By Matt Burkholder

It was 101 degrees but that didn’t stop 65 farmers and land owners from attending our Soil Health Field Day at Burkholder Healthy Farms in Cairo, Ohio.

Our field day was in partnership with Cargill and American Farmland Trust. We discussed soil health practices such as no till, planting cover crops, carbon sequestration, water infiltration, seed treatment options and much more.

When utilizing no till and cover crops soil erosion and nutrient run off is greatly reduced. When planting cover crops in the off season, the cover crops sequester carbon out of the atmosphere. Carbon is key for building organic matter in the soil. The higher the organic matter, the healthier the soil. Unfortunately over the last century most organic matter levels have dropped significantly due to excessively tilling the soil. Cover crops also naturally suppress weeds and attract beneficial insects.

As a result we use less herbicides and almost no insecticides or fungicides on our farm.