Register for Soil Health and Water Management Field Day

Regenerative agriculture with the help of no-till, cover crops and water management technology and conservation practices will be the focus of the Soil Health and Water Management Field Day at The Ohio State University at Lima’s Regenerative Agriculture Farm from 8:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m., Thursday, August 28, 2025. 

Ohio State Lima’s regenerative farming initiative started in 2020 and aims to provide research and educational opportunities focused on regenerative farming practices. The field day will feature talks by leading experts, industry representatives and testimonials from practicing farmers. 

In-field demonstrations include plots of various cover crop mixes, center pivot irrigation, drainage water recycling, and water quality. Featured speaker topics will include a farm business analysis of cover crop financials, linking soil health testing to management and water management in Ohio including both drainage and irrigation. The field day is intended for farmers, drainage contractors, state and federal agency personnel, extension educators, students and the general public. 

Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) continuing education credits are available, including 0.5 credits for nutrient management, 0.5 credits for crop management, and 4.0 credits for soil and water management.

Registration is required to attend. Cost is $25 and includes lunch. Registered participants will pay at the door on the day of the event with cash or check only. The event and registration details are available at go.osu.edu/limafieldday.

The organizing team includes Ohio State Lima, Ohio State University Extension in Allen County, Allen County Soil and Water Conservation District, and the Ohio No-Till Council.

Event sponsors include A.G. Irrigation, Valley Irrigation, Lower 48 Instruments, SARE and the Nature Conservancy-Ohio with funding support from the Environmental Protection Agency, Great Lakes Restoration, The Ohio State University Sustainability Institute and Sea Grant. Project partners include Ohio State, the Ohio Environmental Protection Area, the Ohio Department of Agriculture, Allen Soil and Water Conservation District and the Ohio Land Contractors of America. 

For more details and/or sponsorship information, contact Garth McDorman, agriculture and natural resources Extension educator, at mcdorman.15@osu.edu or Dr. Vinayak Shedekar, assistant professor of agricultural water management, at shedekar.1@osu.edu.

About the farm

The field day will take place at the Ohio State Lima Regenerative Farm, which started in 2020 and provides research and educational opportunities focused on regenerative farming practices. The farm at Ohio State Lima is a learning laboratory for farmers to see how regenerative ag can work in the real world and how conservation practices can improve outcomes both on individual farms and collectively. The farm team has implemented on-farm trials to demonstrate and evaluate regenerative practices along-side conventional agronomic practices. An interdisciplinary team of researchers and students are engaged to monitor soils, ecology, diversity and water quality at the site. To accelerate the transition to a regenerative farm, the team envisioned a project to implement farm drainage and associated water management and water quality practices on about 120 acres with funding support from the sources listed above. Now, the farm serves as a “one-stop-shop” for state-of-the-art practices for regenerative farming, smart water management, water quality protection, as well as ecological diversity.

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Source: Vinayak Shedekar and Garth McDorman