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.
Farmers do not often think about how their management practices can influence the rate of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis has always been assumed to be constant, but it is not. Read more in this article from Ohio's Country Journal.
There is a lot of talk about climate change. Many people point to agriculture as one of the potential sources to the answer of mitigating it. Read more in this article from Seed World.
To boil it down, a farm business or forest owner that grows crops or owns trees that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and return it to the soil can be paid by an electricity generator, manufacturing, or consumer product business that emits carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The transaction is a method of offsetting what we know of as “greenhouse gas emissions.” Read more in this article from the Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, KY).
The National No-Tillage Conference returns January 7-10, 2025!Build and refine your no-till system with dozens of new ideas and connections at the 33rd Annual National No-Tillage Conference in Louisville, Ky. Jan. 7-10, 2025. Experience an energizing 4-day agenda featuring inspiring general session speakers, expert-led No-Till Classrooms and collaborative No-Till Roundtables. Plus, Certified Crop Adviser credits will be offered.
Last week we had boots on the ground at the Big Soil Health Event in Cedar Falls, Iowa where agronomist David Kleinschmidt emphasized the importance of considering Carbon to Nitrogen ratios of cover crops and residues.