Cover crop workshops

The Eastern Panhandle Conservation District is sponsoring an evening workshop to promote the use of cover crops as a method of reducing the impact of drought on field crops. Benefits of cover crops include soil moisture retention, weed control, reduced fertilizer application, reduced soil erosion and overall improved soil quality that results in improved profitability.

The workshop is to be held on the Lyle Tabb farm, located just east of Leetown, in Jefferson County, off of Paines Ford Road, (County Route 3, just north of Leetown Road, County Route 1) from 5 p.m. until 6 p.m. on Tuesday, October 6.

Tom Basden, WVU Extension Service Nutrient Management Specialist and Dr. Joshua Faulkner, WVU Extension Assistance Professor and Agricultural Engineering Specialist will present information on soil quality, nutrient transfer and water retention and infiltration.

For more information an cover crops and their management contact Steve Ritz, Plant Materials Specialist, USDA Natural Resources Conser-vation Service, 1550 Earl Core Road, Suite 200, Morgantown, WV 26505, telephone 304-284-7597 or Heather Ishman, Education Outreach Specialist, Eastern Panhandle Conservation District, 151 Aikens Center, Suite 1, Martinsburg, WV 25404, telephone 304-263-4376, ext. 4.