On July 9, Ray Archuleta, “The Soil Guy,” will visit Crookston to perform several soil demonstrations. He will also teach about soil health and inform farmers how to get a better return on investment for their crops.
“We were approached back in January by one of the District Technicians down in Traverse, Minnesota. He got word from the Minnesota Soil Health Coalition that Ray Archuleta had asked them about doing a soil health tour here,” says Morgan Torkelson of the West Polk Soil and Water Conservation District. “He wanted to focus on this area because it has heavier soil, a colder climate, and shorter growing season windows. It makes it hard to get cover crops started and makes it harder to do reduced tillage, which is good for soil health just because people need to get in and blacken the soil or get it warm and right for planting crops. So he wanted to focus on this to show folks, if nothing else, just the importance of soil health.”
Torkelson describes Archuleta, “I mean, he is a great motivational speaker. I’ve watched a couple of YouTube videos since finding out about this (the upcoming Soil Health Tour), and he knows what he is talking about. He has been doing soil science for about 30 years at the NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service) and his private company now, too. So he knows his stuff inside and out.”
The schedule for Archuleta’s Crookston visit is as follows-
- At 8:00 a.m., there will be Ray Arhculeta’s Arrival and Networking
- At 8:30 a.m., there will be Introductions
- At 9:00 a.m., Guest Speaker Ray Archuleta will speak
- At 12:00 p.m., there will be Lunch
- At 12:30 p.m., there will be a Rainfall Simulator and Soil Pits
- At 1:30 p.m., there will be a Farmer Panel
- At 3:30 p.m., the event will wrap up
Those interested in attending Ray Archuleta’s Crookston stop on his 5-Stop Soil Health Tour must preregister before the event. To sign up, click the link below. https://www.mnsoilhealth.org/event/ray-archuleta-in-crookston-mn/
The “Crookston Stop” is July 9, 2024. Due to high rain amounts, the location has been moved to the Northwest Research and Outreach Center (NWROC) Youngquist Auditorium parking area.
