Meeting on Soils Set for Jan. 13 in Geneva

New York Certified Organic (NYCO) has scheduled a meeting Jan. 13 in Geneva to talk about soil fertility.

The meeting, at the state Agricultural Experiment Station, begins at 10 a.m. in the Jordan Hall auditorium and features three presentations. They are:


1) Jean Bonhotal, director of the Cornell Waste Management Institute, will talk about how to gain soil vitality with compost.

2) Noted New York organic producer Klaas Martens of Penn Yan, will present information on the Soil Rennaissance Initiative, a grassroots movement that is drawing attention nationwide, including from high-ranking U.S. Department of Agriculture officials. The Foundation, Oak Brook, IL, and Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Ardmore, OK, started the initiative in 2013. 

Twenty-five soil health leaders working in production agriculture, industry, academia, research and government identified economics, measurement, research and education as key areas for advancing soil health as the decision-making cornerstone for land use management and sustainable natural resource systems and for meeting the challenge of feeding 9 billion people by the year 2050.

3) Carol MacNeil of the Cornell Vegetable Program of Cornell Cooperative Extension will discuss Cornell’s Soil Health Assessment practices.

The meeting includes a potluck lunch, and a discussion circle for questions and answers and brainstorming. 

New York Certified Organic received funding for the meeting from the New York Farm Viability Institute and the New York Agriculture and Markets Crop Insurance Team.

Organic grain and dairy farmers have met at NYCO meetings since 1994 to increase their practical knowledge and expertise. Registration is not required; participants bring a dish to pass for the potluck lunch. 

For more details, contact NYCO facilitator Fay Benson with Cornell Cooperative Extension at 607-753-5213, afb3@cornell.edu.