Regenerating Soil Health One Field at a Time

February 23, 2023 | Thursday Sessions 

 Grace Community Church 5:30 – 8:30 pm

5:30 PM - Arrivals and Supper

6:00 PM - Welcome - Margit Kaltenekker & Andrew Rutter 

6:15 – 7:00 PM  
     o The Six Keys to Biological Grace - Keith Berns

7:00 – 7:15 PM Break

7:15 – 7:45 PM -
     o Getting the Most out of your Soil Tests: What Difference can Cover Crops Make?
     Dr. Deann Presley & Dr. Peter Tomlinson
We will discuss how and when to test your soil health and what producers can learn from soil tests. We will also review cover crop research in Kansas and discuss opportunities.

7:45 – 8 :30 PM
      o Alpha and Omega Covers:
        Cover Crops for Grazing  Before and After Cash Crops ,
       Lucinda Stuenkel 
Ideas of what can be planted before each of your cash crops to improve the soil fertility and structure for your next cash crop. Learn how grazing to terminate the cover crop can save money, time, chemicals, and machinery. 

Our Presenters

Read Below to learn about  this day's presenters! 

Keith Bernes

Co-Owner/ Operator 
Green Cover Seed

Keith Berns combines over 20 years of no-till farming with 10 years of teaching Agriculture and Computers. In addition to no-tilling 2,000 acres of irrigated and dryland corn, soybeans, rye, triticale, peas, sunflowers, and buckwheat in South Central Nebraska, he also co-owns and operates Green Cover Seed, one of the major cover crop seed providers and educators in the United States. Through Green Cover Seed, Keith has experimented with over 100 different cover crop types and hundreds of mixes planted into various situations and has learned a great deal about cover crop growth, nitrogen fixation, moisture usage, and grazing utilization of cover crops. Keith was honored by the White House as a 2016 Champion of Change for Sustainable and Climate-Smart Agriculture. Keith also developed the SmartMix CalculatorTM one of the most widely used cover crop selection tools on the internet.
Keith also was appointed by Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts to be part of the Nebraska Healthy Soils Task Force and had the privilege of serving as the chairman.
Keith has a Masters Degree in Agricultural Education from the University of Nebraska and teaches on cover crops and soil health more than 30 times per year to various groups and audiences. 


Dr. Deann Presley

Extension Specialist
Department o fAgronomy
K-State University

Dr. DeAnn Presley is a Professor and Extension Specialist in the Department of Agronomy at Kansas State University, specializing in environmental soil science and management and soil and water conservation. Her applied research and extension focuses on balancing the demands for increased agricultural production and conserving natural resources. Current projects include adding cover crops to cropping systems and measuring effects on soil health and crop yield; quantifying wind erodibility of soils under different management practices; and beneficial reuse of waste materials as soil amendments to improve degraded or contaminated soils. She also teaches soil genesis and classification, soil mineralogy, and coaches the soil judging team.

B.S. Agronomy, Iowa State Univ., 1999; M.S. Agronomy, Kansas State Univ., 2002; Ph.D., Agronomy, Kansas State Univ., 2007. Member: American Society of Agronomy, Soil Science Society of America, International Soil and Tillage Research Organization, Soil and Water Conservation Society. Certified

Professional Soil Scientist #57054


Dr. Peter Tomlinson

Associate Professor
Extension Specialist for Environmental Quality
Agronomy Department
K-State University

Peter Tomlinson is an Associate Professor and Extension Specialist for Environmental Quality in the Agronomy Department at Kansas State University. Prior to joining K-State, in 2011, Peter completed his graduate work in Nutrient Management and Soil Ecology at the University of Arkansas. His applied research and extension program, focuses on understanding the effects of agricultural best management practices on soil health, nutrient dynamics, nitrous oxide emissions, and water and air quality.


Lucinda Stuenkel

Sunny Day Farms Owner

Dr. Lucinda Stuenkel owns and manages Sunny Day Farms Grass-Fed/Grass-Finished Beef and Stuenkel Farms Cow/Calf. She custom calves and custom grazes for 7 different owners. They have been using cover crops for 17 years to improve soil health, break soil compaction, improve water infiltration, and provide forage for cattle, goats, and sheep.


Thank you!