Workshop Offers Soil Management Tips For Beginner Farmers

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - A workshop Sunday is offering practical tips for beginner Michigan farmers, especially those interested in sustainable production of vegetables.

It's the second in a series of classes offered by a new Michigan State University program called the Farmer Field School, which is geared toward growers during their first 10 years of production.

The offerings consist of intensive one- and two-day workshops with an emphasis on hands-on instruction.

The all-day class Sunday focuses on soil management topics including fertility, cover cropping, weed management and tillage.

It's being held at the Student Organic Farm in East Lansing, where participants will work in the field and in hoop houses.

Michigan lost 4,000 farms between 2007 and 2012. Organizers say the Farmer Field School is intended to help reverse that trend.

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