Interactions Between Cover Cropping and Integrated Grazing in Walnuts

Drew Cheney of Machado Family Farms will share his experiences of working with Tom Johnson to trial various cover crop mixes designed to be grazable and, and depending on the mix, to increase pollinator forage availability, increase soil water infiltration, fix nitrogen, and much more!

We will also go on an interactive tour of the farm where we will be observing the differences in soil quality across the five different cover crop seed mixes by using tools like soil probes, shovels, and infiltration rings. Also, we will see how the different mixes will attract beneficial insects by using a sweep net and observing sticky cards.

Tom Johnson will describe the decision making process of selecting a cover crop to address grower’s soil needs and what factors they considered on Machado Family Farms before selecting the mixes they planted. We’ll also hear from Vince Arburua of VA Livestock and Frankie Arburua of F Ewe Sheep Company about integrated grazing into cropping systems and considerations from a grazing perspective.

Details:

This event will take place in Linden, CA. The address will be provided in the confirmation email after RSVPing.

We will be walking into the field for hands on activities and sampling, so please make sure to bring comfortable walking shoes and a hat!

Coffee, water, and snacks will be provided.