Retired engineer Bob Recker is an expert on wide row corn. In this week’s podcast, Recker explains why dedicating half of your corn growing space can triple your bottom line with little impact on corn yields, how 60-inch corn rows can improve soil health and water quality, why research and development are happening every day on the farm, and more. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators) Editor’s note: For clarification, there has been no research stating that using 60 inch wide corn rows adds significant financial benefit.

By definition, anything that was or is alive is considered organic matter because it contains carbon-based compounds. This article covers some of the considerations around using organic soil amendments. The most common types of soil organic amendments are manure, compost, and crop residue (including cover crops). Read more in this article from Organic Farmer.

University researchers and the Western Cover Crops Council are conducting a survey of western farmers to improve understanding of cover crop use throughout the U.S. West. The survey results will provide valuable feedback on current use of cover crops in the west, future outreach and research needs to expand use, and inform federal cover crop incentive programs to better serve farmers.

Paul Gross, Field Crops Educator with Michigan State University Extension, explains why calibrating your grain drill is one of the most important things to do when planting cover crop seed, the differences when preparing to plant a single cover crop species or a cover crop mix, why you should always measure 200 feet in the field before calibration, and more.

In this week’s podcast, crop insurance expert and Wisconsin farmer Ryan Stockwell with the National Wildlife Federation discusses why crop insurance regulations are outdated, why crop insurance eligibility rules are unfavorable to cover crops, how crop insurance will be evolving, and more. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

A group of California organic farmers is sharing information about their efforts to combine reduced tillage with the use of cover crops, which they have been planting on their vegetable farms for decades to protect soil while adding carbon and diversity to their production systems. "Every one of the pioneering farmers has seen tremendous benefits from the practices," said Jeff Mitchell, UC Cooperative Extension vegetable crops specialist.

In this week’s podcast, crop insurance expert and Wisconsin farmer Ryan Stockwell with the National Wildlife Federation discusses why crop insurance regulations are outdated, why crop insurance eligibility rules are unfavorable to cover crops, how crop insurance will be evolving, and more.

Farmers who have adopted healthy soil practices such as growing cover crops or adding compost say the techniques save money on production costs while enhancing crop yields. A farmland-conservation group says it hopes case studies documenting the benefits will encourage more farmers to use similar methods. Read more in this article from Ag Alert.

Results of a three-year soil health study focusing on arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi proves there is still much to learn about soil microbes. “This is the purpose of research,” explains Mike Lehman, soil microbiologist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture - Agriculture Research Station (USDA-ARS) in Brookings, S.D. Read more in this article from Aberdeen News.

A Tennessee farmer discusses why he uses cover crops to keep his topsoil on his farm, scavenge nutrients, and erosion control.