NDSU Research Extension Centers at Carrington and Dickinson, N.D., and the Northern Crops Institute on the NDSU campus are sites for an upcoming live broadcast of the National Conference on Cover Crops and Soil Health. The broadcast is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 18 at 9 a.m.

Attending the nationwide broadcast of the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education-sponsored conference in Omaha, Neb., is free of charge. The broadcast is open to anyone interested in hearing about and discussing prospects for cover crops and soil health improvements on American farms and ranches.

Other sites for the broadcast are the North Dakota Farmers Union in Jamestown, N.D., and Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory in Mandan, N.D.

The program will feature a live-streamed video broadcast of the opening sessions of the conference. Facilitated discussions on local issues related to cover crops, such as how to build soil health, improve yields, curb erosion, manage pests and build resilience in farming systems, will follow the broadcast.

For more information, visit www.SARE.org/covercropconference.

Contact the location you plan to attend to register, which will allow the site to provide adequate accommodations, and confirm the location and other program details. The contacts for each site are:

• Carrington Research Extension Center – Karl Hoppe, NDSU Extension Service area livestock specialist and North Dakota SARE co-coordinator, 701-652-2951
• Dickinson Research Extension Center – Jon Stika, Natural Resources Conservation Service soil scientist, 701-225-5113
• Northern Crops Institute – Amy Cole, Cass County Soil Conservation District, 701-282-2157, ext. 3
• Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory – Susan Samson-Liebig, North Dakota chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Society, 701-530-2018
• North Dakota Farmers Union – Hal Weiser, NRCS soil health specialist, 701-252-1460.

NDSU is recognized as one of the nation's top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.