Sjoerd is Soil Management Specialist in the Crop Management Extension Group at Penn State University. He studies and promotes methods to conserve and improve soil on working farmland. His work concentrates on sustainable intensification using Conservation Agriculture. Due to a collaborative effort, no-tillage use has increased from 23% to 65% of planted acres in Pennsylvania between 2004 and 2018. The adoption of cover crops is also increasing in Pennsylvania, with some counties showing greater than 50% use of cover crops after annual crops. Sjoerd is now involved in an effort to increase integration of CA and livestock. Sjoerd has a passion for Africa – he has experience in Niger, Benin, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Uganda and South Africa. He has trained youth in Kenya and Uganda in haymaking and how to start a haybaling business using appropriate technologies.