Highlights from the Southern Cowl Crops Council Convention

Thelma Velez, OFRF Analysis and Schooling Director, and Mary Hathaway, OFRF Analysis and Schooling Coordinator, just lately attended the 2023 Southern Cowl Crop Council Convention in Baton Rouge, LA. On this weblog submit Mary shares a number of the highlights from thought-provoking periods and stimulating conversations occurring on the planet of canopy crops.

February 15-16, 2023 the Southern Cowl Crops Council (SCCC) hosted their second bi-annual convention in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The convention introduced collectively farmers, researchers, business professionals, and extension companies for 2 days of knowledge-sharing and networking via producer panels, breakout periods, poster periods, and discipline demonstrations. The convention was additionally an important alternative for us to share OFRF’s Southern soil well being Guidebook and our new, free on-line course: Soil Well being Methods for the Southern Area.

The breakout periods included a variety of matters, reminiscent of: Cowl Crop Use in Natural and Vegetable Programs; Using Cowl Crop Biomass for Forage; Cowl Crop Impacts on Pest and Weed Administration; Unintended Penalties of Cowl Crops; Selecting Cowl Crop Varieties, along with periods on farmer variations to tools, and naturally, soil well being. As with many good conferences, yow will discover your self ruminating on which would be the most attention-grabbing or informative periods to attend. As somebody who has felt the worry of lacking out on a compelling presentation, I used to be relieved to search out that the convention organizers  designed the agenda utilizing a flipped mannequin in order that attendees had a second alternative to take part in any of the given periods they might have in any other case missed.

The specialty crop farmer panel above was particularly full of life. From Left to Proper, Donna Isaacs, government director for Campti Area of Goals, John Bitter, farmer and proprietor of Frog Track Organics in Florida, Arnold Caylor, former director of North Alabama Horticultural Analysis Heart and farmer, and Ed James, citrus grower and proprietor/operator at J&R Groves in Florida.

Whereas Donna Isaacs is the ED at Campti Area of Goals, a Louisiana non-profit centered on outreach and training in historically-underserved communities, she additionally co-owns and operates DeLaTerre Permaculture Farm, a 14-acre diversified farm the place they help and educate starting farmers how you can develop utilizing regenerative natural practices and in addition implement No-Until Natural Market Backyard Manufacturing statewide as a part of a USDA NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant. John Bitter and his accomplice, Amy Van Scoik, of Frog Track Organics develop over 80 forms of fruits, greens, and herbs in Alachua County, Florida. In addition they elevate chickens and pork on pasture and combine their livestock and cropping techniques with using cowl crops. Arnold Caylor has been utilizing cowl crops in vegetable manufacturing techniques in Alabama for a few years. He has expertise utilizing a wide range of mixtures for summer season and winter cowl crop, together with rising brassicas for pest management, cereals for biomass and weed management, and legumes for nitrogen. Ed James, grows citrus on 45 acres and now incorporates a couple of dozen completely different annual cowl crop varieties. He additionally educates different citrus growers on the advantages of canopy crops gives 100% of the nitrogen in his grove with cowl crops.

The poster periods confirmed plenty of nice analysis is going on at universities throughout the South with respect to nutrient administration, constructing soil well being, and using forage for dairy operations. The spotlight of the SCCC was the chance to go to the Doyle Chambers Central Analysis Station at LSU’s Ag Heart, the place researchers had ready discipline demonstrations. Whereas the climate had threatened rain, it held off and gave us a windy overcast day excellent for hay rides via the fields. We discovered about using expertise, reminiscent of drones and PlantMap 3D cameras, for measuring cowl crop biomass, in addition to, the small-scale vegetable backyard cowl crop mixes comparisons earlier than we needed to rush to catch our flights house. 

Whereas the producer panels, breakout periods, and discipline demonstrations had been all very enlightening, I feel the true magic of the occasion occurred within the conversations in between periods. Covid-19 led organizers to cancel the 2021 convention, so us passionate advocates and practitioners within the cowl cropping world had been blissful to collect and share the work that had transpired over the previous few years. I used to be so grateful to get an opportunity to meet up with colleagues, study extra about ongoing cowl crop analysis, and sensible cowl crop practices that farmers are integrating into their farm. I can’t look forward to the subsequent convening in 2025, Puerto Rico, right here we come! 

Discover out extra in regards to the Southern Cowl Crops Council and the good work they’re doing right here: https://southerncovercrops.org/ 

Due to the oldsters at Southern SARE for offering a scholarship for my colleague Thelma and me to attend this occasion!