Soil health - Articles

Carbon Farming Growing in Interest

July 31, 2020 | Posted in Soil Health

Mitchell Hora walks to a field on his family’s southeast Iowa farm, where 5-inch-high soybeans grow in alternating rows with 4-foot-tall cereal rye. The 25-year-old admits that combining the two crops would make most farmers freak out. Read more in this article from The Hawk Eye (Burlington, IA).

Research on Cover Crops Essential for Restoring Soil

July 27, 2020 | Posted in Soil Health

Source: Herald Journal News (Logan, UT)

Due to the increased demand for efficiency, farmers have had to pull more resources from the soil to make sure their production practices are as efficient as possible. The extra demand for resources from the soil has led to a decrease in overall soil health. Read more in this article from the Herald Journal News (Logan, UT).

Livestock Grazing on Cover Crops Improves Soil Health

July 24, 2020 | Posted in Grazing

Source: Farm Forum

In 2016, Shawn Freeland to make a difficult decision. The 45-year-old Caputa, S.D., rancher attended a Grassland Coalition Grazing School. In addition to reducing his stocking density on rangeland, he no-till drilled a diverse cover crop mix on irrigated hay acres. Read more in this article from Farm Forum (Aberdeen, SD).

Corn Rotations Mean Better Soil Health

July 22, 2020 | Posted in Soil Health

Source: Wisconsin State Farmer

Soil microbes are living, working barometers of soil health. They are responsible for turning atmospheric nitrogen into forms plants can use, and for releasing nitrogen back into the air. Read more in this article from the Wisconsin State Farmer.

New Factors Influence Cover Crop Choices

July 20, 2020 | Posted in Soil Health

Source: Country Guide

In the midst of a renaissance in soil health, researchers, agronomists and extension personnel have been pushing the message that everything a grower does in a field is connected to everything else. Fertility is linked to planting depth, just as mycorrhizal fungi are connected to weed management. Read more in this article from Country Guide.

No-Till on the Plains Collaborating with Country Crock on Cover Crops

July 13, 2020 | Posted in Soil Health

Country Crock, an Upfield brand, and No-till on the Plains, an agriculture educational non-profit, have partnered on a three-year program to support farmers with soil health education and cost-share to plant cover crops to improve soil health on fields.

Soil Health Practices Helping Chesapeake Bay Farmers

July 10, 2020 | Posted in Soil Health

Source: Chesapeake Bay Journal

As he has dozens of times since stumbling into the benefits of cover cropping and no-till farming nearly 50 years ago, Pennsylvania farmer Leroy Bupp set up his props for a talk on soil health at a large Chesapeake Bay conference. There were goofy moments, like calling out volunteers from the audience to replicate how worms breed. Read more in this article from the Chesapeake Bay Journal (Seven Valleys, PA).

South Dakota Farmers Trying Soil Health Practices

July 10, 2020 | Posted in Soil Health

Source: Aberdeen News

David Kruger and Todd Boesen don’t know each other. But these two South Dakota farmers share a desire to test out practices on their farms. Read more in this article from the Aberdeen News (Aberdeen, SD).

[Video] The Other Soil Carbon

July 8, 2020 | Posted in Soil Health

Soil is an organic reservoir for carbon, but carbon is subject to loss, according to Mark Rasmussen, Director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture with Iowa State University. Decades of conventional farming have depleted soil carbon levels. In this video, Rasmussen discusses the many forms of carbonate, what Iceland is doing to store carbon long-term in the soil, and more.

[Podcast] Grazing Systems Need Soil Health Improvement Too

Grazing systems can also gain from the soil health benefits offered by cover crops, according to Matt Poore, Extension Livestock Coordinator and Ruminant Nutrition Specialist with North Carolina State University.

July 8, 2020 | Posted in Grazing

Grazing systems can also gain from the soil health benefits offered by cover crops, according to Matt Poore, Extension Livestock Coordinator and Ruminant Nutrition Specialist with North Carolina State University. In this podcast, Poore discusses using annuals to improve soil health in grazing systems for livestock.