New Mexico State University’s Cooperative Extension Service will hold a Biochar-Soil Health-RAWCS Field Workshop on May 6, from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The event will take place at the Leyendecker Plant Science Research Center, 7200 Plant Science Circle, in Las Cruces.
The workshop will train participants to make biochar from waste wood. It will also offer strategies for soil health and water management in the arid Southwest.
This activity will give attendees hands-on experience as they follow the complete biochar-making process from start to finish. Participants will observe soil health practices in the field. Additionally, they will learn about a new project called Resilient Agricultural Water Community Systems, or RAWCS. It focuses on developing innovative water and land management initiatives to enhance thriving agriculture in the western United States.
“This field workshop will enable participants to gain hands-on experience preparing biochar from woody biomass, walk through cover crop fields and learn about factors that influence successful soil health and water management in arid croplands,” said John Idowu, Extension Plant Sciences specialist and agronomist.
What to Expect from the Workshop
During the workshop, Idowu will present soil health management strategies for the arid Southwest and explain connections to water management.
Professor Catherine Brewer from NMSU’s Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering will present on preparing high-quality biochar from various feedstocks.
NMSU’s Watershed Management Professor and New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute Director Sam Fernald is leading the new RAWCS project. It features speakers discussing soil-water relationships and factors affecting crop consumptive water use.
Sponsors and funding agencies support this workshop and the long-term soil health site at Leyendecker. These include the College of ACES, the New Mexico Department of Agriculture Healthy Soil Program, the U.S. Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Southwest Groundwater Project, and the Resilient Agricultural Water Community Systems Project.
Register for this free NMSU College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences’ Department of Extension Plant Sciences event online. Visit https://rsvp.aces.nmsu.edu/soilhealth3 to complete your registration.