Ian Olson and Ken Fransky of Centrol Crop Consulting present on precision agricultural technology and economics.

Patrick Schultz, TTCP Engineer, walks through the steps for investigating a residential well system for the purposes of gathering data for livestock watering design. How to conduct a flow meter test as well as other tests for determining flow rate and pressure information are discussed as well as common well system components.

This session includes an overview of the Windbreak/Shelterbelt Establishment (CPS 380) practice standard and some of the additional planning considerations for windbreaks, shelterbelts, and living snow fences. Karin Jokela, Xerces Society, will be discussing wildlife habitat considerations, including those for pollinators and beneficial insects, and Dan Gullickson, MN DOT, will review porosity and setbacks as snow management considerations.

Matt Baltes, NRCS State GIS Coordinator, will demonstrate how to download SSURGO soils data from Web Soil Survey and import it into ArcMap. Matt will also review the tables included in this dataset and demonstrate using the Soil Data Viewer.

This course is the fourth and final module in the ATN 31 series, and it provides instructions on the use of the Seed Calculator Tool for developing seed plans and completing checkouts after plantings.

This course is the third module in the ATN 31 series, and it covers companion crops, temporary cover, weed control, and fertilizer and lime considerations. This course also outlines the procedures for completing stand evaluations.

This course is the second module in the ATN 31 series, and it describes the different methods for seedbed preparation and seeding and covers seeding equipment, seeder calibration, herbicide considerations, and planting dates. This course also discusses the concepts of Pure Live Seed (PLS) and Seeds Per Square Foot (seeds/sq. ft.).

Agronomy Technical Note #31 (ATN31) is used as a guide for the establishment of native and introduced plantings of herbaceous vegetation for the following practices:

Gary Wyatt (UMN Extension) provides an overview of Windbreak/Shelterbelt Establishment (CPS380) practice and the windbreak design elements: height, density, and length. This session provides many examples of applications of windbreaks/shelterbelts as well as considerations for placement and design.

Stacy Cushenbery and Leif Fixen of The Nature Conservancy provided an overview of the science and economics surrounding the rapidly evolving world of agricultural ecosystem services, followed by an in depth look at central Minnesota’s Ecosystem Services Marketplace Consortium (ESMC) pilot project from ESMC’s project manager, Stacy Cushenbery.