By Trish Svoboda
Kansas State University, along with various state partners, will conduct a series of three complimentary workshops aimed at aiding farm families. These sessions will cover topics ranging from soil management to succession planning and enhancing personal health and wellness.
Margit Kaltenekker, an agriculture agent at K-State Research and Extension’s Douglas County office, announced that the first workshop, titled “Whole Farm Health,” will occur on Tuesdays at the Worden Cornerstone Church near Baldwin City.
The workshops are free to attend, but online registration is requested. The workshops include:
· Feb. 20 – Transition to Soil Health and Beating the Drought.
· Feb. 27 – Planning for Profit.
· March 5 – Lighten the Load on the Road to Wellness.
The workshops will run from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and have been organized collaboratively by extension staff from Douglas, Johnson, and Shawnee counties, conservation districts in Douglas and Miami counties, Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy coordinators, the Kansas Center for Sustainable Agriculture, and the Kansas Alliance for Wetlands and Streams.
“After three years of drought, regenerating soil health by applying soil health principles will increase its water-holding capacity, nutrient cycling, and resilience before the next drought,” Kaltenekker said.
She also said that cover crops “can be a profitable way to restore ecosystem function in soils, and provide extra forage for livestock.”
The session on March 5 will tackle what Kaltenekker refers to as a “silent crisis” prevalent in rural communities.
“It’s not in the news every day, but there continues to be a suicide crisis affecting our rural areas like never before,” she said. “The last workshop is geared to provide resources to learn about suicide prevention and holistic health strategies that can help lighten the load on the road to wellness.”
More information on the Whole Farm Health series is available at http://tinyurl.com/whole-farm-health-2024, or by contacting Kaltenekker at 785-843-7058 or makaltenekker@ksu.edu.
