The Soil for Water Project is pleased to host New Zealand agroecologist Nicole Masters for two activity-filled days exploring agricultural resilience. In the dynamic and sometimes unforgiving climates of Texas, any agricultural operation needs to be ready to cope with and recover from adversity. By holding more water in the soil and fostering the right soil microbiology we can buffer changes in temperature and mitigate the effects of extreme weather patterns.
Nicole will walk us through how to take a future-focused approach to land management, growing healthy food, and creating robust ecosystems. She’ll address the following questions:
- How do we build soil structure to improve water and mineral cycles?
- What is the role of soil microbes in pasture quality and resiliency?
- What are your weeds telling you?
- How do we manage weeds, disease, and insects?
- How do we shift from invasive grasses to native grasses?
- How does adaptive multi-paddock grazing encourage resiliency?
- What monitoring strategies can we use to be sure we are making improvement and moving towards our goals?
- How can we reduce the need for chemical inputs without reducing yields?
Besides learning from Nicole, you’ll hear from land managers participating in current Soil for Water research trials, talking about regenerative methods they are trying and the results they are seeing. A panel discussion with Q & A will follow. You’ll also learn the Bullseye method of pasture monitoring from Kathy Harris of Holistic Management International (HMI), with an opportunity to practice this method in the field with HMI Certified Educators as your guides.
Nicole Masters is an independent agroecologist, systems thinker, and educator. She has a formal background in ecology, soil science, and organizational learning, has been providing agricultural consulting and extension services since 2000, and is recognized worldwide as a knowledgeable and dynamic speaker on the topic of soil health. With her team of soil coaches at Integrity Soils, Nicole works alongside farmers and ranchers in the U.S., Canada, and across Australasia: supporting producers who are taking their operations to the next level in quality food production, nutrient density, profitability, and environmental outcomes.