Janice Thies is an Associate Professor of Soil Biology at Cornell University where she focuses her soil ecology research on indicators of soil biological quality, remediation of degraded soils, and sustainable soil management practices. She holds degrees from University of Washington and University of Hawaii. Janice was a key contributor to the Cornell Extension Soil Health Program Work Team and is co-author of the “Comprehensive Assessment of Soil Health – the Cornell Framework” training manual. She has served as an expert consultant to many national and international organizations.

Janice will speak on the linkages between soil biology and soil health. Soil biology underpins many of the critical soil functions that we depend on in agriculture. Come learn from an expert about the various microbes and critters that drive essential soil processes.

Marty Young is the owner/operator of Whey Street Dairy, a 600-cow farm operating over 1684 acres in Truxton, Cortland County, NY. They raise 1244 acres of corn, alfalfa, and grass hay crops in support of the dairy operation. Whey Street Dairy LLC is a family farm that has been in operation since 1959. Marty was an early adopter of the principles of Agricultural Environmental Management. Often the farm will invest in new, cutting edge technologies, to better their management and environmental stewardship, but also to be a leader, setting an example for other farms to follow. Their willingness to share what they have learned with their fellow farmers and community is a testament to their commitment to environmental stewardship.  The farm switched to using a zone till corn planter in 2006 reducing soil loss and fuel for tillage. They added use of a no-till drill for seedings and regular use of cover crops to their tillage and field management practices in 2016.

Jason Cuddeback has been working for the Cayuga County Soil & Water Conservation District for 16 years as a Grazing Specialist. Jason is a certified crop advisor for the District, implements the District Soil Health program and designs CNMP’s/AEM Tier 3 plans for Cayuga County farmers. Jason is also a farmer working on his father’s 800-acre family farm in Skaneateles NY. Jason has worked with his father since 1999 to develop and run a corn/soybean operation. More recently the farm has moved into utilizing a zone till system on the corn grain ground. In 2008, the farm moved into a precision planting program to better utilize seed, fertilizer and herbicide/pesticide placement. Tractors, planters and sprayers were all implemented with onboard computers/GPS precision guidance instruments.

Jamie Baker is the owner of Sweyolakan Farms, a 270-cow dairy working over 1000 acres in Ithaca, NY, Tompkins County. He also does animal nutritional consulting and raises some organic crops. He has been planting cover crops for 18 years but in the last 5-8 years has gotten more aggressive with cover crops and double cropping and is in the process of converting to all no-till.

Cristine Morgan is the Chief Scientific Officer with The Soil Health Institute and is responsible for developing and establishing the scientific direction, strategy and implementation plan for Institute research programs. Her duties include leading the scientific research and coordinating projects carried out at various institutions that advance soil health science and result in useful and reportable results. Dr. Morgan holds degrees from Texas A&M and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Prior to joining the Institute, Dr. Morgan was Professor of Soil Science at Texas A&M University in College Station, TX. Her emphasis was in soil hydrology, pedometrics, and global soil security. Among her many accomplishments, Dr. Morgan conducted ground-breaking research on how management practices influence soil-plant-water relations. She has a history of applying her knowledge for addressing real-world problems experienced by farmers and ranchers and is passionate about educating others.

Cristine will discuss lessons learned from the “North American Project to Evaluate Soil Health Measurements”, which was the largest study of it’s kind to evaluate 120 long-term research experiments across North America.

Donn Branton farms 1,500 acres at Branton Farms in Genesee County, NY, with his son Chad. They grow a variety of cash crops, including corn, soybean, alfalfa, peas, sweet corn, lima beans, dry beans, wheat, oats, and rye. Donn is a tireless advocate and innovator of reduced tillage and cover cropping practices that improve soil health. Donn is the current president of the Western New York Soil Health Alliance, a farmer-led organization that works to promote soil practices and to serve as a collective voice for farmers in western New York. He started experimenting with planting green in 2005, before there was a name for it. In the past few years, they have been experimenting with a practice called Biostrip Till, which uses precision planting technology to plant alternating rows of two different cover crop treatments. One of these rows will have a cover crop that helps break up compaction and this will be the row that the following corn crop will be planted in, while the other row may have a cover crop that is favorable for suppressing weeds and this row will be where the future between-row space is between corn rows.

Dave Magos farms 2,200 acres of cropland at Morning Star Farm in Jefferson County, NY. He grows corn silage and alfalfa for his 780-cow dairy herd and corn grain, soybeans, and wheat as cash crops. He began planting cover crops in 2007 and about the same time decided to try no-till. He is now 100 percent no-till and plants cover crops across all acres (weather permitting of course). He has experimented with many diversified cover crop mixes and no-till corn planter attachments and is always up to share what he’s learned with other farmers and professionals.

John Kemmeren manages Angel Rose Dairy, a 750-acre dairy farm in Chenango County, NY. He was one of the first farmers in the region to experiment with no-till back in 1975 and he has been planting no-till ever since (>40 years). John also incorporates cover crops into his rotation whenever possible to combat erosion and feed the soil. He is committed to always trying new and innovative practices to increase the sustainability of his crop rotation. His integrated farming practices have allowed him to reduce costs and improve soil health. Recently, John has been experimenting with No-till reseeding Organic pastures.

Matthew Ryan is an Associate Professor of Sustainable Cropping Systems at Cornell University where works with farmers, students, and other scientists to evaluate cropping system performance in terms of crop yield, profitability, environmental impact, and resilience. His research is currently focused on expanding the utility of cover crops by overcoming obstacles that limit their adoption and developing management practices that maximize their benefits. Matt is also interested in perennial grains, ecological weed management, conservation agriculture, agroecological theory, and the role of diversity in adapting to climate change. Much of Matt’s research is field based and conducted either on-farm or at the Cornell Research Farms located in Central and Northern New York. Matt’s team recently completed a Guide for organic farmers on “Rolled Cover Crop Organic No-Till Planted Soybean Production”.

Matt will present research on different approaches to reducing tillage, which will include extending rotations with perennial legume forages, rolled cover crops, and perennial grains. Go Kernza!

Liz Martin and Matthew Glenn run Muddy Fingers Farm, an organic vegetable CSA in Hector, Schuyler County, NY. They grow a diverse array of vegetables using ecological and sustainable farming practices. They use a combination of extensive cover cropping and reduced tillage techniques, like permanent beds and tarping, to manage weeds, fertility, and soil health (compaction, erosion, infiltration, and soil biology). Liz and Matthew are committed to sharing what they learn from their farm through several collaborations with the Cornell Small Farms Program over the years. Check out their blog for more info: http://muddyfingersfarm.blogspot.com/

Luke Gianforte and his father Pete run Gianforte Farm, a 650-acre organic grain in Cazenovia, Madison County, NY. They grow corn, a diverse array of small grains (hard wheat, soft wheat, rye, barley, buckwheat, oats and triticale), roughly 150-200 acres of soybeans for a tofu processing facility, and various other bean crops. Soil health is carefully monitored and enhanced through cash crop and cover crop selection and periodic use of soil amendments such as gypsum and compost. They often underseed many of their small grains with red clover to improve soil fertility and soil health. Luke Gianforte is featured in Matthew Ryan’s recent guide for organic farmers on “Rolled Cover Crop Organic No-Till Planted Soybean Production”. Check out their website for more info: http://www.gianfortefarm.com/

Maryellen Sheehan and Matt Robinson run Hartwood Farm, a 70-acre organic farm in Fenner, Madison County, NY. They actively manage 10 acres each year, with five acres in a large diversity of vegetables and the rest in cover crops. Maryellen and Matt are 100% committed to raising healthy and delicious food to feed their central NY community in a way that supports a healthy environment. Hartwood Farm has a long-term goal of building up good soil health and biodiversity to build a resilient foundation for their tasty vegetables. Maryellen is constantly working towards this goal through a commitment to cover cropping and trying new innovative practices like tarping. Check out their website for more info: https://www.hartwoodfarm.com/