SE MN Soil Health Providing Accelerated Technical Assistance

The purpose of this project is to provide a new shared position in southeast Minnesota which will accelerate the adoption of soil health practices by leveraging the existing efforts of the National Resources Conservation Service and other organizations. An Area Soil Health Coordinator will work throughout eleven counties providing technical assistance for soil health practices, particularly managed grazing and cover crops, by working with individual farmers, ag businesses, canning companies, farm and commodity organizations, conservation and environmental groups, and other local, state and federal agencies. The Soil Health Coordinator will begin immediately providing technical assistance in all 11 counties, utilizing previous knowledge to work with canning crop farmers and corn/soybean farmers. Education, outreach, research, and farmer-to-farmer contact have been used successfully to promote managed grazing, which will continue to include the promotion and use of cover crops.