Dance Your Health Out

June 13, 2014 · Posted in Healthy Food Choices · Comment 

A few nice healthy food choices images I found:

Dance Your Health Out
healthy food choices
Image by Christiana Care
Christiana Care hosted women from across New Castle County, Del., for an evening designed to inspire attendees to improve their health through exercise and smart nutrition choices.

Combining dance, fun and education, the first ever Dance Your Health Out event, held at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, provided free Zumba instruction, healthy food preparation demonstrations and health screenings to more than 200 women.

Attendees took part in a 50-minute Zumba workout led by instructor Davi Mozie that had them dancing, clapping and moving to the music. Zumba combines Latin and international rhythms with a fun, aerobics-style workout. The group included women of all ages—from teenagers to a woman in her 90s—with varying movement abilities, including “newbies” and skilled dancers.

Christiana Care employee Cindy Noble was one of the more experienced dancers in attendance, having lost 47 pounds in the past year thanks to Zumba and an improved diet. She was impressed by the number of first-time dancers at Dance Your Health Out.

“Every time I would turn around just to see what was going on in the room, I was amazed at the volume of people who were there dancing and into it,” Noble said. “People kept coming onto the floor, and they weren’t intimidated.”

“I think the group was exceptionally energetic,” commented Mozie. “When we got started I really didn’t think they would be able to last. We ended up going 10 minutes longer than we had planned because the group just didn’t want to stop. It was great.”

Others took advantage of the free health screenings available throughout the evening. Staff from Christiana Care’s Imaging Services and Center for Heart & Vascular Health assessed attendees’ risk for bone and heart disease, while members of Christiana Care’s Department of Family & Community Medicine calculated body-mass index and provided body-fat analyses.

Following Zumba, Jenn Barr, with Christiana Care’s Center for Community Health, conducted a healthy-cooking demonstration. Attendees sampled low-calorie dinner options provided by caterer Food for Thought and learned about the importance of nutrition in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

A post-event survey of attendees offered insight about the effectiveness of the inaugural event. More than 97 percent of respondents said they were motivated to eat healthier and increase their physical activity.

The event was a collaboration of several departments within Christiana Care, including: Women’s Health Services; the Center for Heart & Vascular Health; Family & Community Medicine, Center for Community Health; Food and Nutrition Services; Imaging Services; Preventive Medicine & Rehabilitation Institute’s Food & Nutrition Services; Employee Health; and Volunteer Services.

Dance Your Health Out
healthy food choices
Image by Christiana Care
Christiana Care hosted women from across New Castle County, Del., for an evening designed to inspire attendees to improve their health through exercise and smart nutrition choices.

Combining dance, fun and education, the first ever Dance Your Health Out event, held at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, provided free Zumba instruction, healthy food preparation demonstrations and health screenings to more than 200 women.

Attendees took part in a 50-minute Zumba workout led by instructor Davi Mozie that had them dancing, clapping and moving to the music. Zumba combines Latin and international rhythms with a fun, aerobics-style workout. The group included women of all ages—from teenagers to a woman in her 90s—with varying movement abilities, including “newbies” and skilled dancers.

Christiana Care employee Cindy Noble was one of the more experienced dancers in attendance, having lost 47 pounds in the past year thanks to Zumba and an improved diet. She was impressed by the number of first-time dancers at Dance Your Health Out.

“Every time I would turn around just to see what was going on in the room, I was amazed at the volume of people who were there dancing and into it,” Noble said. “People kept coming onto the floor, and they weren’t intimidated.”

“I think the group was exceptionally energetic,” commented Mozie. “When we got started I really didn’t think they would be able to last. We ended up going 10 minutes longer than we had planned because the group just didn’t want to stop. It was great.”

Others took advantage of the free health screenings available throughout the evening. Staff from Christiana Care’s Imaging Services and Center for Heart & Vascular Health assessed attendees’ risk for bone and heart disease, while members of Christiana Care’s Department of Family & Community Medicine calculated body-mass index and provided body-fat analyses.

Following Zumba, Jenn Barr, with Christiana Care’s Center for Community Health, conducted a healthy-cooking demonstration. Attendees sampled low-calorie dinner options provided by caterer Food for Thought and learned about the importance of nutrition in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

A post-event survey of attendees offered insight about the effectiveness of the inaugural event. More than 97 percent of respondents said they were motivated to eat healthier and increase their physical activity.

The event was a collaboration of several departments within Christiana Care, including: Women’s Health Services; the Center for Heart & Vascular Health; Family & Community Medicine, Center for Community Health; Food and Nutrition Services; Imaging Services; Preventive Medicine & Rehabilitation Institute’s Food & Nutrition Services; Employee Health; and Volunteer Services.

Dance Your Health Out

June 7, 2014 · Posted in Healthy Food Choices · Comment 

A few nice healthy food choices images I found:

Dance Your Health Out
healthy food choices
Image by Christiana Care
Christiana Care hosted women from across New Castle County, Del., for an evening designed to inspire attendees to improve their health through exercise and smart nutrition choices.

Combining dance, fun and education, the first ever Dance Your Health Out event, held at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, provided free Zumba instruction, healthy food preparation demonstrations and health screenings to more than 200 women.

Attendees took part in a 50-minute Zumba workout led by instructor Davi Mozie that had them dancing, clapping and moving to the music. Zumba combines Latin and international rhythms with a fun, aerobics-style workout. The group included women of all ages—from teenagers to a woman in her 90s—with varying movement abilities, including “newbies” and skilled dancers.

Christiana Care employee Cindy Noble was one of the more experienced dancers in attendance, having lost 47 pounds in the past year thanks to Zumba and an improved diet. She was impressed by the number of first-time dancers at Dance Your Health Out.

“Every time I would turn around just to see what was going on in the room, I was amazed at the volume of people who were there dancing and into it,” Noble said. “People kept coming onto the floor, and they weren’t intimidated.”

“I think the group was exceptionally energetic,” commented Mozie. “When we got started I really didn’t think they would be able to last. We ended up going 10 minutes longer than we had planned because the group just didn’t want to stop. It was great.”

Others took advantage of the free health screenings available throughout the evening. Staff from Christiana Care’s Imaging Services and Center for Heart & Vascular Health assessed attendees’ risk for bone and heart disease, while members of Christiana Care’s Department of Family & Community Medicine calculated body-mass index and provided body-fat analyses.

Following Zumba, Jenn Barr, with Christiana Care’s Center for Community Health, conducted a healthy-cooking demonstration. Attendees sampled low-calorie dinner options provided by caterer Food for Thought and learned about the importance of nutrition in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

A post-event survey of attendees offered insight about the effectiveness of the inaugural event. More than 97 percent of respondents said they were motivated to eat healthier and increase their physical activity.

The event was a collaboration of several departments within Christiana Care, including: Women’s Health Services; the Center for Heart & Vascular Health; Family & Community Medicine, Center for Community Health; Food and Nutrition Services; Imaging Services; Preventive Medicine & Rehabilitation Institute’s Food & Nutrition Services; Employee Health; and Volunteer Services.

2012 Soil Health Information Day, Mitchell, SD

May 19, 2013 · Posted in Healthy Food Choices · Comment 

Some cool healthy food choices images:

2012 Soil Health Information Day, Mitchell, SD
healthy food choices
Image by NRCS SD
Vender Area

FOCUS FOR AG FUTURE: SOIL BIOLOGY AS “NEW FRONTIER”

NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE (NRCS), Pierre, SD, December 14, 2012—The inherent and dynamic qualities of soil were in the spotlight at the Soil Health Information Day held December 11, 2012 in Mitchell, SD. The event attracted over 230 people to hear regional and national agriculture and natural resources speakers.

Ruth Beck, SDSU Extension Agronomy Field Specialist, Pierre, says “One goal with the event was to help people learn ways to manage soil that improve the soil function. Although we can’t change the inherent qualities of the soil in our yards, fields and pastures, we can make management choices that affect the amount of organic matter, structure, depth, water and nutrient-holding capacity—the indicators of the health of a soil.”

“While the physical and chemical properties of soil have long been a main factor for land use planning, we are now getting an understanding of the biology happening beneath our feet,” says Colette Kessler, Public Affairs Specialist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Pierre. “Thanks to technology advances in microscopes and other equipment, our ‘understanding’ of the science of soil, biology in particular, has grown more in the last three years than the last 30,” she explains.

Two Alpena area farmers were enlisted to kick off the day demonstrating water infiltration with Ray Archuleta, Conservation Agronomist, from the NRCS East National Technical Center, Greensboro, NC. “Look at this…it isn’t a problem of run-off; we have an infiltration problem,” said Archuleta as the audience watched him work through the soil experiment. “Ray the Soil Guy” got to the ‘root’ of everyone’s questions with his presentation “Healthy Soils Make Healthy Profits.” Archuleta is passionate about soil health and his passion is infectious. He specializes in soil biology/ecology and diversity approaches for agro-ecosystem sustainability. “Understanding the biology—the microbes—in the soil is the ‘next step’ for farmers and ranchers,” says Archuleta. Every operation is unique. He outlined how to use above-ground management, such as crop rotations, cover crops, and reducing tillage as tools to manipulate the soil biology for a more sustainable system.
“A healthy soil is not compacted. It has structure with macro pores that allow water to infiltrate down into the profile,” Archuleta explained earlier. “When I pick up a shovelful of soil, it should look like cottage cheese.” Jim Hoorman, Ohio State University, via webinar, outlined their university research findings and the economics of using mixes of cover crops to improve the problem of compacted soils. Mixtures are better for addressing compaction than using a single cover crop species. Hoorman explained that disturbances, like tillage, can destroy pore structure in a soil. Good pore structure is very important, allowing the soil to breathe and move water.

“Healthy soil regulates water well,” explained Paul Jasa, Extension Engineer, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Soil and residue management helps control where rain, snowmelt and irrigation water goes. “Field after field,” he says, “Residue drives the crop. Buffers are good, but a ‘band-aid;’ fix the soil in the field with residue and keep your water,” says Jasa. “Go out with a spade and see for yourself how your soil is handling water.”

Internationally known Dr. Dwayne Beck, Manager, SDSU Dakota Lakes Research Farm near Pierre, encourages producers to mimic nature, “I’ve learned more from observing nature than trying to change it.” Crop residue helps improve the soils balance of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus. Beck’s presentation outlined ‘Catch and Release Nutrients’ and working with natural cycles to maximize crop production. “Plant roots are ‘hot spots’ for biological activities like nutrient cycling and soil aggregate stability,” says Beck. Both living roots, and the dead or dying roots, improve water infiltration and break up compacted soils. An abundance of roots helps to stabilize biological activities below ground, making more nutrients and water available to plants.

A common theme recommended throughout the day was for people to get out in their yards, fields and pastures with a shovel. “If we dig a little, we can learn a lot,” says Kessler, “We can better understand how healthy soil should look and smell, and how healthy soil should feel in our hands.” By the year 2050, Earth’s population is expected to reach 9 billion. Keeping every inch of our soil healthy will be essential as farmers and ranchers work to produce as much food and fiber in the next 40 years as they have in the last 500.

Photos showing Soil health can also be found at: www.flickr.com/photos/87743206@N04/

2012 Soil Health Information Day, Mitchell, SD
healthy food choices
Image by NRCS SD
Vender Area

FOCUS FOR AG FUTURE: SOIL BIOLOGY AS “NEW FRONTIER”

NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE (NRCS), Pierre, SD, December 14, 2012—The inherent and dynamic qualities of soil were in the spotlight at the Soil Health Information Day held December 11, 2012 in Mitchell, SD. The event attracted over 230 people to hear regional and national agriculture and natural resources speakers.

Ruth Beck, SDSU Extension Agronomy Field Specialist, Pierre, says “One goal with the event was to help people learn ways to manage soil that improve the soil function. Although we can’t change the inherent qualities of the soil in our yards, fields and pastures, we can make management choices that affect the amount of organic matter, structure, depth, water and nutrient-holding capacity—the indicators of the health of a soil.”

“While the physical and chemical properties of soil have long been a main factor for land use planning, we are now getting an understanding of the biology happening beneath our feet,” says Colette Kessler, Public Affairs Specialist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Pierre. “Thanks to technology advances in microscopes and other equipment, our ‘understanding’ of the science of soil, biology in particular, has grown more in the last three years than the last 30,” she explains.

Two Alpena area farmers were enlisted to kick off the day demonstrating water infiltration with Ray Archuleta, Conservation Agronomist, from the NRCS East National Technical Center, Greensboro, NC. “Look at this…it isn’t a problem of run-off; we have an infiltration problem,” said Archuleta as the audience watched him work through the soil experiment. “Ray the Soil Guy” got to the ‘root’ of everyone’s questions with his presentation “Healthy Soils Make Healthy Profits.” Archuleta is passionate about soil health and his passion is infectious. He specializes in soil biology/ecology and diversity approaches for agro-ecosystem sustainability. “Understanding the biology—the microbes—in the soil is the ‘next step’ for farmers and ranchers,” says Archuleta. Every operation is unique. He outlined how to use above-ground management, such as crop rotations, cover crops, and reducing tillage as tools to manipulate the soil biology for a more sustainable system.
“A healthy soil is not compacted. It has structure with macro pores that allow water to infiltrate down into the profile,” Archuleta explained earlier. “When I pick up a shovelful of soil, it should look like cottage cheese.” Jim Hoorman, Ohio State University, via webinar, outlined their university research findings and the economics of using mixes of cover crops to improve the problem of compacted soils. Mixtures are better for addressing compaction than using a single cover crop species. Hoorman explained that disturbances, like tillage, can destroy pore structure in a soil. Good pore structure is very important, allowing the soil to breathe and move water.

“Healthy soil regulates water well,” explained Paul Jasa, Extension Engineer, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Soil and residue management helps control where rain, snowmelt and irrigation water goes. “Field after field,” he says, “Residue drives the crop. Buffers are good, but a ‘band-aid;’ fix the soil in the field with residue and keep your water,” says Jasa. “Go out with a spade and see for yourself how your soil is handling water.”

Internationally known Dr. Dwayne Beck, Manager, SDSU Dakota Lakes Research Farm near Pierre, encourages producers to mimic nature, “I’ve learned more from observing nature than trying to change it.” Crop residue helps improve the soils balance of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus. Beck’s presentation outlined ‘Catch and Release Nutrients’ and working with natural cycles to maximize crop production. “Plant roots are ‘hot spots’ for biological activities like nutrient cycling and soil aggregate stability,” says Beck. Both living roots, and the dead or dying roots, improve water infiltration and break up compacted soils. An abundance of roots helps to stabilize biological activities below ground, making more nutrients and water available to plants.

A common theme recommended throughout the day was for people to get out in their yards, fields and pastures with a shovel. “If we dig a little, we can learn a lot,” says Kessler, “We can better understand how healthy soil should look and smell, and how healthy soil should feel in our hands.” By the year 2050, Earth’s population is expected to reach 9 billion. Keeping every inch of our soil healthy will be essential as farmers and ranchers work to produce as much food and fiber in the next 40 years as they have in the last 500.

Photos showing Soil health can also be found at: www.flickr.com/photos/87743206@N04/

2012 Soil Health Information Day, Mitchell, SD
healthy food choices
Image by NRCS SD
Jason Gilb, NRCS, Mitchell, SD

FOCUS FOR AG FUTURE: SOIL BIOLOGY AS “NEW FRONTIER”

NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE (NRCS), Pierre, SD, December 14, 2012—The inherent and dynamic qualities of soil were in the spotlight at the Soil Health Information Day held December 11, 2012 in Mitchell, SD. The event attracted over 230 people to hear regional and national agriculture and natural resources speakers.

Ruth Beck, SDSU Extension Agronomy Field Specialist, Pierre, says “One goal with the event was to help people learn ways to manage soil that improve the soil function. Although we can’t change the inherent qualities of the soil in our yards, fields and pastures, we can make management choices that affect the amount of organic matter, structure, depth, water and nutrient-holding capacity—the indicators of the health of a soil.”

“While the physical and chemical properties of soil have long been a main factor for land use planning, we are now getting an understanding of the biology happening beneath our feet,” says Colette Kessler, Public Affairs Specialist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Pierre. “Thanks to technology advances in microscopes and other equipment, our ‘understanding’ of the science of soil, biology in particular, has grown more in the last three years than the last 30,” she explains.

Two Alpena area farmers were enlisted to kick off the day demonstrating water infiltration with Ray Archuleta, Conservation Agronomist, from the NRCS East National Technical Center, Greensboro, NC. “Look at this…it isn’t a problem of run-off; we have an infiltration problem,” said Archuleta as the audience watched him work through the soil experiment. “Ray the Soil Guy” got to the ‘root’ of everyone’s questions with his presentation “Healthy Soils Make Healthy Profits.” Archuleta is passionate about soil health and his passion is infectious. He specializes in soil biology/ecology and diversity approaches for agro-ecosystem sustainability. “Understanding the biology—the microbes—in the soil is the ‘next step’ for farmers and ranchers,” says Archuleta. Every operation is unique. He outlined how to use above-ground management, such as crop rotations, cover crops, and reducing tillage as tools to manipulate the soil biology for a more sustainable system.
“A healthy soil is not compacted. It has structure with macro pores that allow water to infiltrate down into the profile,” Archuleta explained earlier. “When I pick up a shovelful of soil, it should look like cottage cheese.” Jim Hoorman, Ohio State University, via webinar, outlined their university research findings and the economics of using mixes of cover crops to improve the problem of compacted soils. Mixtures are better for addressing compaction than using a single cover crop species. Hoorman explained that disturbances, like tillage, can destroy pore structure in a soil. Good pore structure is very important, allowing the soil to breathe and move water.

“Healthy soil regulates water well,” explained Paul Jasa, Extension Engineer, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Soil and residue management helps control where rain, snowmelt and irrigation water goes. “Field after field,” he says, “Residue drives the crop. Buffers are good, but a ‘band-aid;’ fix the soil in the field with residue and keep your water,” says Jasa. “Go out with a spade and see for yourself how your soil is handling water.”

Internationally known Dr. Dwayne Beck, Manager, SDSU Dakota Lakes Research Farm near Pierre, encourages producers to mimic nature, “I’ve learned more from observing nature than trying to change it.” Crop residue helps improve the soils balance of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus. Beck’s presentation outlined ‘Catch and Release Nutrients’ and working with natural cycles to maximize crop production. “Plant roots are ‘hot spots’ for biological activities like nutrient cycling and soil aggregate stability,” says Beck. Both living roots, and the dead or dying roots, improve water infiltration and break up compacted soils. An abundance of roots helps to stabilize biological activities below ground, making more nutrients and water available to plants.

A common theme recommended throughout the day was for people to get out in their yards, fields and pastures with a shovel. “If we dig a little, we can learn a lot,” says Kessler, “We can better understand how healthy soil should look and smell, and how healthy soil should feel in our hands.” By the year 2050, Earth’s population is expected to reach 9 billion. Keeping every inch of our soil healthy will be essential as farmers and ranchers work to produce as much food and fiber in the next 40 years as they have in the last 500.

Photos showing Soil health can also be found at: www.flickr.com/photos/87743206@N04/

2012 Soil Health Information Day, Mitchell, SD

May 13, 2013 · Posted in Healthy Food Choices · Comment 

Some cool healthy food choices images:

2012 Soil Health Information Day, Mitchell, SD
healthy food choices
Image by NRCS SD
FOCUS FOR AG FUTURE: SOIL BIOLOGY AS “NEW FRONTIER”

NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE (NRCS), Pierre, SD, December 14, 2012—The inherent and dynamic qualities of soil were in the spotlight at the Soil Health Information Day held December 11, 2012 in Mitchell, SD. The event attracted over 230 people to hear regional and national agriculture and natural resources speakers.

Ruth Beck, SDSU Extension Agronomy Field Specialist, Pierre, says “One goal with the event was to help people learn ways to manage soil that improve the soil function. Although we can’t change the inherent qualities of the soil in our yards, fields and pastures, we can make management choices that affect the amount of organic matter, structure, depth, water and nutrient-holding capacity—the indicators of the health of a soil.”

“While the physical and chemical properties of soil have long been a main factor for land use planning, we are now getting an understanding of the biology happening beneath our feet,” says Colette Kessler, Public Affairs Specialist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Pierre. “Thanks to technology advances in microscopes and other equipment, our ‘understanding’ of the science of soil, biology in particular, has grown more in the last three years than the last 30,” she explains.

Two Alpena area farmers were enlisted to kick off the day demonstrating water infiltration with Ray Archuleta, Conservation Agronomist, from the NRCS East National Technical Center, Greensboro, NC. “Look at this…it isn’t a problem of run-off; we have an infiltration problem,” said Archuleta as the audience watched him work through the soil experiment. “Ray the Soil Guy” got to the ‘root’ of everyone’s questions with his presentation “Healthy Soils Make Healthy Profits.” Archuleta is passionate about soil health and his passion is infectious. He specializes in soil biology/ecology and diversity approaches for agro-ecosystem sustainability. “Understanding the biology—the microbes—in the soil is the ‘next step’ for farmers and ranchers,” says Archuleta. Every operation is unique. He outlined how to use above-ground management, such as crop rotations, cover crops, and reducing tillage as tools to manipulate the soil biology for a more sustainable system.
“A healthy soil is not compacted. It has structure with macro pores that allow water to infiltrate down into the profile,” Archuleta explained earlier. “When I pick up a shovelful of soil, it should look like cottage cheese.” Jim Hoorman, Ohio State University, via webinar, outlined their university research findings and the economics of using mixes of cover crops to improve the problem of compacted soils. Mixtures are better for addressing compaction than using a single cover crop species. Hoorman explained that disturbances, like tillage, can destroy pore structure in a soil. Good pore structure is very important, allowing the soil to breathe and move water.

“Healthy soil regulates water well,” explained Paul Jasa, Extension Engineer, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Soil and residue management helps control where rain, snowmelt and irrigation water goes. “Field after field,” he says, “Residue drives the crop. Buffers are good, but a ‘band-aid;’ fix the soil in the field with residue and keep your water,” says Jasa. “Go out with a spade and see for yourself how your soil is handling water.”

Internationally known Dr. Dwayne Beck, Manager, SDSU Dakota Lakes Research Farm near Pierre, encourages producers to mimic nature, “I’ve learned more from observing nature than trying to change it.” Crop residue helps improve the soils balance of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus. Beck’s presentation outlined ‘Catch and Release Nutrients’ and working with natural cycles to maximize crop production. “Plant roots are ‘hot spots’ for biological activities like nutrient cycling and soil aggregate stability,” says Beck. Both living roots, and the dead or dying roots, improve water infiltration and break up compacted soils. An abundance of roots helps to stabilize biological activities below ground, making more nutrients and water available to plants.

A common theme recommended throughout the day was for people to get out in their yards, fields and pastures with a shovel. “If we dig a little, we can learn a lot,” says Kessler, “We can better understand how healthy soil should look and smell, and how healthy soil should feel in our hands.” By the year 2050, Earth’s population is expected to reach 9 billion. Keeping every inch of our soil healthy will be essential as farmers and ranchers work to produce as much food and fiber in the next 40 years as they have in the last 500.

Photos showing Soil health can also be found at: www.flickr.com/photos/87743206@N04/

2012 Soil Health Information Day, Mitchell, SD
healthy food choices
Image by NRCS SD
FOCUS FOR AG FUTURE: SOIL BIOLOGY AS “NEW FRONTIER”

NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE (NRCS), Pierre, SD, December 14, 2012—The inherent and dynamic qualities of soil were in the spotlight at the Soil Health Information Day held December 11, 2012 in Mitchell, SD. The event attracted over 230 people to hear regional and national agriculture and natural resources speakers.

Ruth Beck, SDSU Extension Agronomy Field Specialist, Pierre, says “One goal with the event was to help people learn ways to manage soil that improve the soil function. Although we can’t change the inherent qualities of the soil in our yards, fields and pastures, we can make management choices that affect the amount of organic matter, structure, depth, water and nutrient-holding capacity—the indicators of the health of a soil.”

“While the physical and chemical properties of soil have long been a main factor for land use planning, we are now getting an understanding of the biology happening beneath our feet,” says Colette Kessler, Public Affairs Specialist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Pierre. “Thanks to technology advances in microscopes and other equipment, our ‘understanding’ of the science of soil, biology in particular, has grown more in the last three years than the last 30,” she explains.

Two Alpena area farmers were enlisted to kick off the day demonstrating water infiltration with Ray Archuleta, Conservation Agronomist, from the NRCS East National Technical Center, Greensboro, NC. “Look at this…it isn’t a problem of run-off; we have an infiltration problem,” said Archuleta as the audience watched him work through the soil experiment. “Ray the Soil Guy” got to the ‘root’ of everyone’s questions with his presentation “Healthy Soils Make Healthy Profits.” Archuleta is passionate about soil health and his passion is infectious. He specializes in soil biology/ecology and diversity approaches for agro-ecosystem sustainability. “Understanding the biology—the microbes—in the soil is the ‘next step’ for farmers and ranchers,” says Archuleta. Every operation is unique. He outlined how to use above-ground management, such as crop rotations, cover crops, and reducing tillage as tools to manipulate the soil biology for a more sustainable system.
“A healthy soil is not compacted. It has structure with macro pores that allow water to infiltrate down into the profile,” Archuleta explained earlier. “When I pick up a shovelful of soil, it should look like cottage cheese.” Jim Hoorman, Ohio State University, via webinar, outlined their university research findings and the economics of using mixes of cover crops to improve the problem of compacted soils. Mixtures are better for addressing compaction than using a single cover crop species. Hoorman explained that disturbances, like tillage, can destroy pore structure in a soil. Good pore structure is very important, allowing the soil to breathe and move water.

“Healthy soil regulates water well,” explained Paul Jasa, Extension Engineer, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Soil and residue management helps control where rain, snowmelt and irrigation water goes. “Field after field,” he says, “Residue drives the crop. Buffers are good, but a ‘band-aid;’ fix the soil in the field with residue and keep your water,” says Jasa. “Go out with a spade and see for yourself how your soil is handling water.”

Internationally known Dr. Dwayne Beck, Manager, SDSU Dakota Lakes Research Farm near Pierre, encourages producers to mimic nature, “I’ve learned more from observing nature than trying to change it.” Crop residue helps improve the soils balance of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus. Beck’s presentation outlined ‘Catch and Release Nutrients’ and working with natural cycles to maximize crop production. “Plant roots are ‘hot spots’ for biological activities like nutrient cycling and soil aggregate stability,” says Beck. Both living roots, and the dead or dying roots, improve water infiltration and break up compacted soils. An abundance of roots helps to stabilize biological activities below ground, making more nutrients and water available to plants.

A common theme recommended throughout the day was for people to get out in their yards, fields and pastures with a shovel. “If we dig a little, we can learn a lot,” says Kessler, “We can better understand how healthy soil should look and smell, and how healthy soil should feel in our hands.” By the year 2050, Earth’s population is expected to reach 9 billion. Keeping every inch of our soil healthy will be essential as farmers and ranchers work to produce as much food and fiber in the next 40 years as they have in the last 500.

Photos showing Soil health can also be found at: www.flickr.com/photos/87743206@N04/

2012 Soil Health Information Day, Mitchell, SD
healthy food choices
Image by NRCS SD
FOCUS FOR AG FUTURE: SOIL BIOLOGY AS “NEW FRONTIER”

NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE (NRCS), Pierre, SD, December 14, 2012—The inherent and dynamic qualities of soil were in the spotlight at the Soil Health Information Day held December 11, 2012 in Mitchell, SD. The event attracted over 230 people to hear regional and national agriculture and natural resources speakers.

Ruth Beck, SDSU Extension Agronomy Field Specialist, Pierre, says “One goal with the event was to help people learn ways to manage soil that improve the soil function. Although we can’t change the inherent qualities of the soil in our yards, fields and pastures, we can make management choices that affect the amount of organic matter, structure, depth, water and nutrient-holding capacity—the indicators of the health of a soil.”

“While the physical and chemical properties of soil have long been a main factor for land use planning, we are now getting an understanding of the biology happening beneath our feet,” says Colette Kessler, Public Affairs Specialist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Pierre. “Thanks to technology advances in microscopes and other equipment, our ‘understanding’ of the science of soil, biology in particular, has grown more in the last three years than the last 30,” she explains.

Two Alpena area farmers were enlisted to kick off the day demonstrating water infiltration with Ray Archuleta, Conservation Agronomist, from the NRCS East National Technical Center, Greensboro, NC. “Look at this…it isn’t a problem of run-off; we have an infiltration problem,” said Archuleta as the audience watched him work through the soil experiment. “Ray the Soil Guy” got to the ‘root’ of everyone’s questions with his presentation “Healthy Soils Make Healthy Profits.” Archuleta is passionate about soil health and his passion is infectious. He specializes in soil biology/ecology and diversity approaches for agro-ecosystem sustainability. “Understanding the biology—the microbes—in the soil is the ‘next step’ for farmers and ranchers,” says Archuleta. Every operation is unique. He outlined how to use above-ground management, such as crop rotations, cover crops, and reducing tillage as tools to manipulate the soil biology for a more sustainable system.
“A healthy soil is not compacted. It has structure with macro pores that allow water to infiltrate down into the profile,” Archuleta explained earlier. “When I pick up a shovelful of soil, it should look like cottage cheese.” Jim Hoorman, Ohio State University, via webinar, outlined their university research findings and the economics of using mixes of cover crops to improve the problem of compacted soils. Mixtures are better for addressing compaction than using a single cover crop species. Hoorman explained that disturbances, like tillage, can destroy pore structure in a soil. Good pore structure is very important, allowing the soil to breathe and move water.

“Healthy soil regulates water well,” explained Paul Jasa, Extension Engineer, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Soil and residue management helps control where rain, snowmelt and irrigation water goes. “Field after field,” he says, “Residue drives the crop. Buffers are good, but a ‘band-aid;’ fix the soil in the field with residue and keep your water,” says Jasa. “Go out with a spade and see for yourself how your soil is handling water.”

Internationally known Dr. Dwayne Beck, Manager, SDSU Dakota Lakes Research Farm near Pierre, encourages producers to mimic nature, “I’ve learned more from observing nature than trying to change it.” Crop residue helps improve the soils balance of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus. Beck’s presentation outlined ‘Catch and Release Nutrients’ and working with natural cycles to maximize crop production. “Plant roots are ‘hot spots’ for biological activities like nutrient cycling and soil aggregate stability,” says Beck. Both living roots, and the dead or dying roots, improve water infiltration and break up compacted soils. An abundance of roots helps to stabilize biological activities below ground, making more nutrients and water available to plants.

A common theme recommended throughout the day was for people to get out in their yards, fields and pastures with a shovel. “If we dig a little, we can learn a lot,” says Kessler, “We can better understand how healthy soil should look and smell, and how healthy soil should feel in our hands.” By the year 2050, Earth’s population is expected to reach 9 billion. Keeping every inch of our soil healthy will be essential as farmers and ranchers work to produce as much food and fiber in the next 40 years as they have in the last 500.

Photos showing Soil health can also be found at: www.flickr.com/photos/87743206@N04/

2012 Soil Health Information Day, Mitchell, SD

February 9, 2013 · Posted in Healthy Food Choices · Comment 

A few nice healthy food choices images I found:

2012 Soil Health Information Day, Mitchell, SD
healthy food choices
Image by NRCS SD
Vender Area

FOCUS FOR AG FUTURE: SOIL BIOLOGY AS “NEW FRONTIER”

NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE (NRCS), Pierre, SD, December 14, 2012—The inherent and dynamic qualities of soil were in the spotlight at the Soil Health Information Day held December 11, 2012 in Mitchell, SD. The event attracted over 230 people to hear regional and national agriculture and natural resources speakers.

Ruth Beck, SDSU Extension Agronomy Field Specialist, Pierre, says “One goal with the event was to help people learn ways to manage soil that improve the soil function. Although we can’t change the inherent qualities of the soil in our yards, fields and pastures, we can make management choices that affect the amount of organic matter, structure, depth, water and nutrient-holding capacity—the indicators of the health of a soil.”

“While the physical and chemical properties of soil have long been a main factor for land use planning, we are now getting an understanding of the biology happening beneath our feet,” says Colette Kessler, Public Affairs Specialist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Pierre. “Thanks to technology advances in microscopes and other equipment, our ‘understanding’ of the science of soil, biology in particular, has grown more in the last three years than the last 30,” she explains.

Two Alpena area farmers were enlisted to kick off the day demonstrating water infiltration with Ray Archuleta, Conservation Agronomist, from the NRCS East National Technical Center, Greensboro, NC. “Look at this…it isn’t a problem of run-off; we have an infiltration problem,” said Archuleta as the audience watched him work through the soil experiment. “Ray the Soil Guy” got to the ‘root’ of everyone’s questions with his presentation “Healthy Soils Make Healthy Profits.” Archuleta is passionate about soil health and his passion is infectious. He specializes in soil biology/ecology and diversity approaches for agro-ecosystem sustainability. “Understanding the biology—the microbes—in the soil is the ‘next step’ for farmers and ranchers,” says Archuleta. Every operation is unique. He outlined how to use above-ground management, such as crop rotations, cover crops, and reducing tillage as tools to manipulate the soil biology for a more sustainable system.
“A healthy soil is not compacted. It has structure with macro pores that allow water to infiltrate down into the profile,” Archuleta explained earlier. “When I pick up a shovelful of soil, it should look like cottage cheese.” Jim Hoorman, Ohio State University, via webinar, outlined their university research findings and the economics of using mixes of cover crops to improve the problem of compacted soils. Mixtures are better for addressing compaction than using a single cover crop species. Hoorman explained that disturbances, like tillage, can destroy pore structure in a soil. Good pore structure is very important, allowing the soil to breathe and move water.

“Healthy soil regulates water well,” explained Paul Jasa, Extension Engineer, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Soil and residue management helps control where rain, snowmelt and irrigation water goes. “Field after field,” he says, “Residue drives the crop. Buffers are good, but a ‘band-aid;’ fix the soil in the field with residue and keep your water,” says Jasa. “Go out with a spade and see for yourself how your soil is handling water.”

Internationally known Dr. Dwayne Beck, Manager, SDSU Dakota Lakes Research Farm near Pierre, encourages producers to mimic nature, “I’ve learned more from observing nature than trying to change it.” Crop residue helps improve the soils balance of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus. Beck’s presentation outlined ‘Catch and Release Nutrients’ and working with natural cycles to maximize crop production. “Plant roots are ‘hot spots’ for biological activities like nutrient cycling and soil aggregate stability,” says Beck. Both living roots, and the dead or dying roots, improve water infiltration and break up compacted soils. An abundance of roots helps to stabilize biological activities below ground, making more nutrients and water available to plants.

A common theme recommended throughout the day was for people to get out in their yards, fields and pastures with a shovel. “If we dig a little, we can learn a lot,” says Kessler, “We can better understand how healthy soil should look and smell, and how healthy soil should feel in our hands.” By the year 2050, Earth’s population is expected to reach 9 billion. Keeping every inch of our soil healthy will be essential as farmers and ranchers work to produce as much food and fiber in the next 40 years as they have in the last 500.

Photos showing Soil health can also be found at: www.flickr.com/photos/87743206@N04/

2012 Soil Health Information Day, Mitchell, SD
healthy food choices
Image by NRCS SD
Vender Area

FOCUS FOR AG FUTURE: SOIL BIOLOGY AS “NEW FRONTIER”

NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE (NRCS), Pierre, SD, December 14, 2012—The inherent and dynamic qualities of soil were in the spotlight at the Soil Health Information Day held December 11, 2012 in Mitchell, SD. The event attracted over 230 people to hear regional and national agriculture and natural resources speakers.

Ruth Beck, SDSU Extension Agronomy Field Specialist, Pierre, says “One goal with the event was to help people learn ways to manage soil that improve the soil function. Although we can’t change the inherent qualities of the soil in our yards, fields and pastures, we can make management choices that affect the amount of organic matter, structure, depth, water and nutrient-holding capacity—the indicators of the health of a soil.”

“While the physical and chemical properties of soil have long been a main factor for land use planning, we are now getting an understanding of the biology happening beneath our feet,” says Colette Kessler, Public Affairs Specialist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Pierre. “Thanks to technology advances in microscopes and other equipment, our ‘understanding’ of the science of soil, biology in particular, has grown more in the last three years than the last 30,” she explains.

Two Alpena area farmers were enlisted to kick off the day demonstrating water infiltration with Ray Archuleta, Conservation Agronomist, from the NRCS East National Technical Center, Greensboro, NC. “Look at this…it isn’t a problem of run-off; we have an infiltration problem,” said Archuleta as the audience watched him work through the soil experiment. “Ray the Soil Guy” got to the ‘root’ of everyone’s questions with his presentation “Healthy Soils Make Healthy Profits.” Archuleta is passionate about soil health and his passion is infectious. He specializes in soil biology/ecology and diversity approaches for agro-ecosystem sustainability. “Understanding the biology—the microbes—in the soil is the ‘next step’ for farmers and ranchers,” says Archuleta. Every operation is unique. He outlined how to use above-ground management, such as crop rotations, cover crops, and reducing tillage as tools to manipulate the soil biology for a more sustainable system.
“A healthy soil is not compacted. It has structure with macro pores that allow water to infiltrate down into the profile,” Archuleta explained earlier. “When I pick up a shovelful of soil, it should look like cottage cheese.” Jim Hoorman, Ohio State University, via webinar, outlined their university research findings and the economics of using mixes of cover crops to improve the problem of compacted soils. Mixtures are better for addressing compaction than using a single cover crop species. Hoorman explained that disturbances, like tillage, can destroy pore structure in a soil. Good pore structure is very important, allowing the soil to breathe and move water.

“Healthy soil regulates water well,” explained Paul Jasa, Extension Engineer, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Soil and residue management helps control where rain, snowmelt and irrigation water goes. “Field after field,” he says, “Residue drives the crop. Buffers are good, but a ‘band-aid;’ fix the soil in the field with residue and keep your water,” says Jasa. “Go out with a spade and see for yourself how your soil is handling water.”

Internationally known Dr. Dwayne Beck, Manager, SDSU Dakota Lakes Research Farm near Pierre, encourages producers to mimic nature, “I’ve learned more from observing nature than trying to change it.” Crop residue helps improve the soils balance of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus. Beck’s presentation outlined ‘Catch and Release Nutrients’ and working with natural cycles to maximize crop production. “Plant roots are ‘hot spots’ for biological activities like nutrient cycling and soil aggregate stability,” says Beck. Both living roots, and the dead or dying roots, improve water infiltration and break up compacted soils. An abundance of roots helps to stabilize biological activities below ground, making more nutrients and water available to plants.

A common theme recommended throughout the day was for people to get out in their yards, fields and pastures with a shovel. “If we dig a little, we can learn a lot,” says Kessler, “We can better understand how healthy soil should look and smell, and how healthy soil should feel in our hands.” By the year 2050, Earth’s population is expected to reach 9 billion. Keeping every inch of our soil healthy will be essential as farmers and ranchers work to produce as much food and fiber in the next 40 years as they have in the last 500.

Photos showing Soil health can also be found at: www.flickr.com/photos/87743206@N04/

2012 Soil Health Information Day, Mitchell, SD
healthy food choices
Image by NRCS SD
Vender Area

FOCUS FOR AG FUTURE: SOIL BIOLOGY AS “NEW FRONTIER”

NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE (NRCS), Pierre, SD, December 14, 2012—The inherent and dynamic qualities of soil were in the spotlight at the Soil Health Information Day held December 11, 2012 in Mitchell, SD. The event attracted over 230 people to hear regional and national agriculture and natural resources speakers.

Ruth Beck, SDSU Extension Agronomy Field Specialist, Pierre, says “One goal with the event was to help people learn ways to manage soil that improve the soil function. Although we can’t change the inherent qualities of the soil in our yards, fields and pastures, we can make management choices that affect the amount of organic matter, structure, depth, water and nutrient-holding capacity—the indicators of the health of a soil.”

“While the physical and chemical properties of soil have long been a main factor for land use planning, we are now getting an understanding of the biology happening beneath our feet,” says Colette Kessler, Public Affairs Specialist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Pierre. “Thanks to technology advances in microscopes and other equipment, our ‘understanding’ of the science of soil, biology in particular, has grown more in the last three years than the last 30,” she explains.

Two Alpena area farmers were enlisted to kick off the day demonstrating water infiltration with Ray Archuleta, Conservation Agronomist, from the NRCS East National Technical Center, Greensboro, NC. “Look at this…it isn’t a problem of run-off; we have an infiltration problem,” said Archuleta as the audience watched him work through the soil experiment. “Ray the Soil Guy” got to the ‘root’ of everyone’s questions with his presentation “Healthy Soils Make Healthy Profits.” Archuleta is passionate about soil health and his passion is infectious. He specializes in soil biology/ecology and diversity approaches for agro-ecosystem sustainability. “Understanding the biology—the microbes—in the soil is the ‘next step’ for farmers and ranchers,” says Archuleta. Every operation is unique. He outlined how to use above-ground management, such as crop rotations, cover crops, and reducing tillage as tools to manipulate the soil biology for a more sustainable system.
“A healthy soil is not compacted. It has structure with macro pores that allow water to infiltrate down into the profile,” Archuleta explained earlier. “When I pick up a shovelful of soil, it should look like cottage cheese.” Jim Hoorman, Ohio State University, via webinar, outlined their university research findings and the economics of using mixes of cover crops to improve the problem of compacted soils. Mixtures are better for addressing compaction than using a single cover crop species. Hoorman explained that disturbances, like tillage, can destroy pore structure in a soil. Good pore structure is very important, allowing the soil to breathe and move water.

“Healthy soil regulates water well,” explained Paul Jasa, Extension Engineer, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Soil and residue management helps control where rain, snowmelt and irrigation water goes. “Field after field,” he says, “Residue drives the crop. Buffers are good, but a ‘band-aid;’ fix the soil in the field with residue and keep your water,” says Jasa. “Go out with a spade and see for yourself how your soil is handling water.”

Internationally known Dr. Dwayne Beck, Manager, SDSU Dakota Lakes Research Farm near Pierre, encourages producers to mimic nature, “I’ve learned more from observing nature than trying to change it.” Crop residue helps improve the soils balance of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus. Beck’s presentation outlined ‘Catch and Release Nutrients’ and working with natural cycles to maximize crop production. “Plant roots are ‘hot spots’ for biological activities like nutrient cycling and soil aggregate stability,” says Beck. Both living roots, and the dead or dying roots, improve water infiltration and break up compacted soils. An abundance of roots helps to stabilize biological activities below ground, making more nutrients and water available to plants.

A common theme recommended throughout the day was for people to get out in their yards, fields and pastures with a shovel. “If we dig a little, we can learn a lot,” says Kessler, “We can better understand how healthy soil should look and smell, and how healthy soil should feel in our hands.” By the year 2050, Earth’s population is expected to reach 9 billion. Keeping every inch of our soil healthy will be essential as farmers and ranchers work to produce as much food and fiber in the next 40 years as they have in the last 500.

Photos showing Soil health can also be found at: www.flickr.com/photos/87743206@N04/

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