Uploaded September 2016 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
In this plenary discussion, Ramona Garner (USDA-NRCS Plant Materials Center) describes the efforts of the Plant Materials Center to identify and develop new and improved cover crops; germplasm identification and screening, and the role of the center in national cover crops and soil health projects.
This session was part of Cover Crops for Soil Health, a three-day professional development workshop hosted by Northeast SARE and Delaware State University in March 2016. More information about the event, including all session recordings and slide presentations, is at sare.org/cover-crops-training.
Find more practical information about cover crops at sare.org/cover-crops.
About the Speaker
Ramona Garner is the Plant Materials Specialist for the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service’s East National Technology Support Center in Greensboro, NC. She has worked in the NRCS Plant Materials Program for 25 years as both an agronomist and a center manager. Ramona is presently working with NRCS plant materials centers across the country to identify ways to improve our use of cover crops. A study at six centers extending from the east to west coast is evaluating seeding rates and species mixes and how they may influence soil health. Another study at 25 centers is evaluating the adaptability of 52 cultivars from 8 cover crop species. Ramona grew up on a family farm in Alabama and received her PhD in Agronomy from Clemson University.
In this plenary discussion, Ramona Garner (USDA-NRCS Plant Materials Center) describes the efforts of the Plant Materials Center to identify and develop new and improved cover crops; germplasm identification and screening, and the role of the center in national cover crops and soil health projects.
This session was part of Cover Crops for Soil Health, a three-day professional development workshop hosted by Northeast SARE and Delaware State University in March 2016. More information about the event, including all session recordings and slide presentations, is at sare.org/cover-crops-training.
Find more practical information about cover crops at sare.org/cover-crops.
About the Speaker
Ramona Garner is the Plant Materials Specialist for the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service’s East National Technology Support Center in Greensboro, NC. She has worked in the NRCS Plant Materials Program for 25 years as both an agronomist and a center manager. Ramona is presently working with NRCS plant materials centers across the country to identify ways to improve our use of cover crops. A study at six centers extending from the east to west coast is evaluating seeding rates and species mixes and how they may influence soil health. Another study at 25 centers is evaluating the adaptability of 52 cultivars from 8 cover crop species. Ramona grew up on a family farm in Alabama and received her PhD in Agronomy from Clemson University.
