Ohio State University Extension’s fourth annual Soil Health Tour is live for 2024! This year’s virtual tour partnered with Michigan State University to showcase conservation practices in action through the Western Lake Erie Basin of Ohio and Michigan. Five tour stops showcase individual farmers who have implemented different conservation practices on their farms. Each producer’s video interview with an Extension staff member discusses the practice they are utilizing, why they chose to implement it, benefits they have seen thus far, and changes they would make, if any if they did it all over again. In addition to those sites, we are showcasing 8 regional locations of a study that members of OSU Extension have completed over the past few years, looking at soil health across the state. To view the interactive StoryMap, visit go.osu.edu/SHTour24.
Stop 1 focuses on Jeff Duling, a farmer out of Ottawa, Ohio, who has been interseeding cover crops into his corn for the past few years. He is interviewed by Rachel Cochran, Water Quality Extension Associate, where he talks through his decision-making process, challenges he has faced, and his advice to others.
Stop 2 highlights research that Michigan State University Extension has been conducting about using a drone to seed cover crops. Madelyn Celovsky, Conservation Agronomist Educator, interviews Jay Williams, a Hillsdale County producer, to discuss the benefits of drone seeding, as well as some preliminary research conclusions.
At stop 3, Sarah Zeiler, Environmental Management Educator with Michigan State University, interviews Adrianne Gammie, owner of Marilla Field and Flora in Dexter, Michigan. At her high-density flower farm, Adrianne utilizes a rotation of cover crops to build her soil’s health and combat diseases that can be detrimental to flower production.
Stop 4 showcases a saturated buffer and water management system near Celina, Ohio, managed by VanTilburg Farms. Luke VanTilburg is interviewed by Jocelyn Ruble (Birt), Water Quality Extension Associate, about why they decided to implement such a large project on their operation.
Our fifth and final tour stop brings us to the OSU Northwest Agricultural Research Station. Dr. Stephanie Karhoff discusses her research with Dr. Elizabeth Hawkins and the Ohio Soybean Council on cover crop seeding rates and planting dates. Their replicated research looked at biomass production and the following soybean crop yield based on three different planting dates and seeding rates.
The tour ends with a brief discussion of some research that the OSU Extension Water Quality Team has been a part of for several years. 2023 data from the eFields On-Farm Research Publication is included in this section of the tour, where this statewide study is discussed at length. This statewide study had participation from 18 of the 20 counties that the Water Quality Team covers in Ohio’s Western Lake Erie Basin.
If you enjoy learning about conservation practices in action, consider joining us for an event on February 20th, 2025, at Northwest State Community College. This event, Success Stories of Conservation, will be a place for farmers, landowners, and technical support staff to openly discuss how conservation has worked for them, as well as their challenges with these practices. More information can be found at our website, waterqualityextension.osu.edu.