Rhea Landholm, brand marketing and communications manager, rheal@cfra.org or 402.687.2100 ext. 1025
Lyons, NE - Women who own or manage farmland or ranchland in Holt and surrounding counties in Nebraska are invited to participate in a Women Caring for the Land discussion about soil health, farm conservation options, and available resources. The free program will take place on Thursday, March 17 at the Blue Hill Community Center in Blue Hill, NE.
“Women own almost a third of farm and ranch land in Nebraska, and often want to do more to conserve their land and resources. However, many are unsure exactly how to reach their conservation goals and what resources are available to help them. Women Caring for the Land can help,” said said Traci Bruckner with the Center for Rural Affairs.
According to Bruckner, Women Caring for the Land offers a peer-to-peer, informal discussion format to allow women landowners to talk about their individual land stewardship goals, facilitated by women conservation experts who can share resources available such as USDA conservation programs, state loans, and other tools.
The meeting will begin with registration, coffee and resource sharing at 8:30 a.m. A free lunch will be provided, and during an afternoon field tour participants will travel to a nearby location to observe soil characteristics and conservation practices. The tests will measure for soil structure and stability and infiltration.
The farm tour will be given by Keith & Brian Berns, fourth-generation family farmers in central Nebraska and owners of Green Cover Seed. Last fall, the Berns brothers were recognized as White House Champions of Change for Sustainable and Climate-Smart Agriculture.
Bruckner suggests participants wear appropriate clothing and footwear/attire as walking a short distance will be required for the field tour. The group will return to the depot for dessert and wrap-up, with the meeting ending by 3 p.m.
Maintaining healthy soil is the key to productivity and environmental health for farmland. Women landowners who attend this meeting will learn to assess and improve the health of their soils through cover crops, no-till and strip-till, and other conservation practices.
Bruckner also pointed out that all interested women are welcome to these discussions, including owners, operators and inheritors of farmland, regardless of their degree of knowledge regarding conservation.
Event Location Details:
Women Caring for the Land Workshop
Thursday, March 17
8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Blue Hill Community Center
414 N Willson St, Blue Hill, NE 68930
*FREE lunch provided
To ensure enough food is provided, interested participants should RSVP by Friday, March 11 to Becky Keim, 402-269-8170 beckyk@cfra.org at the Center for Rural Affairs or online: https://goo.gl/63Qidc . For more information about this program, visit www.womencaringfortheland.org or call 641-430-2540.
This session of Women Caring for the Land is sponsored by the Center for Rural Affairs in partnership with the Women, Food and Agriculture Network, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. The series is funded by a grant from the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service Conservation Innovation Grant Program.
