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Soil Health in the West Conference brings together world experts and regional soil health practitioners under one roof for a multi-day learning and networking opportunity unlike any other in the Western United States. Whether you're just starting on your soil health journey or you're a seasoned veteran of the soil health movement this conference is for you. This year we have 21 different speakers covering topics from grazing with soil health to soil health impact on water availability and everything in between.
Keynote Speakers:
Alejandro Carrillo is a fourth-generation rancher in the Chihuahuan desert. Rarely his precipitation goes beyond 9” per year (< 230mm). Every drop counts to grow more and better grasses and forbs. He is not willing to waste any water in such a brittle environment if he wants to graze year-round without inputs.
Joel Saltin, calls himself a Christian libertarian environmentalist capitalist lunatic farmer. Others who like him call him the most famous farmer in the world, the high priest of the pasture, and the most eclectic thinker from Virginia since Thomas Jefferson. Those who don’t like him call him a bio-terrorist, Typhoid Mary, charlatan, and starvation advocate.
Optional workshop:
Beginner Workshop: New to soil health? Want to understand the basics better? Feeling like getting a refresher? Join us at the Beginner Workshop and learn about the principles of soil health and how we manage our soil's impacts on its health and function. Learn how to use observation and a shovel to measure the health of your soil on your own farm. Join Marlon Wigner NRCS Regional Soil Health Specialist, Terron Picket NRCS Area Soil Scientist, and Tony Richards Utah Soil Health Program Manager for a day of hands-on learning.
Soil Health Grazing Workshop: Gain a better understanding of how to Integrate Livestock as a key principle of soil health. Learn the fundamentals of grazing with soil health as the focus from Alejandro Carrillo a fourth-generation rancher in the Chihuahuan desert. Learn how regardless of the amount of prescription soil healt focused focused grazing management can restore grasslands and increase the resilience and productivity of the land. This hands-on in-field workshop puts you in the thick of it with world-recognized experts.