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BROOKINGS, S.D. – South Dakota State University Extension and the Southeast Research Farm at SDSU invite farmers to attend the Sioux Falls Organic Conference on March 12, 2026.
Pete Sexton, associate Professor, SDSU Extension Sustainable Cropping Systems Specialist and Southeast Research Farm Supervisor, said the conference is a great way for farmers in the area to learn different ways of controlling weeds while reducing tillage.
“It’s an opportunity for people to network, to learn about research being done in other areas where people are reducing tillage,” Sexton said.
The conference is from 8:45 a.m. to 3:40 p.m. CST at the Best Western Plus Ramkota Hotel. Registration is $25 per person and is available by visiting extension.sdstate.edu/events and searching “organic”.
Anthony Bly, SDSU Extension Soils Field Specialist, will start the day with a short presentation on principles of soil health. Other speakers will include:
- Eric Gallandt, professor of weed ecology and management at the University of Maine on new tools for weed control in organic systems.
- Charlie Johnson, organic farmer from Madison, on crop production in South Dakota
- Rick Clark, organic farmer from Williamsport, Indiana, on organic no-till crop production in Indiana.
- Joy Scaria, Walter R. Sitlington Endowed Chair in Infectious Diseases and Associate Professor in the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology at Oklahoma State University, will discuss food quality and the human gut microbiome.
- Ben Brockmueller, researcher of organic and sustainable agriculture research and Extension at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an SDSU graduate, on leveraging ecological principles to reduce tillage in organic cropping systems.
- Kurt Dagel, agronomist with Olsen Custom Farms in Hendricks, Minnesota, on strategic use of an organic herbicide in a fragile soil environment.
- John Sather and Zeke Sather, organic farmers, Freyre Manufacturing and KT Transload, on using a flame weeder for weed control in Minnesota.
“We think this is a timely event, with presentations on a number of ways to reduce disturbance in the ecosystem while controlling weeds,” Sexton said.
SDSU Extension news release
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