Soil Health
Eighty percent of U.S. growers participating in the 2022-23 National Cover Crop Survey report trying cover crops. Two Indiana farmers share what they’ve learned along the way and some recommendations.
“When you look at the big picture, ultimately regenerative agriculture practices will increase the value of your land over time,” says Jerry Hatfield.
While most Midwest farmers utilize a corn-soybean crop rotation, it would help them from an agronomic and economic viewpoint to consider adding a small grain as a third crop in their rotations.
Stop questioning if soil health pays. Instead, ask yourself how to measure the dollars and cents of your investments in soil health.
Cover crops, reduced tillage and a simple water infiltration test help Adam Chappell capture and hold water and nutrients.
The recent soil dust cloud catastrophe in central Illinois is a wake-up call from Mother Nature suggesting all of agriculture needs to implement more sustainable production practices. We owe it to future generations.
Nestled in an old barn sat 8,000 mason jars filled with soil dating back to 1862. Now the plan is to revisit the 450 sampling locations spanning 21 million crop acres for insights into soil fertility and conservation.
“If you raise 200 bu. corn with a CI score of 0, that’s $1.57 per bushel and an extra $314 in value. Now, the ethanol plant isn’t expected to share 100%, but it could be 25% to 30%,” says Paul Neiffer, a farm CPA.
Potassium (K) is a fascinating macronutrient. In corn, it sets the stage for a healthy and vigorous plant that produces a beautiful ear.
By turning biological test results into gigabytes of data, Pattern Ag has developed the largest soil metagenomics database with more than 200 billion DNA reads.