Soil Health For Farm Business Health
Session 2 - Wednesday, November 10, 2021 at 7:00 pm
Kelsey Banks
Agronomist Kelsey Banks grew up on a small pumpkin and asparagus farm in Heckston near Kemptville, Ontario. She went on to graduate from Algonquin College with an advanced diploma in Advertising & Marketing Communications Management followed by a post-graduate certificate in Agronomy from Olds College. After farming with her grandparents in midwestern Ontario and working in marketing and agronomy roles through Saskatchewan, southwestern Ontario, and eastern Ontario, Kelsey is officially calling eastern Ontario home again. She is excited to share her knowledge and passion for soil health, overall agronomy, and helping growers grow great crops and great farm businesses.
Soil Health
We hear the term soil health quite often in agriculture, but what is soil health and how can it help your farm business? Learn the benefits of soil health, soil management planning, and how focusing on your soil can help your farm business.
Kelsey’s topic has been approved for CEU’s – 0.5 for Nutrient Management & 0.5 for Soil & Water Management.
Sarah Hargreaves
Sarah leads EFAO’s Farmer-Led Research, Small Grains, and Soil Health Programs. She holds a Ph.D. in Soil Microbial Ecology from Iowa State University. As an undergraduate student, Sarah spent 3 years studying nutrient cycling in the sub-Arctic, where she found her love of soil microbes as the ultimate recyclers and relationship builders; followed by 10 years in Iowa, where applied her passion for soil microbes to agroecosystems. Through her involvement with Practical Farmers of Iowa, she also saw the power of farmer-to-farmer networks and farmer-led research. In 2016, Sarah launched EFAO’s Farmer-Led Research Program, where she continues to support the curiosity and innovative spirit of ecological farmers in Ontario. When she’s not geeking out on research, you can find Sarah tending the land with her partner and daughter at Three Ridges Ecological Farm, and rekindling the sacred fire of her Anishinaabe roots.
Farmer-Led Research: Supporting on-farm ecological practice and innovation
A first of its kind in Canada, the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario’s (EFAO) Farmer-Led Research Program focuses on farmer-driven research – from creation to dissemination. Farmer-led research is an approach that empowers farmers to collect data on their own farms while collaborating with scientists to answer important on-farm questions. Meeting the diverse needs of different farm operations, farmer-led research leads to action and innovation, builds local capacity, and supports rural livelihood.
Register Here for Session 2
After successful registration, you will receive an invitation via email to join the webinar session by web link or telephone conference. This email will contain an ‘add to calendar link’ to download the ics calendar file to add directly to your Google, Outlook or iCal. If you do not receive the invitation email, please check your Junk mail folder. Please contact us for further assistance info@jfao.on.ca.
