Scott and Barb Gonnerman will be hosting a field day at their farm near Waco, Neb., to highlight the importance of healthy soils. 

The morning will be spent discussing the various characteristics of a healthy soil system and how they relate directly to the soil’s ability to function and its properties in the field. Demonstrations including various field techniques and measurements will highlight simple ways for each grower to gain a better understanding of the health of their soils. 

The workshop will also highlight specific symptoms of healthy and unhealthy soils as viewed from the field, along with some management practice suggestions to help move in the right direction. 

Following lunch attendees will listen to presentations regarding soil respiration and fertility management for healthy soils and how the two are related. In addition, they’ll learn more about new laboratory tests for measuring soil health, including how these tests should be used and what we can expect to learn from them. 

The goal at the end of the day is to have everyone walk away with a better understanding and appreciation for the complexity and importance of soil health, along with providing some direction of how to make evaluations on their own farms.

The Gonnermans plant all non-GMO seed with no seed treatment and have not used insecticide or fungicide for 2 years. They’ve also cut their commercial fertilizers significantly while maintaining yield goals. Improving soil health is their main goal and profits seem to increase as their soil health improves. 

Featured speakers are:

• Will Brinton, founder of Wood’s End Laboratories in Mt. Vernon, Maine, and inventor of the Solvita CO2 soil test
• Ray Ward, founder and president of Ward Laboratories and no-till expert from Kearney, Neb.
• Dan Gillespie, rainfall simulator and no-till specialist with NRCS office in Norfolk, Neb.
• Lance Gunderson, executive director of soil health and new test development at Ward Labs in Kearney, and a doctorate candidate in soil microbiology at UNL. 

Register by sending a check for $60 along with an email address to Scott Gonnerman at 2018 Road 21 Waco, NE 68460. Due to limited space, the workshop can only accept the first 50 registrations.