Steve Groff will be featured speaker Cheney field day Aug. 21

Steve Groff, a cover crop “coach” and one of the developers of the Tillage Radish, will be the featured presenter for a field day on Aug. 21. Keith Thompson, a farmer from Osage City, Kansas, will also speak. Sponsors for the day include Cheney Lake Watershed, Inc., the Reno County Conservation District and Kauffman Seeds. The field day will begin at Kauffman Seeds’ west facility at 9218 Halstead Street, Hutchinson, Kansas, just west of Yoder. Registration will begin at 8 a.m. with cover crop plot tours beginning at 8:15. After the plot tours, presentations will continue in the Journey at Yoder Activity Center, 3605 E. Longview Road, Haven. A complementary lunch will be provided courtesy of Kauffman Seeds. The event will conclude by 3:30 p.m.

Steve Groff of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is a widely known cover crop pioneer, innovator and educator. Through his business, Cover Crop Coaching, Groff works with farmers and ag educators to teach them how to make good decisions for cover crop implementation. Groff says, “I will always be a farmer first. My decades of experience with cover crops fuels my passion for sharing what I’ve learned.”

Another featured speaker for the day is Keith Thompson who farms with his brother, Doug, and his son, Ben, near Osage City, Kansas. The Thompsons have been farming no-till since 1992 with cover crops introduced after a 1999 trip to Argentina where Keith saw cattle grazing cover crops. At Ben Thompson’s insistence, livestock were eventually reintroduced to the farm to build a more dynamic and resilient system.

There is no cost for the field day but participants are asked to register by Aug. 17 to guarantee a lunch and seating. Register online at www.cheneylakewatershed.org. You may also call or text Howard Miller at 620-727-6546.