News Release

SYRACUSE — The Kosciusko County Soil and Water Conservation District will be hosting an all-day meeting called “Soil-Con” on Wednesday, March 20, at Oakwood Resort in Syracuse.

The free event, which will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is led by local district soil health specialist Tashina Lahr-Manifold, is designed as a working meeting to explore soil health, the soil food web, ecological risks of pest management strategies and long-term solutions for soil health.

Four specialists from across the country will be speaking.

David Montgomery is a geomorphologist who looks at the process shaping Earth’s surface and how it affects ecological systems and human societies. In addition to his academic work, he and his wife, Anne Bikle, have written a number of popular science books, three of which won the Washington State Book Award. Their “Dirt Trilogy” incudes “Growing a Revolution,” the most recent, covering how particular farming methods can reverse past soil degradation. “The Hidden Half of Nature” reveals insights about the microbiomes of soil, plants and people and why we need to change the practice of farming and medicine. “Dirt” kicked off their unplanned trilogy of books and tells the plight of soil since the dawn of agriculture.

Elaine Ingham has advanced the knowledge about the soil food web for more than four decades. Widely recognized as the world’s foremost soil biologist, she’s passionate about empowering ordinary people to bring the soils in their community back to life. “Dr. Elaine’s Soil Food Web Approach” has been used to successfully restore the ecological functions of soils on six continents. She now teaches through Dr. Elaine’s Soil Food Web School. Her courses are designed for people with no relevant experience, making them accessible to individuals who wish to retrain and to begin a meaningful and impactful career in an area that will help to secure the survival of humans and other species.

Christian Krupke, professor of entomology at Purdue University, has been named the dean’s fellow for resilient agriculture to provide research leadership aimed at making agriculture more productive and durable. Krupke will lead a multiyear initiative that brings together research faculty from different disciplines in the College of Agriculture. Their goal is twofold: to conduct long-term research that helps farmers make decisions based on reliable, field-scale data and to demonstrate practices that bolster the durability of the entire agricultural system. His primary research themes include measuring the pest management benefits and potential costs associated with various approaches in corn and soybeans, including the impact of refuge construction for resistance management in Bt corn hybrids and the costs and benefits associated with neonicotinoid seed treatments of both corn and soybeans.

For more details, or if your organization would like to help sponsor the event, contact the Soil and Water Conservation District by calling (574) 267-7445, ext. 3.

Even though the event is free, registration is required. Call the office at (574) 267-7445, ext. 3, or visit the website at kosciuskoswcd.org/rsvp. Registration will be capped at 350 and will close when that number is reached.