Investing in the Vitality of Your Farm
The health and productivity of the soil forms the basis for any farm’s success, profitability, and ecological sustainability. Successful farmers need to develop a holistic approach to preserving and building soil health and fertility. Stewardship of the soil is arguably the most important job of any farmer or gardener.
Target Audience
All levels — This course is for field crop, vegetable, and livestock producers. We expect that students will have some experience in managing soils, even if minimal. Farmers looking for more productive soils to increase forage and crop production will benefit from taking this course.
Course Objectives
Through this course, participants will:
- Know how soil properties affect growing crops and pasture
- Learn how to “read the land” and improve the four ecosystem processes
- Determine appropriate soil practices to improve soil health
- Begin work on a soil health improvement plan for their farm
Webinars
The bulk of the course happens on your own time, with discussions, readings, and assignments in Teachable, our virtual classroom. To add to the experience, webinars will be woven into the online interface of the course to allow you to meet on a weekly basis to learn from presenters and ask questions in real time. If you miss one, they are always recorded and posted for later viewing.
2021 Webinars
2020 Webinars ran every Tues night from late Feb through early April. If you register now, you will be able to watch those recordings
on
your own time, and/or join in the next round of live webinars beginning
in Feb 2021.
Your Instructor
Elizabeth Marks is a certified educator with Holistic Management International (HMI). She serves as a biologist for the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA NRCS) in the Hudson Valley (New York) where she works with landowners to improve soil health and biological diversity on their farm or forest. In addition she is an instructor for NY’s Beginning Women Farmer Program and has taught workshops on Holistic Management principles. Elizabeth received a bachelor’s degree in biology from Mount Holyoke College. She lives in Chatham in a net-zero, energy efficient home she designed herself.