*Global CA-CoP* *CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE* *for sustainable agriculture, land and ecosystem management* Dear Subscribers, Please see herebelow an announcement of a series of seminars by Helen Athowe who runs a no-till minimum soil disturbance organic farm in Montana. Apologies for any cross-posting. *Amir Kassam * *Moderator* *Global CA-CoP* e-mail: [log in to unmask] URL: http://www.fao.org/conservation-agriculture ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Helen Atthowe <[log in to unmask]> Date: Fri, 15 Jan 2021 at 02:43 Subject: Workshop series on our reduced & no-till, closed-system, plant-based, organic farm To: Hello farming and save-the-world friends: I am working with the Organic Agriculture Centre Canada to present a free 6-week Zoom workshop series Janurary - March about how my late husband and I developed our present reduced & no-till, closed-system, plant-based, organic farming methods over the past 35 years on our farms in Montana and California, and now in Oregon. Here is the link if you are interested: *Session 1January 27 - Soil Building to Eliminate Brought-In Fertility * FREE registration required: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/soil-building-to-eliminate-brought-in-fertility-with-helen-atthowe-registration-136737207669 In this first session, we learn from Helen how a “soil organic matter system” based on the ten ecological principles for managing relationships rather than just crops can be created. We will learn how to evolve away from tillage and off-farm materials as fertilizers. The goal is a high carbon, low-nitrogen, grow-our-own-fertilizer system using living mulches and hay mulch. *Session 2February 3 - Habitat Building to Eliminate Insect & Disease Spraying * FREE registration required: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/habitat-building-to-eliminate-insect-disease-spraying-with-helen-atthowe-registration-136864267709 In this second session, we learn from Helen how to integrate our “soil organic matter system” into also creating habitat for biological control organisms. The goal is to maintain natural enemy abundance and diversity as close to the crops as possible. An optimized habitat management strategy will enhance below-ground microorganisms and above-ground natural enemies that suppress crop insect and disease pests. Sessions 4-6 will be posted ~13 days in advance, please follow us on Eventbrite to receive notifications: Session 3: February 10 - Living/Hay Mulches, Cover Crops & Green Manures Session 4: February 24 - When & When Not to Till: On-Farm Research Session 5: March 3 - Plant-Based Fertilizers as Key to Soil & Habitat-Building Session 6: March 10 - Techniques to Keep a Growing Root in the Soil Year-Round -- Helen Atthowe [log in to unmask] website: veganicpermaculture.com ######################################################################## To unsubscribe from the CA-Cop-L list, click the following link: &*TICKET_URL(CA-Cop-L,SIGNOFF);