Cover Crops
The right cover crop strategy can help corn silage acres do more, from holding nutrients and reducing erosion to producing another crop of forage.
The Feikemas use cattle and hog waste to fuel 7,000 crop acres, eliminate insecticides and even guide land purchase decisions.
A three-year break-even is typical, but certain field conditions, farm practices and cost-share programs can move your ROI into the black sooner.
Ken Ferrie lays out a strategy for farmers struggling with ponded corn acres after rains soak parts of the Midwest.
Prioritize specific agronomic outcomes—like erosion control or nitrogen fixation—before opening the seed catalog.
Scottsbluff farmers face drought, low snowpack and delayed irrigation. Many are returning seed or having to pre-irrigate to get crops planted.
From $35 per acre cover crop incentives to $1.25 premiums, growers are finding ways that conservation and cash flow can mesh.
Using crop diversity, conservation tillage and a contract-first mindset, the Ruddenklau family works to keep their operation moving forward.