7:00 am – 5:00 pm
Registration and Information
7:00 am – 8:00 am
Breakfast with Exhibitors
8:00 am – 9:00 am
Congress Opening Session
Welcome, Sponsor Recognition and Overview of Program
9:00 am – 9:45 am
Opening Keynote: A Case for Global Soil Restoration – Dr. David Montgomery
9:45 am – 10:15 am
Trade Show/Networking Break
10:15 am – 11:45 am
Panel Discussion: Conservation in North America, Regional Perspectives – David Lobb, Moderator
Panel Dialogue with Q & A Discussion
Panelists: Kristine Nichols, Jodi DeJong-Hughes, Steve Groff, Seth Watkins
11:45 am – 1:15 pm
Lunch
1:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Afternoon Concurrent Sessions
Session 1: Conservation Agriculture: Building Sustainability – The path towards sustainability requires innovation and partnerships. The experiences of these speakers will provide valuable lessons of how conservation agriculture contributes to moving down this path.
Jodi DeJong-Hughes, Moderator – Overview of the session
Dennis Bulani – Thinking About Your Thinking
Breana Behrens – The Importance of Providing Landowners with the Full Spectrum of Information and Resources on Conservation Agriculture
Dennis Haak – Adoption Trends of Environmentally Sustainable Practices on Canadian Farms
Beth Poganski – REACHing out: An Innovative Participatory Approach to Conservation Integration in Agriculture
Amir Kassam – Sustainable Intensification and Conservation Agriculture
Moti Jaleta – Resource Saving and Productivity Impacts of Conservation Agriculture in Ethiopia
1:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Session 2: Conservation Agriculture: Soil Health/Biology as Key Factors – Conservation agriculture extends below the soil surface to help foster an environment that promotes and sustains biological activity. These papers provide a view of how to understand the critical role of soil biology.
Wade Thomason, Moderator – Overview of the session
Jill Clapperton – Healthy Soil is the Foundation of Civilizations
Chandra Sekhar Praharaj – Technological Interventions for Strategic Management of Water in Conserving Natural Resources
Lilian Mbuthia – Continuous Cotton Effects on Microbial Community Structures after Long-term (31 years) of Conservation Tillage in West Tennessee
Marie Bartz – No-Tillage Improves Earthworm Species Richness in Southern Brazil
Ramesh Kumar Sharma – Influence of Tillage and Residue Management Practices on Weeds in Rice-wheat Cropping Systems
Menale Kassie – The Role of Conservation Agriculture Practices in Production Risks, Crop Income and Agro-chemical Use
1:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Session 3: Conservation Agriculture: Innovative Adoption by Producers – Adoption of conservation agriculture is dependent upon producers and their innovative ideas and methods. This session will provide insights into how effective conservation agriculture can be used to achieve sustainability.
Tom Goddard, Moderator – Overview of the session
Pauline Mele – Harnessing the Biological Potential of Australian Grain Production Soils
Richard Bell – Entrepreneurship and the Adoption of Conservation Agriculture by Smallholder Farmers: Key Learning from Bangladesh
Christian Thierfelder – Identifying new Sustainable Intensification Pathways for Smallholder Farmers in Southern Africa
Yigezu A. Yigezu – Measuring the Impacts of Conservation Tillage on Household Income and Consumption: A Syrian Case
Jeffrey Mitchell – Development and Expansion of Conservation Agriculture Systems in California’s Central Valley
Jill Wheeler – The Good Growth Plan
3:30 pm – 5:00 pm
Poster Viewing/Trade Show/Networking Break
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Reception at the Winnipeg Convention Centre
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Dinner at the Winnipeg Convention Centre
Join us after dinner for ‘True Confessions of our Cover Crop Adventures’ as three farmers from different areas of the U.S reflect and share stories of the highs, lows, memorable moments and victories of implementing cover crop strategies on their farms.
