If you are interested in learning more about no-till cover crops and soil health, there is still time to register for the Southwest no-till and soil health conference near Latrobe.

The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday at St. Vincent College and will feature Jim Hoorman from the Natural Resources Conservation Service soil health division and Russ Wilson, a local farmer from Forest County.

The program costs $40.

For more information or to register, visit www.wcdpa.com.

Soil health workshop

On Feb. 8 the Butler NRCS office will host a soil health workshop at the service center, 625 Evans City road; use the main Farm Show entrance.

Whether you are new to the term soil health or a seasoned cover cropper, this three-part workshop is sure to provide you new information on soil health.

n In part one, we will lay the groundwork by discussing a primer on soil health, including the soil food web and why you should care about creating a healthy soil environment.

n In part two, we will take a deeper dive into building healthy soil. This will include exploring the components that make up healthy soil, how to improve these components effectively and cost-consciously through existing equipment and practices, and the long-term benefit of healthy soil to your farming operation.

n In part three, we will discuss how NRCS can help determine the deficiencies in your soil, formulate alternatives to improve your soil and then recommend corrective action and help implement the plan.

We will take a closer look at an efficient cover cropping strategy that will improve soil health, the benefits of adding cover crops and designing mixes to improve your farming profitability long-term.

The workshop will run from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and feature a pizza lunch for $5.

To register or for more information, contact our office at 724-482-4800, Ext. 3.

Andy Gaver is a conservationist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Butler County.