The first regional Colorado Soil Health event put on by the Colorado Department of Agriculture’s Colorado STAR program took place in Monte Vista on Saturday, August 13. Primarily in attendance were farmers and ranchers, who spent the day focused on the essential nature of soil health and soil health management.
After a welcome from Cindy Lair with the Colorado Department of Agriculture was a brief talk from Senator Cleave Simpson, a Colorado Republican who is a fourth-generation San Luis Valley farmer and rancher, as well as general manager of the Rio Grande Water Conservation District.
Cindy Lair of the Colorado Department of Agriculture welcomes attendees to the first Colorado STAR event on Aug. 13, 2022, in Monte Vista, CO.Senator Cleave Simpson of Colorado – a fourth-generation farmer and general manager of the Rio Grande Water Conservation District – presents at the first Colorado STAR event on Aug. 13, 2022, in Monte Vista, CO.
Attendees also were given the option to go on one of two local farm tours: Elliott Farms in Monte Vista, and San Juan Ranch near Saguache.
Rangeland tour attendees look at hay and farming equipment on the San Juan Ranch as part of the first Colorado STAR event on Aug. 13, 2022.
Later in the day, Lair introduced State Representative Donald Valdez, who represents District 62 and serves on the House Agriculture, Livestock, & Water Committee.
Colorado State Representative Donald Valdez addressed attendees of the first Colorado STAR event on Aug. 13, 2022, in Monte Vista, Colorado.
Following Valdez was Colorado State University’s Gene Kelly, who is a professor of pedology, as well as Deputy Director of the Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station, and Associate Director for Research in the School of Global Environmental Sustainability.
Colorado State University’s Gene Kelly is a professor of pedology, as well as Deputy Director of the Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station, and Associate Director for Research in the School of Global Environmental Sustainability.
The keynote presentation was given by Oklahoma farmer Jimmy Emmons, who showed the benefits of cover crops and soil health on his farm and others. “Changing the soil has changed our lives,” he said.
Jimmy Emmons, a farmer from Oklahoma, gave the keynote presentation at the Colorado STAR event on Aug. 13, 2022, in Monte Vista, Colorado.
Breakout sessions were presented by Kansas farmer Brice Custer – on the economics of cover crops – and a representative of the Quivira Coalition – on a soil health workbook and the soil health primer created by Acres U.S.A. and the Colorado Department of Agriculture.
Brice Custer is a no-till farmer in Hays, Kansas. Brice presented on the economics of cover cropping at the Colorado STAR event on Aug. 13, 2022, in Monte Vista, Colorado.
The educational presentations finished up with a farmer panel discussion on “Perspectives on Soil Health.” Participants included George Whitten, Kyler Brown, Brice Custer, Lyle Nissen and Jimmy Emmons, with Patrick Neil as moderator.
Left to right: George Whitten, Kyler Brown, Brice Custer, Lyle Nissen and Jimmy Emmons, participate in a panel discussion
The event wrapped with a thank you from Cindy Lair and a final overview of the STAR program from Ground Up Consulting’s Max Neumeyer.
– Cindy Lair, Colorado Department of Agriculture, and Max Neumeyer, Ground Up Consulting, thank attendees of the first Colorado STAR event on Aug. 13, 2022, in Monte Vista, Colorado.
George Whitten of San Juan Ranch discusses points of interest in the fields of his certified organic, grass-fed cattle ranch.– Rangeland tour attendees look at hay and farming equipment on the San Juan Ranch as part of the first Colorado STAR event on Aug. 13, 2022.– Attendees look at a yeomans plow in a trial lot on the San Juan Ranch near Saguache, Colorado, as part of the first Colorado STAR event on Aug. 13, 2022.Ranchland tour attendees discuss soil health topics among themselves while walking the fields of the San Juan Ranch near Saguache, Colorado, as part of the first Colorado STAR event on Aug. 13, 2022.Sam Schmidt, one of the farming staff at San Juan Ranch, discusses the alfalfa variants and recent yeomans plow tillage experiments with Colorado STAR event attendees.Scenic photo of the San Juan Ranch near Saguache, Colorado.Scenic photos of the San Juan Ranch near Saguache, Colorado.
Speakers
Senator Cleave Simpson of Colorado – a fourth-generation farmer and general manager of the Rio Grande Water Conservation District – presents at the first Colorado STAR event on Aug. 13, 2022, in Monte Vista, CO.Jimmy Emmons, a farmer from Oklahoma, gave the keynote presentation at the Colorado STAR event on Aug. 13, 2022, in Monte Vista, Colorado. “Changing our soil has changed our lives,” he said.Jimmy Emmons, a farmer from Oklahoma, asks a question of the audience at the Colorado STAR event on Aug. 13, 2022, in Monte Vista, Colorado.Colorado State Representative Donald Valdez addressed attendees of the first Colorado STAR event on Aug. 13, 2022, in Monte Vista, Colorado.Brice Custer is a no-till farmer in Hays, Kansas. Brice presented on the economics of cover cropping at the Colorado STAR event on Aug. 13, 2022, in Monte Vista, Colorado.Brice Custer presents on the economics of cover cropping at the Colorado STAR event on Aug. 13, 2022, in Monte Vista, Colorado.A representative from the Quivira Coalition presented a soil health workbook along with a free soil health primer from Acres U.S.A. and the Colorado Department of Agriculture.Max Neumeyer of Ground Up Consulting explains the ins and outs of the Colorado STAR Program at the program’s first event on Aug 13, 2022, in Monte Vista, Colorado.George Whitten, Kyler Brown, Brice Custer, Lyle Nissen and Jimmy Emmons, participated in a panel discussion for “Perspectives on Soil Health” to wrap up the Colorado STAR event Aug. 13, 2022, in Monte Vista, Colorado
