ContinuumAg website.

ContinuumAg was founded by NACD Soil Health Champion Mitchell Hora (IA) who serves as President and CEO.

Green Cover has a new 8^th edition of their Soil Health Resource Guide available for free. You can read a digital copy online, download a copy as a PDF, or request printed copies at the Green Cover Seed website. Past editions are also available online.

Are you a member of our Facebook Group? If you are an NACD Soil Health Champion or the conservation district or Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) employee who sponsors a Champion, be sure you connect with us on Facebook.

Share your conservation, articles, pictures, updates and events with us by connecting through Facebook! This is an opportunity to network and discuss soil health, and can be a chance to conduct outreach among other members.

So, be sure to search for "NACD Soil Health Champions" and request to join today!