Professional Development Soil Health Workshop Series: Soil Tests for New England and Interpreting Them for Phosphorous Management

The University of Massachusetts Extension has been funded by the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Professional Development Grant (2014-2017) to provide educational opportunities to Agricultural Service Providers and Farmers in Soil Health topics.

Hotze Winja, Chemist, Crop & Pest Services, Massachusetts Department of Agriculture will provide an update on the Nutrient Management Regulations going into effect on December 5th, 2015 for agricultural lands.
Tom Morris, University of Connecticut Professor, Plant Science will present methods of different soil extractions and tests, with a focus on those appropriate for New England soils. With his experience in field research on nitrogen and phosphorous, Tom will present  Agricultural service providers with a basic understanding of the chemistry of Phosphorous in the soil, how it behaves, how best to assess P status of soil in different growing systems, how to assess potential loading from soil applications of fertilizer, compost or manure, and how to mitigate soil with excess Phosphorous aside from not adding more (e.g., cover crops or other ways to use up or sequester phosphorous to prevent off site movement or contamination).
Tom Akin, Natural Resource Conservation Service Agronomist will present work on evaluating a new soil extraction method for New England with data from Massachusetts farms. The new Haney Soil Health Test is being tested in Massachusetts to evaluate it’s ability to better predict active carbon and other indicators of soil health.

For Certified Crop Advisors this event is approved for 2 CEUs.

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