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Organic producers of perennial crops are required to introduce biodiversity in lieu of a crop rotation. This webinar will cover examples of methods organic producers use to introduce biodiversity to their perennial operations, while balancing maximum benefits with minimal labor and resource concerns. Different cropping systems and climates will be highlighted.

(Time: 19:45)  Hal Weiser, USDA, discusses how to improve soil structure and soil biology to maximize crop production.

Meaghan Anderson, Field Agronomist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, shares the top 3 considerations for terminating cover crops in the spring.

Minnesota’s forests provide critical breeding habitat for hundreds of resident and migrating bird species. Forest management provides an important opportunity to conserve and cultivate critical habitat for species of conservation concern including Golden-winged Warbler, Veery, and American Woodcock. These species have had significant population declines throughout their breeding ranges and all have a large portion of their breeding populations in Minnesota’s young forests.  We have been conducting research to determine characteristics of young forests and identify forest management actions that maximize breeding season productivity for these bird species; results of our on-going study along with breeding cycle habitat management recommendations will be discussed.

(Time: 1:47:00)  This webinar will give participants an overview of soil health and new soil testing tools for N-P-K that take into account the contribution of soil microbes, allowing producers to make informed nutrient management decisions, and it includes a discussion of the USDA NRCS Soil Health Nutrient Tool Project.

Participants will learn how soil microbes control nutrient availability to plants, and how management can influence this dynamic. The importance of carbon in the soil ecosystem, C:N ratios, limitations of traditional soil tests, and new methods for measuring the contribution of soil microbes to nutrient availability and cycling will be discussed.

A changing climate, changes in Minnesota’s forest products industry and increasing pressure for ecosystem service have and will continue to create challenges to managing Minnesota’s forests. University of Minnesota – Duluth’s Natural Resources Research Institute is developing a spatially-explicit decision tool that integrates forest productivity, ecosystem services, and economic information to help land managers assess the potential costs, benefits and tradeoffs between forest management options at a landscape scale over an 80 year planning period.  This webinar will introduce the tool to participants, provide an overview of LANDIS-II and how the model works followed by discussion of how this tool can be best be used to guide resource management decisions at a landscape scale.