The integration and benefits of cover crops in a corn-soybean rotation will be the focus of the Nebraska Cover Crop Conference Thursday, Feb. 25. It will be held at the UNL Agricultural Research and Development Center, 1071 County Road G near Ithaca.

"The conference features innovative speakers who have worked with cover crops extensively," said Keith Glewen, extension educator in the Southeast Research and Extension Center. "They will share the benefits of using cover crops, such as improved soil health and reduced erosion."

Topics and presenters include: 

• Current assessment of Eastern Nebraska soils — Neil Dominy, National Resources Conservation Service state soil scientist;
• Restoring degraded soils and improving soil health with cover crops — Robert Kremer, adjunct professor of soil microbiology, soil, environmental and atmospheric sciences and division of plant sciences, University of Missouri;
• Cover Crops 101 for a corn-soybean rotation — Keith Berns, Green Cover Seeds, Bladen;
• Placing value on cover crops — Keith Berns, Green Cover Seeds; and
• Corn-soybean farmers sharing successes and challenges — Steve Berger, Wellman, Iowa; Neil Sabata, David City; Dan Gillespie, Battle Creek; and Chris Gaesser, Corning, Iowa

The conference will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with registration beginning at 8:30 a.m. Pre-register by Feb. 22 to ensure resource materials are available and for meal-planning purposes. 

To register, call 402-624-8000 or email cdunbar2@unl.edu.

The conference is sponsored by Nebraska Extension and the Nebraska Soybean Board in partnership with
the Lower Platte North Natural Resources District and USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education.