Soil Health
Derek Martin has transformed a 6,000-acre farming operation from an input-guzzling leviathan to a profit-per-acre force.
Jason Mauck is a man obsessed with farming efficiency: A true maverick, apostle of relay cropping and farmer fueled by love of family, Mauck is bringing change to agriculture, one row at a time.
Randy Dowdy’s soil death is no mystery, insists the Georgia producer, and now a federal inspection report appears to back his claims of soil damage on record-breaking farmland due to pipeline construction.
Whether crops, rocks, fossils or Native American artifacts, Terry Springer is a farmer possessed by his dirt.
Mike McGregor commands a chicken litter operation with military precision. “Growers that have used litter for years don’t continue because it doesn’t pay; they’re still putting it on because it brings results,” he says.
Mikey Taylor’s 110-acre block of cover crops has attracted pickers from multiple states and yielded a bounty of blessing.
Cover crops are a bustling industry within agriculture, but, the cover crop drumbeat is also met with skepticism or opposition, and some producers point toward the fallacy of blanket acceptance.
When farmland draws a premium, you’d expect the soil to be in good shape, right? More landowners are considering fertility clauses in their farm leases to ensure tenants don’t suck the soil dry.
The nitrogen-fixing power of soybeans is a dream for corn and other crops – but what if you could harness that power through microbes? Sound Agriculture is introducing SOURCE that claims to do just that.
With renewed focus on no-till and reduced tillage, how can you experience the greatest financial and positive environmental impact? Do you have to cut back on tillage every acre to maximize the benefits?
In a matter of a few short years, you can undo more than 100 years of work. How? For each 1” of topsoil that is eroded, it takes at least 100 years to regenerate.
Larry Thorndyke works to improve his farm so this excited sixth-generation boy can farm the same land his grandfather, and grandfather’s father farmed.
Cornell scientists are developing worm-like, soil-swimming robots to drill into the dirt—and unlock a treasure trove of data on root growth and more.
One day changed Ron Rabou’s life forever. His father collapsed and, despite his CPR efforts, he couldn’t save him. The man he admired, confided in and learned how to farm from was gone in an instant.
For Jennie Schmidt, who farms in the Chesapeake Bay watershed in Maryland, she’s striking the balance of appeasing criticizing eyes while still optimizing crop performance.
Farmer mitigates soil challenges with gypsum.
Soils will work harder for you if you know what makes them tick
Understanding the latest definition of no-till and the reasons to stay with it offer potential benefits to your management plan and can affect your bottom line as well.
A new study shows no-till and strip-till can increase yields.
There’s no quick and easy way to move from conventional farming—using the same management and a few hybrids on all acres—to variable-input technology (VIT) management.
A new study shows no-till and strip-till can increase yields.
Matching yield goals to water supply lets you choose the right hybrids and populations for each management zone.
As Old Man Winter fast approaches, many farmers will be left with a long to-do list come spring.
Diversifying his operation and including manure management put him on the road to regenerative agriculture. Today these practices provide him with premiums and new commodity sales potential.
If you could improve your soil health and increase your profit at the end of the season, would you do it? Kind of a no brainer, right?
The Conservation Legacy Award is a national program designed to recognize the outstanding environmental and conservation achievement of soybean farmers, which helps produce more sustainable U.S. soybeans.
This voluntary program provides annual payments to protect highly-erodible and environmentally sensitive land under 10- to 15-year contracts.
“If we have five different soil types, why do we go out and put out a flat rate of nitrogen?” Eller adds. “You’re leaving top-end yield on the table and overfeeding the under performers.”