Soil Health Event with Glenn County RCD + Colusa County RCD: Unruh + Kabir

5166 State Highway 45 Glenn CA 95932

Daniel Unruh will talk about cover crops, nematodes and orchard health, and give guests a demonstration of the Unruh crimper in action. Zahangir Kabir, USDA-NRCS, will give us a rain simulation that shows what happens to orchard soils with no cover crops and what happens to adjacent soils with cover crops.

This event will take place at Unruh's walnut orchard. His use of cover crops combining mustard and turnips has knocked his nematode count down to an apparent zero, while increasing soil organic matter counts and available carbon and retaining water on site. Unruh has built a roller that allows him to take down the cover crop without having to use additional inputs on the orchard.

Zahangir Kabir, West Regional Soil Health Specialist, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, will bring his rain simulation experience on site. Watching water percolate through adjacent soils from a conventionally farmed orchard and through on site soils utilizing cover crops makes for a fascinating jumping off point to discuss the economic and agronomic impacts of cover crops in an orchard setting.

Interested in cost-share funding? Learn more about these opportunities funded by the Farm Bill and administered by USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, as well as the new Healthy Soils Program administered by the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

Please park on the dirt road in front of the orchard.

Space is limited. RSVP to Melina Watts, Soil Health Coordinator Glenn County RCD, by emailing melina@glenncountyrcd.org or calling 310-383-9978.