This free, virtual meet-up series is for producers who want to exchange ideas and advice for troubleshooting on-farm challenges related to improving soil and water resources.
Have you found yourself wishing you could talk to other producers who are using or considering conservation practices to improve their soil, land, and bottom lines?
Whether you lack peers in your community whom you can talk to, or you just want to hear what producers elsewhere are doing and learning, this meet-up series is for you.
Join us! Register below.
Who can join
Good Idea Shop Talks is for row crop and livestock producers who could be anywhere on their conservation journey – whether you are just “conservation curious” or you are already doing cover crops, prairie strips, no till, managed grazing, or other conservation practices.
The Shop Talks are intended for producers in the following states of the Mississippi River Basin: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. But we welcome producers from other states.
How it works
In each Shop Talk, a producer will kick off the conversation by presenting a challenge they are experiencing with an in-field or edge-of-field conservation practice for the group to workshop. This producer is called the “pitcher.”
Then the group talks it out and problem solves together, with opportunities to share your own experience and soak up the lessons others have learned.
The focus is on conversation and learning together as peers – there will be no formal presentations from “experts”! So come ready to be an active participant.
Register for the Pre-Plant 2025 Season
Dates: Thursdays, March 13th, 20th, and 27th, 2025. You can come to all of them or just the ones that fit your schedule and interests.
Time: 11:30am CT / 12:30pm ET – Take your lunch break with us! You’re welcome to join from wherever you are – whether in the office or in the tractor.
Place: Zoom. We will send instructions for participating via Zoom for those who need it.
The registration link registers you for all of this season’s Shop Talks. You can attend those that fit your schedule.
*Each season is a set of 3 weekly meet-ups. They take place in the winter and summer.
Shop Talks Line-up
March 13th, 2025
Open forum about the future of conservation agriculture. Bring a question to contribute to the conversation!
March 20th, 2025
Mississippi producer Andy Schmidt will pitch this question: How could I capture a premium for producing GMO corn and beans in a sustainable/regenerative way?
March 27th, 2025
Wisconsin producer Ron Schoepp will pitch this question: What mechanical cover crop termination strategies have you found to be successful, and have you noticed a difference between terminating during the day versus at night?
Interested in pitching a question to kick off one of the Shop Talks? Contact Jenny Seifert.
Questions? Contact Amanda Gumbert or Jenny Seifert.