The 2021 South Dakota Soil Health School was held August 25-27 in Mitchell, SD. Classroom sessions were held at the Ramada by Wyndham Mitchell Hotel and Conference Center, and field demonstrations were hosted on the farm of Craig & Gene Stehly. The agenda featured classroom style presentations from producers and technical experts from across the state and region, as well as hands-on experiences in the field. Area producers also shared their challenges and successes with various methods for improving soil health.

The agenda for the 2021 Soil Health School is listed below. If you would enjoy learning about these topics, stay tuned to this page where details of the 2022 Soil Health School will be released as soon as they are available!

2021 Soil Health School Agenda

Wednesday, August 25th

7-7:30 am Staff and Speaker Meeting – Cindy Zenk, SDSHC

7:30-8 am Registration

8-8:20 am Introductions and Welcome – Cindy Zenk and Levi Neuharth, SDSHC

8:20-8:50 am Visions and Goals – Doug Sieck, SDSHC

8:50-9:30 am Basic Soils: Understanding Soil Types and Functions – Nathan Jones and Craig Veldkamp, USDA NRCS SD

9:30-10:15 am Soil Health Concepts – Peter Sexton, SDSU Extension

10:15-10:25 am Break

10:25-11:15 am Agronomics: Planting, Fertilizer Placement – Anthony Bly, SDSU Extension

11:15 am-12 pm Understanding Soil Tests – Ray Ward, Ward Laboratories

12-12:30 pm Lunch and Travel to Field – Cindy Zenk and Dave Ollila, SDSHC

12:30-1 pm Weed Management with Cover Crops and Herbicides/Resistance – Gared Shaffer, SDSU Extension

1-1:30 pm Selecting Cover Crop Mixes/Field Plots/Cover Crop Goals – Eric Barsness and Shane Jordan, USDA NRCS SD

1:30-2:30 pm Breakout Sessions (choose one):

• Cover Crop Livestock Integration – Tanse Herrmann and Stan Boltz, USDA NRCS SD; Dave Ollila, Dennis Hoyle, Shawn Freeland, and Doug Sieck, SDSHC
• Manure Management: Low Disturbance Solid and Liquid – John Lentz, Jason Gilb, Kent Vlieger, USDA NRCS SD

2:30-3:15 pm Basic Field Assessments:

• Infiltration Ring: Compaction – Baylee Lukonen and Jim Clendenin, SDSHC
• Slump Test: Aggregate Stability – Austin Carlson, SDSHC, and Stan Boltz, USDA NRCS SD
• Soils App: Resources – Eric Barsness, USDA NRCS SD

3:15-4 pm Rainfall Simulator – Tanse Herrmann and Kent Vlieger, USDA NRCS SD

4-4:30 pm Return to Hotel

4:30-5:15 pm Salinity – Lee Briese, Centrol Ag Consulting

5:15-6 p.m. How Do You Know If You Are Succeeding? – Dan Forgey and Brian Johnson, SDSHC

6-7 pm Supper: What Is Happening on Our Operation? – Craig and Gene Stehly, Stehly Farms

7-8 pm Soil Health Systems: Holistic Approach Round Table Discussion – SDSHC Directors

Thursday, August 26th

7-7:30 am Staff and Speaker Meeting – Cindy Zenk, SDSHC

7:45-9:15 am Crop Diversity, No-Till Beyond the Basics – Dwayne Beck, Dakota Lakes Research Farm

9:15-10:15 am Beneficial Insects – Jonathon Lundgren, Blue Dasher Farm

10:15-10:30 am Break

10:30-11:30 am Soil Microbiology – Mike Lehman, USDA ARS

11:30 am-12:15 pm Cover Crops: Basic Principles, Purpose, and Planting – David Karki, SDSU Extension, and Eric Barsness, USDA NRCS SD

12:15-12:45 pm Lunch and Travel to Field

12:45-1:30 pm Grazing of Cover Crops: Comparing Nutritional Value, Addressing Concerns, and Improving Safety – Kevin Sedvic, NDSU Extension

1:30-2:15 pm Field Testing (choose two):

• Salinity, EC meter – Austin Carlson, SDSHC, and Lee Briese, Centrol Ag Consulting
• Biomass Cutting – Baylee Lukonen, SDSHC, and Tanse Herrmann, USDA NRCS SD
• Worm Counts, Solvita, pH – Stan Boltz, USDA NRCS SD, and Sara Bauder, SDSU Extension
• Bulk Density – Anthony Bly, SDSU Extension, and Jim Clendenin, SDSHC

2:15-3:45 pm Soil Pits: Dye Test, Worm Tunnels, Houdek Soils, Salinity/Sodic, Trafficability – Craig Veldkamp and Nathan Jones, USDA NRCS SD

3:45-4 pm Sheep Integration – Dave Ollila, SDSHC

4-5 pm Breakout Sessions (choose one):

• Check Livestock, Adjust Fence – Tanse Herrmann and Stan Boltz, USDA NRCS SD; Dave Ollila, Dennis Hoyle, Shawn Freeland, and Doug Sieck, SDSHC
• Manure Management – John Lentz, Jason Gilb, Kent Vlieger, USDA NRCS SD

5-5:15 pm Return to Hotel

5:15-6:15 Breakout Sessions (choose two):

• Temporary Fencing – Judge Jessop, SD Grassland Coalition
• Build Your Own Cover Crop Mix – Kent Vlieger, USDA NRCS SD; Austin Carlson and Baylee Lukonen, SDSHC
• Building Healthy Soil – Shawn Freeland, SDSHC

6:15-7 pm Supper: What is the Coalition? – Cindy Zenk and Levi Neuharth, SDSHC

7-8 pm Soil Health: How and Why Do We Do this? – SDSHC Directors and Anthony Bly, SDSU Extension (moderator)

Friday, August 27th

8:00-8:50 am Soil Carbon Management to Improve Soil Health – Don Reicosky, emeritus soil scientist, formerly USDA ARS

8:50-9:50 am Diversity Using Poly Cropping or Double Cropping – Lee Briese, Centrol Ag Consulting

9:50-10 am Break

10-10:50 am Economics of Soil Health – Nick Jorgensen, Jorgensen Land & Cattle

10:50-11:15 am Travel to Field

11:15 am -12:15 pm Planting Equipment/Harvesting: Chaff and Spreading – Paul Jasa, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

12:15-12:45 pm Check Cattle, Final Review, Changes and Assessments

12:45-1 pm Return to Hotel

1 pm Lunch and Certificates