“Building Sustainable Soil Systems”
Introduction

Friends,

The Southern SARE has recently funded a Professional Development Program (PDP) training opportunity for extension educators and other agricultural professionals across North Carolina.   The project is entitled “Building Sustainable Soil Systems”.  The planning team for this training consists of faculty from North Carolina A&T State University (A&T) and North Carolina State University (NCSU), and staff from the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), the North Carolina Division of Soil and Water Conservation (NCDSWC), and the North Carolina Department of Agriculture Agronomic Division.

The training will be offered as a graduate level Soil Science class offered at both North Carolina A&T and North Carolina State Universities.  Upon successful completion of the required post-training activities, participants who enroll in the class will receive three hours of graduate credit that will meet professional development requirements and/or contribute toward completion of graduate degree requirements.  Participants who choose not to formally enroll in the class will be eligible for in-service training or continuing education credits.

Participant objectives for this project are:

  • Learn the importance of soil quality and management practices to improve it
  • Learn about nutrient cycling, how to construct a nutrient budget for a crop, and how to synchronize nutrient mineralization from organic amendments and residues with crop nutrient requirements
  • Learn the advantages and disadvantages of conservation tillage and how to match conservation tillage strategies with particular crops, soils, and other regional conditions
  • Become familiar with the soil food web and soil microbial processes that affect plant growth
  • Become familiar with cover crops and cover cropping strategies
  • Learn how to create an integrated soil management plan for a diversified farming operation and will use that knowledge to develop plans with growers in their home counties

 

For more information or to enroll in the training, please contact Wilfred Cromartie, Program Coordinator, at (336) 334-7957.