SWCD’s cover crop event brings major ag players together
In past years the Holmes SWCD cover crop program has consisted of SWCD members loading up the small yellow planes with seed and covering more than 2,000 acres of cropland. This year the party was extended, inviting some key ag members from throughout the state to connect and talk about the program.
For many years now, Holmes Soil & Water Conservation District has been aiding local farmers through its annual cover crop program that takes place late in summer.
On Tuesday, Sept. 3, SWCD took the event to a whole new level of value and importance with the introduction of a new networking event.
As Fisher Ag Service was filling its airplane containers with loads of rye, barley and oat seed and exiting the runway at Holmes County Airport with a trio of familiar yellow planes to cover the 2,000 acres of farmland for farmers who signed on for this year’s cover crop program, there was a large gathering at Airport Ridge Sporting Clays simultaneously.
That gathering featured plenty of important agricultural names throughout Ohio, with an eye on sharing plenty of important agricultural news.
For Holmes SWCD, it was a new step in growing this already important event.
“What started as ‘let’s have a couple friends come over to experience the cover crop program’ turned into something a whole lot larger and more important,” said Trevor Berger, Holmes SWCD program director.
While there was a list of nearly 70 people invited to the event, with most turning up, several key invitees included Craig Butler, executive director of Muskingum Watershed District, and his staff; Brian Baldridge, the director of Ohio Department of Agriculture, and his staff; and plenty of important agricultural members from around the region. Also present were Ohio House of Representatives member Darryl Kick and Holmes County commissioner Dave Hall.
The idea was to showcase the cover crop program and share its effectiveness over the past years in aiding farmers in conserving their cropland and eliminating run-off during the winter.
“It’s a great chance for us to show off something we’re proud of, something we believe in and something we’ve been doing for 16 years now,” Berger said.
While the cover crop program has been ongoing for 16 years, it remains somewhat of an unknown process in many circles.
“The goal of the day was to get everyone in one place and create some conversation about the program,” Berger said.
Butler said the event was a win-win for everyone involved and said it allowed him to share vital information on several conservation programs.
“This opportunity is all about water quality,” Butler said. “We have some of the best water quality in our state and region, and the best way we can help manage that is to keep nutrients where they should be, which is on the surface.”
Butler would go on to talk about the role cover crop seeding plays in accomplishing that and said this event presented plenty of opportunities for people in various roles around the state to build relationships, allowing everyone to glean from one another.
“We often talk about a pivot that we’re making, which is to turn around and look behind us, to see partnerships we’ve made that can help our water quality, and this is one of those,” he said. “The results of cover crop seeding are irrefutable.”
Baldridge agreed, noting he was pleased to see so many important agricultural minds coming together for the event to share their wisdom.
“We’re all here to talk best practices through conservation,” Baldridge said. “The collaboration is exciting because we can always learn from one another.”
He said the cover crop program in Holmes County has been a shining example to other counties on how to promote and execute the program to its fullest.
The event also saw members from the Wayne, Coshocton and Knox SWCD teams in attendance to help with the program.
“It’s important to get everyone together, get them here at the airport in the field to see exactly what is taking place,” Berger said. “This creates conversations, which is exactly what we had hoped to do when we created this event this year.”
With so many key players among the agricultural world throughout Ohio present, Berger said the event was a step toward keeping farmland green all year round through the use of cover crops.