photo credit: Charlotte Smith Photography
On August 28th, 2026 the Washtenaw County Conservation District field day focused on soil health and networking between over 115 farmers, conservation related organization staff, and community members.
Thank you to the hosts, the Maulbetsch family, for generously opening their farm for the event.
Presentations
Brian Dougherty (Understanding Ag) on Interpreting Haney Soil Tests
Taylor Janicek-Gaier (Lakeshore Ag, LLC) on Interpreting BeCrop Soil Tests
In-field Demonstrations & Simulation Stations: Rainfall Simulator, Cornell Soil Assessment and BRIX test, Crimper
Lunch featured ingredients from local farms and was catered by Maggie Long of The Kitchen at the Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales in Dexter and Damian Rivera of Damian's Craft Meats.
Damian and his partner Rosemary Linares, gave an update on their progress towards opening a USDA meat processing facility in Manchester, Michigan. They are aiming create a regional hub to support small and mid-size livestock farmers, create living-wage jobs, and make high-quality, humanely raised meat more accessible.