The Douglas and Osage County conservation districts will host a workshop next Tuesday to show farmers how better soils can lead to better yields.

The event is from 8 a.m to 3 p.m. at Worden United Methodist’s Fellowship Hall, 298 East 900 Road in Baldwin City. It will include presentations on soil health, cover crops and best management practices.

Speaker Dale Stricker, the agronomist for Kansas Star Seed, started cover-cropping on rented ground in 1988. He bought his first farm in 2000 and converted it from a furrow-irrigated corn farm to a subsurface-drip-irrigated grazing operation. Cover cropping has since become an integral part of his operation and that of many of the farmers he works with.

Another speaker, Ohio farmer David Brandt, switched to no-till on his corn, wheat and soybean operation in 1971 and started experimenting with cover crops in 1979. “The quality of our soils and our reduced inputs show up on our balance sheets,” he has said.

The workshop is free and open to the public. Space is limited to the first 200 participants. To RSVP or if you have questions, contact the Douglas County (785-843-4260 or dawn.buehler@ks.nacdnet.net) or Osage County (785-828-3458 or lori.kuykendall@ks.nacdnet.net) conservation districts.