Kulbhushan Grover, NMSU crop ecologist, is one of the speakers at the Sustainable Agriculture Conference, Tuesday, Dec. 3, in Deming, N.M. Grover is pictured by research plots where he's researching potential cover crop selections for use in the Desert Southwest. (Courtesy photo)

New Mexico State University and Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education will host the 2013 New Mexico Sustainable Agriculture Conference Tuesday, Dec. 3, in Deming, N.M.

The conference is free and sponsored by Western SARE, Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, a USDA program devoted to providing agricultural professionals with information and training in research-based, area specific, sustainable agriculture practices. The theme for this year's conference is healthy soil - managing soils for long-term productivity.

Scheduled presentations include: "Growing the Community from the Roots Up," by John Garlisch; "Organic Benefits and Challenges in the Face of Climate Change," by Erin Silva; "Pistachios: A Sustainable Alternative to Pecans in Southwest N.M.," by Richard Heerema; "A Systems Approach to Managing Soil Health," by John Idowu; "Principles and Observations of Cover Crops in Southwest N.M.," by Kulbhushan Grover; "Soil & Water Analyses Interpretation," by Rudy Garcia; and "Microbial Treatment of Soil, Seed and Plant: Can it Stop Chile Wilt?," by Soum Sanogo.

This professional development conference will be held at the Mimbres Valley Special Events Center, located at 2300 E. Pine St., in Deming, N.M. Lunch will be provided on-site.

To learn more about the conference, or to register, visit http://aces.nmsu.edu/programs/sare/. The registration deadline is Tuesday, Nov. 26.