DYERSVILLE, Iowa — Farmers looking to transition from high-cost, high-input conventional agricultural practices to profit-improving, soil health-building agricultural practices will have the opportunity to see firsthand how one Iowa farm has become a successful regenerative showcase.
Recently, the non-profit Soil Health Academy announced that Gibbsfield Farms in Dyersville, Iowa was selected to host an upcoming three-day school, June 18-20. Owned and operated by Ryan and Kristy Gibbs, Gibbsfield Farms features the use of regenerative agriculture principles and practices, cover crops grains, natural-raised beef and pasture-raised hogs.
“Gibbsfield Farms was selected to host this Soil Health Academy because Ryan and Kristy are showing how a conventional farm can be transitioned from conventional to regenerative management in a way that is profitable, sustainable, and fun,” said Brian Dougherty, a regenerative agriculture consultant and SHA school instructor.
Dougherty will be among several world-renowned regenerative farming and adaptive grazing instructors at the school which is designed to help attendees…
- Evaluate farm soil health;
- Understand soil health testing and interpretation;
- Manage cover crops and diversity;
- Explore regenerative plant nutrition management concepts;
- Integrate livestock on row crop acres; and
- Stack multiple on-farm enterprises.
“Attendees at this school will also learn how management decisions affect soil function, and in turn how healthy soil can improve profitability and allow for reduced input costs,” Dougherty said. “We will discuss managing fertility and plant health, using cover crops to address resource concerns, livestock integration, and more. Attendees will also get hands-on experience assessing soil function in the field.”
To further ensure participant success, tuition for the on-farm school includes registration for SHA’s on-line Regen Ag 101course, two follow-up, one-on-one video conferences with SHA experts and access to future group conference calls with the course’s instructors. Scholarships are available.
For more information about the school, to apply for a scholarship, or to become a business sponsor, visit www.soilhealthacademy.org.
–Soil Health Academy
