Even after spending more than a decade using cover crops and dedicating their farm to the practice, Kyle Grumke, a western Missouri corn, soybean and forage grower admits that sometimes picking cover crop seed isn’t top-of-mind until right when it’s needed. “I really need to be working on getting the seed I need on hand for fall in that July time frame,” he says. Read more in this article from Seed World.
Source: North Dakota State University Extension press release
The drought of 2021 left many ranchers short of feed, both grazing forage and hay. A great option for spring grazing or hay production is winter cereals. Read this article from North Dakota State University.
Knowledge about plant growth stages is important for management decisions and to predict how well a plant may cope with stress such as low temperature. The following figures are illustrations of growth stages that fall-planted cereal cover crops will go through before their termination. Read more in this article from the University of Nebraska.
Greater yields and improved soil health, with an eye on sustainable farming practices. That’s what researchers at the University of Guelph are looking for in a long-term cover cropping research project currently underway. Read more in this article from Guelph Today.
RMA added this flexibility starting with the 2021 crop year as part of a broader effort to encourage producers to use cover crops, an important conservation and good farming practice.
Fall is an excellent time to take soil tests since the summer crops are off and the cover crops are small enough to still walk through the fields. Soil tests have an important role in determining your soil fertility program. Read more in this article from the Frederick News Post.
How much cover crops cost to implement and whether they can make you money is a subject of heated debate. Costs are obvious: seed, time and fuel to plant and terminate them. Read more in this article from University of Minnesota Extension.
The largest terrestrial carbon sink on earth is the planet’s soil. One of the fears that many scientists have is that a warming planet will liberate significant portions of the soil’s carbon, turning it into carbon dioxide (CO2) gas, and so further accelerate the pace of planetary warming. One of the key players in this story is the microbe: invisible, and yet the predominant form of life on earth. Read more in this article from the University of Massachusetts.
Emerging carbon markets have the potential to supplement farm and ranch income. However, there are many unknowns, and as with any other new market, carbon credit programs can be high risk. Read more in this article from Texas Farm Bureau.
Funding for farmers and landowners implementing conservation practices on working lands was included in the Build Back Better Act passed on Nov. 19 by the U.S. House of Representatives. One of the programs established by this legislation is payments for cover crops to farmers and landowners.
The National Strip-Tillage Conference returns August 8-9, 2024!Build and refine your strip-till system with dozens of new ideas and connections at the 11th Annual National Strip-Tillage Conference in Madison, Wis. Aug. 8-9, 2024. Experience an energizing 2-day agenda featuring inspiring general session speakers, expert-led Strip-Till Classrooms and collaborative Strip-Till Roundtables. Plus, Certified Crop Adviser credits will be offered.
I’m in Sacramento, Calif., this week at FIRA USA and we’re just going to get right into it. Why don’t you take a look at some of the newest and most exciting Ag technology on display at this year’s conference.