Module 1 of 9 in the virtual portion of this blended training for 2021.  This training is designed to provide field-level conservationists and resource soil scientists with an overall understanding of soil health and sustainability principles to guide them with recommendations for land management. The training can be tailored by landuse or specialty emphasis area using modules for cropland, pasture, range, eastern forests, sod and nursery crops, organic specialty crops, and/or salinity and sodicity.

Stream Visual Assessment Protocol 2 (SVAP2) introduces you to the process of visually assessing streams on working land. In this course, you’ll learn the foundational scientific concepts surrounding stream ecology and stream processes. These foundational concepts will help you determine if a stream’s condition is the result of natural processes or human influence. You’ll learn the basics of running the Stream Visual Assessment Protocol 2, or SVAP2, which is NRCS’s assessment tool for visually assessing streams.

The goal of this course is to introduce you to several common soil properties and interpretations, the basics of map unit composition, and Web Soil Survey, the official source of soils data. This course will also give you the opportunity to practice applying your soils knowledge within the context of the conservation planning process.

This course introduces you to NRCS planning criteria and their role in each phase of the Nine Steps of Conservation Planning. You will learn about their relation to field and automated assessment tools and about how they are used in identifying resource concerns and evaluating conservation alternatives for clients.

Course Objectives:

Understand that the overarching purpose of planning criteria is to help planners identify and address resource concerns.
Access planning criteria in the Field Office Technical Guide (FOTG), Section III.

This course introduces you to the Windows Pesticide Screening Tool (WIN-PST). You will learn what the tool is and how to run it. You will also learn how to interpret reports it generates and how they can be used when working with clients. You’ll also see how using this tool fits in the Nine Steps of Conservation Planning.

Video presentations from the 7th Annual Nitrogen: Minnesota's Grand Challenge & Compelling Opportunity Conference February 9th, 2021

• ESN Use in Poorly Drained Soils

• Alternative Management Tool for Groundwater Protection

• Nitrogen Fertilization in Southeast MN

Cover crops offer many benefits for agriculture that include erosion control; reduced compaction and nutrient leaching; increased water infiltration; improved soil biodiversity; weed control and disease suppression; increased carbon sequestration and maximum nutrient recycling; improved air, soil, and water quality; and wildlife enhancement. Every cover crop species has its own niche and attributes for agricultural production.

Managing Cover Crops Profitably, Third Edition, was published in 2007 by the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program under cooperative agreements with the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA, the University of Maryland and the University of Vermont. 

Managing Cover Crops Profitably

TTCP Training Engineer Aaron Peter will use the Engineering Field Tools software to demonstrate how to incorporate and calculate out-of-bank flows in your EFT waterway design where allowed.  The process follows Engineering Field Handbook Chapter 7, MN Supplement 7-13.  Familiarity with standard waterway designs in EFT is recommended.

Discovery Farms Programs in Wisconsin and Minnesota are excited to bring to you a virtual conference series this winter. Join us as we cover topics like water quality, soil health, climate change, and more!