Building capacity among Indiana conservation partners to leverage newly developed tools to assist small-scale soil health practitioners.

Commodities

• Vegetables: artichokes, asparagus, beans, beets, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbages, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cucurbits, eggplant, garlic, greens (leafy), greens (lettuces), leeks, lentils, okra, onions, parsnips, peas (culinary), peppers, radishes (culinary), rutabagas, sweet corn, sweet potatoes, taro, tomatoes, turnips

Practices

• Crop Production: application rate management, conservation tillage, cover crops, cropping systems, crop rotation, fertilizers, multiple cropping, no-till, nutrient cycling, nutrient management, organic fertilizers
• Education and Training: demonstration, farmer to farmer, focus group, networking, technical assistance, workshop
• Natural Resources/Environment: biodiversity, carbon sequestration, habitat enhancement, soil stabilization
• Pest Management: cultural control, mulches - general, smother crops, soil solarization
• Production Systems: organic agriculture
• Soil Management: composting, nutrient mineralization, organic matter, soil analysis, soil chemistry, soil microbiology, soil quality/health
• Sustainable Communities: urban agriculture

The target audience is Indiana conservation professionals who would benefit from newly developed tools and resources to assist small farmers and gardeners with conservation practices. This includes NRCS district conservationists, Purdue Extension Ag and Natural Resource (ANR) educators, SWCD technicians, ISDA resource specialists, and extends to the Purdue Master Gardener program, community organizations, educators, and farmers themselves. Major project outcomes include: 1) Increased capacity within the Indiana Conservation Partnership to use the newly developed tools to assist small farmers and gardeners with conservation planning.
2) Increased technical capacity and tool adoption among vegetable growers.
3) Online educational material. 4) Enhanced tools.

Major activities are for the Marion County SWCD Soil Health Specialist to: 1) Build technical capacity within the Indiana Conservation Partnership to use the Indiana Nutrient Management, Cover Crop, and Mulching Tools for technical assistance to small-scale producers. 2) Deliver online and in-person training to Indiana partners and farmers. 3) Create and share supporting resources and training for conservation professionals and farmers who use the tools. Create YouTube videos, shareable PowerPoints, and pdfs. 4) Train NRCS and partners in how to utilize the tools and resources for implementation requirement documentation for financial incentive programs. 5) Raise awareness about available resources through outreach. 6) Enhance the tools. Use both existing knowledge of needs and gather user feedback. 7) Maintain and utilize the SWCD Eagle Creek Demonstration Garden in Indianapolis for workshops, technical assistance, professional development, and innovation.

One output theme of this project is to provide training to conservation partners on newly developed conservation tools and technical resources. Another output is to produce shareable powerpoints and online training videos that professionals can utilize when working with farmers.

The SHS will provide a minimum of 5 trainings per year, or 15 total, for conservation professionals. The SHS will attempt to perform training sessions during events where many partners are gathered together, such as annual conferences, Urban Soil Health’s “Get the Dirt” conference, and the Indiana Small Farms Conference. Existing partnerships should easily facilitate those opportunities. Realizing the reach needs to go beyond these conferences, the SHS will ensure that multiple trainings occur to increase access to the information. The goal is to provide training to 15 ANR, 30 NRCS, and 20 SWCD employees per year.

The SHS will produce shareable PowerPoints and online training videos. While there is a multitude of topics that would benefit from technical content, the SHS will prioritize the creation of critical products, including:

• Expand the Marion County SWCD YouTube channel to include educational videos on the technical aspects of conservation practices. The goal is to reach over 4,000 viewers.
• 1 training video on how to use the Nutrient Management Tool.
• 1 training video on how to use the Mulching Tool.
• 6 YouTube videos that detail different no-till cover crop tactics that can be used to best prepare for specific vegetables. This includes cover crop options before sweet corn, bush beans, garlic, early spring vegetables, tomatoes, and kale.
• PDF case study document on real life on-farm examples of Nutrient Management Tool soil testing and fertilizer recommendations for a diversified vegetable rotation.
• A shared and annotated PowerPoint presentation template for conservation professionals to utilize to educate farmers on no-till vegetable systems that incorporate cover crops. The presentation will detail cover crop planning in a vegetable system, cover crop resources and selection, management, and termination.