Soil Health Workshops
Featured Speakers:
Jim Gerrish (October Workshops: Missoula, Dillon, Livingston)
Jim’s experience includes over 20 years of beef-forage systems research and outreach while on the faculty of the University of Missouri, as well as 20 years of commercial cattle and sheep production on their family farm in northern Missouri. The University of Missouri – Forage Systems Research Center rose to national prominence as a result of his research leadership. His research encompassed many aspects of plant-soil-animal interactions and provides foundation for many of the basic principles of Management-intensive Grazing.
Jim and Dawn Gerrish currently own and operate American Grazing Lands Services, a company dedicated to aiding farmers and ranchers more effectively manage their grazing lands for economic and environmental sustainability. American Grazing Lands provide on-ranch consulting services and participate in many workshops and seminars across the US and Canada. Jim has presented on grazing system seminars to over 3,000 producers and educators throughout 39 states, and is a key instructor for the University of Idaho’s Lost River Grazing Academy held each June and September.
For more info about Jim, visit www.americangrazinglands.com.
Dr. Dwayne Beck (January Workshops: Great Falls, Billings, Sidney)
Dr. Dwayne Beck has been a researcher in plant & soil sciences at South Dakota State University for over 30 years.
As the manager of the Dakota Lakes Research Farm, his research focuses on developing profitable no-till systems for irrigated and dryland areas in central South Dakota, as well as alternative energy systems for ranches.
He was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame in 2007 and was presented with the American Agricultural Editors Association Distinguished Service Award in 2008.
Dan Forgey (January Workshops: Great Falls, Billings, Sidney)
Dan has been with Cronin Farms for 47 years and is the cropping foreman for the farm. During their 24 years of No-till, Dan acknowledges that mistakes have been made, but that Cronin Farms is gaining and learning from them. Dan has lived through the 23 years of tillage with planting 75{75e25ebeb47fb4337942be2c10689dca1c292c2a66240b62c5ca4214f5b25ecc} of our acres and leaving 25{75e25ebeb47fb4337942be2c10689dca1c292c2a66240b62c5ca4214f5b25ecc} as black fallow. He knows how to destroy the soil, but also how to make the soil come alive again. Cronin’s planted 11 cash crops and 3 forage crops in 2016. To continue their success, Cronin Farms is now working cattle into their no till system with the use of cover crops. With no-till, diversified rotations and cover crops we are starting to see the real benefit of soil health. The attitude that as long as you keep learning from your mistakes, No-till will work. He is a firm believer that you should take care of the land, and it will take care of you. He attributes much of the farm’s success to the teachings of Dwayne Beck. We are also a big user of precision agriculture with 85{75e25ebeb47fb4337942be2c10689dca1c292c2a66240b62c5ca4214f5b25ecc} of our acres VRA.