Soil Health

Tan Tar A Resort - Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri

Conservation Values from the 2015 Missouri Natural Resource Conference was a much better experience than the recent conference I attended for 2017 that was themed "Soil Health Foundation of Conservation."  As in 2015, I was among ten Missouri Master Naturalists members from the Lake of the Ozarks Chapter who was given a scholarship (partial this year) to attend the 3-day educational event.  This opportunity would allow up to ten hours of Advanced Education; a yearly requirement of eight hours is needed to maintain certification as a member of the Missouri Master Naturalist volunteer program.  I only stayed long enough to claim four hours of advanced education and will use other opportunities available throughout the upcoming year to complete the requirement.  I would like to address my limited educational experiences at this year's conference in the most positive way I can but would highly suggest that reading my Conservation Values blog from 2015 first would help put my current experience in perspective.

The event began on a Wednesday afternoon at Tan Tar A Resort at Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri.  From my 2015 experience, I realized that I didn't need to be there until the Mixer and Poster Event which began at 6:30 pm.  The afternoon benefited those interested in the Job Fair as it provided pathways and applying for Federal jobs, Missouri State jobs, and networking with resource professionals.  It also had a class on resume review and then a room full of job opportunities.  I knew I would meet-up with members of my Lake of the Ozarks Chapter of the Missouri Master Naturalists at this Mixer.  There was good food, beverages including wine and beer, raffles, and silent auctions.  The large Windgate Hall included over 50 posters!  My favorites included:

-Comparing the Home Ranges of Male and Female Ornate Box Turtles & Three-Toed Box Turtles
-Visitor surveys of on-site elk sightings
-Invertebrate communities in Missouri grasslands - bees & grasshoppers
-Trout stream water temps in the Ozark Mountains
-Conducting educational outreach programs in state parks as interpreter

There were over 40 MNRC Exhibitors!  My favorites included:

Grow Native!  
Lakes of Missouri Volunteer Program
Missouri Prairie Foundation
Missouri Wildflowers Nursery LLC

Windgate Hall filled with posters, exhibitors, and sponsor booths to view

The evening's Mixer was a great time to move about and talk freely with a variety of people attending in addition to the authors of the posters, the exhibitors, and the sponsors.  This included about 800 people working in the natural resources field.  It was a time to exchange information and ideas that encourages continued cooperation among the resource professionals, agencies, and other natural resource stakeholders.  Cooperating agencies are the Missouri Department of Conservation, University of Missouri, School of natural Resources, the Missouri Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The organizers and sponsors of this annual meeting include a unique blend of disciplines represented by the four societies that promote wise use and management of Missouri's natural resources:

Missouri Chapter of the American Fisheries Society
Missouri Chapter of the Society of American Foresters
Missouri Chapter of The Wildlife Society
Show-Me Chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Society

Whole Hog Pulled Pork was the Main Meat

I started my evening early enough to enjoy a couple cups of Highlander Grog on the main floor lobby and found a comfortable chair to people-watch and be receptive to conversations in this sitting area in view of the grand 2-story double fireplace.  This is a very familiar location from my 30-year career working for the State Tax Commission.  Lots of good memories of conferences in the past and looking forward to new experiences.  This central location had always been my favorite to meet and greet people.  It wasn't long before I saw some familiar faces and had some nice conversations.  Then it was time for dinner!

Our group from the Missouri Master Naturalists (MMN) didn't sit all together as everyone came in at different times and some of us were done eating early enough to enjoy all the displays in Windgate Hall.  Of course, it went on until 11:00 pm but that was too late for me.  I was driving back and forth as I only lived 45 minutes away.  I had several opportunities to mix with new people and catch parts of interesting conversations all around.  Finally, I found a table full of MMN members and sat for a short while to visit.  There had been some recent tensions among some of the members and I was hoping it was left in the past but I sensed some residue that indicated there may still be some issues that need more time to go away so I didn't hang around this group very long.  I know I was polite and acknowledged everyone.

The next day was to be a full one beginning very early!  I drove in by 7:00 am to enjoy a Continental Breakfast.  I was happy to find an empty table by the coffee refill station where I knew I would see a variety of people.  One young lady asked to sit with me and I was very receptive.  She was with Conservation and in her first year.  We talked very easily and I encouraged her to stay with a state career and explained how well it had worked out for me.  We also connected in that she had worked as a mortgage underwriter before her recent state job.  When I mentioned I was a General Certified Appraiser for the state, she knew exactly where I was coming from!  It was refreshing to have a conversation with someone that understands the property value process.  She explained to me that she had thought about working in state agriculture but that her mother had advised her not to because it is too political.  I understood what she was talking about through my own experiences in state valuation of agricultural land.  I think we were both a little disappointed when the announcement over the loud speaker said that the Plenary Session was to begin in five minutes as our conversation was really interesting!

I found my MMN group in the Plenary Session room and we all sat together for the most part.  This morning's two speakers included all the participants of the conference.  The interesting topic was "What is Soil Health?" by Jerry J. Hatfield who is a laboratory Director and Supervisory Plant Physiologist.  He had an interesting and very long bio that was included in our handout.  His contact is jerry.hatfield@ars.usda.gov.

It was an interesting talk about improving soil to capture water.  It involves no till/no plow and no chemical manipulation methods.  He stressed developing biological activity that consumes the crop residue to create a stable home for soil biology.  He says the measure of soil health is when 2" of rain does not run off.  Using an active system extends the time with root growth.  Overall, what impacts soil health is water quality, air quality, wildlife habitat, pollinator habitat, and production efficiency.  He went into detail about all these and I found it very informative from his perspective.  It was very topical in this year's theme "Soil Health, the Foundation of Conservation."  Mr. Hatfield brought it together well and was a good speaker.

After a cookie and beverage break it, the remaining morning was for the second speaker, Ryan Stockwell.  His short bio said he provides outreach, education, and policy analysis on the agricultural team of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF).  Some of his articles and blogs are available at http://blog.nwf.org/author/stockwellr/.  The title of this talk today was "Wildlife Benefits of Soil Health" according to our handout which I thought would be interesting.   The only note I got was "no soil health = no wildlife."  After about five minutes, he decided to change his subject to "Outreach to Farmers."  It escalated to be more of a political agenda and I was mostly disappointed.  My notes indicated that I understood Mr. Stockwell to say that farmers have a great "fear of change" and that at every opportunity we should try to "speak their language; not yours" and challenge their fear.   He indicated that the best way to get through to farmers is to have lots of local data about different farming practices and their successes.  I'm no farmer but I have lived in Iowa for seven years and knew many.  I also worked for the State Tax Commission for 30 years and very much involved in the valuation of all agricultural properties in Missouri.  I felt that Mr. Stockwell's attitude was condescending toward lifelong farmers.  After I checked out his blog, I realized that his head and heart are in the right place and I wish him the best of success.  I actually have supported the NWF for many years as it is headquartered where I grew up in Virginia.  I can only hope that this fear of change is something that may go away with the newer generations and their progressive attitudes that include a bigger perspective and appreciation of soil health.  Mr. Stockwell never addressed corporate farming and the heavy financial connections that greatly influence that "fear of change."  It was now lunch time and I was mostly disappointed in this talk because it was misleading to not talk about how wildlife benefits from healthy soil which would have been more useful to me.

It was a nice long walk to get to the restaurant choices which was refreshing with a great lake view.  I was ready for the afternoon class which had five choices and all participants could choose whatever interested them the most.  I choose "The Relationship of Soil Characteristics and Biota with Native Plant Restorations." I read the page-long description in the handout and thought that it was going to be about soil microbial communities, mycorrhizal fungi, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF); important drivers of plant community composition and diversity in grasslands.  The presentation had much to be desired and I was disappointed.  To begin, the speaker wasn't even present but was on speaker phone and had someone click each slide for presentation.  The sound preparation was painful and then it just was irritating with much echo and tin-sounding.  I tried to absorb what was being said but it was so detailed that the charts and graphs shown on the screen were the only focus and not well viewed.  It was very dry and boring.  I didn't hear anything worth noting.  I know it is rude to get up and leave a class but in this case, the speaker wasn't even present!  So in less than an hour, I got up with another MMN member and walked out to find another class that we might find interesting.  We went across the hall and as we reached to pull open the door, two girls came out and we asked them how that class was going.  They said, "You don't want to go in there!"  They had the same look we did in that "search for knowledge" and said they were going to the room we just came from.  We gave them the same advice they gave us.  Rather than go into every room and disturb people, we decided to call it a day.  I will count only four hours of Advanced Education for this day that had a potential for five.  I can get the remaining three hours needed for MMN requirements for this year from other opportunities available later on in the year that would likely not disappoint.  I didn't feel like coming back for the remaining half day and found more healthful alternatives I could relate too.  Soil Health was not doing it for me at this time.

One of the best parts of my last day happened unexpectedly in the elevator!  My MMN friend and I were talking and making plans about getting together soon and I don't know all what else we said but there was another girl in the elevator with us.  When my MMN friend got out at her floor and the doors closed, this girl looked at me and said with a big smile, "What a great friendship you two must have!"  And I just smiled back and said, "Yes, we have!"  I left feeling very uplifted and very connected.