The Cover Crop
From the Southern Wells FFA
Issue I : November 20, 2013
What am I reading?
Upcoming Events
Spreading the Christmas Spirit
The sound of bells will soon be heard everywhere you go. FFA will be donning warm clothes and grabbing bells to ring for the Salvation Army. They will be stationed at the entrances of Bluffton Wal-Mart on December 6th and again on December 14th. Bring your extra change and listen to that resounding clink in the red bucket as your heart is warmed with the spirit of giving.
The Next Generation
On November 15th, members met at Zane Herr's house for a potluck chili dinner for games and fellowship as well as to get down to business. Current President Nick Thompson opened the meeting and it was moved to adopt the committee's recommendation. The new officers will be inducted in January with their first order of business being to create the chapter's Program of Activities, a tentative calendar of activities planned for the coming year.
Returning Home
Fellow NRCS co-workers demonstrated soil health and tested the soil judgers true knowledge of their contest. Part of their demonstration included showing the difference between no-till and conventional till farming. The soil as a whole is losing vital organic matter as hay and livestock is being taken out of the corn-bean rotation. Residue from these processes helps to feed the bacteria to create organic matter. A good soil has at least five earthworms to each shovelful. As their environment decreases, the earthworms disappear. The class dipped below the microscopic level to see how protozoa and bacteria work to feed the plant. Then it was demonstrated what happens to the no-till soil and conventional soil as rain attempts to impact the soil. No-till soil drained water efficiently while conventional tillage did not. Andrea Murray got her hands rather dirty showing that the no-till soil still absorbs water. The conventional till sample seemingly melted through the wire net submersed into a cylinder of water. The men from NRCS explained that the major problem with fields today is not a runoff problem, its an infiltration problem. Students were exposed to different aspects of agriculture and were given roads to travel on in the future if they wanted to pursue an agriculture degree.
National Convention
Movin' it to Oklahoma
Singing in the Choir
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I'd like to hear from you! Leave a comment or email me directly. Feel free to contact my advisor directly at sstauffer@swraiders.com.
Email: alyzoda@gmail.com
Location: Southern Wells Junior/Senior High School, Poneto, IN, United States