• Soil Degradation Becoming a Concern

    Soil health, as defined by a team of researchers in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at New Mexico State University, is “the state of the soil being in sound physical, chemical, and biological condition, having the capability to sustain the growth and development of land plants.” Rajan Ghimire, a cropping systems agronomist at the Agricultural Science Center in Clovis, put it more simply: “Healthy soil leads to healthy human beings.”

  • Dig Into Soil Organic Matter

    Steven Hall is dedicated to exploring how farmers can get the most out of their soil. Hall, an assistant professor with the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology at Iowa State University, runs a biogeochemistry lab where students look at the different factors that can effect soil health. Read more in this article from the Lincoln Journal Star.

  • Grazing Livestock on Cover Crops: A Practice with Room to Grow

    For growers who use cover crops, grazing is the next level of utilization if the proper opportunity presents itself. If a grower owns their own livestock, cover crops are an additional feed source, especially during winter months when hay and other forages are more expensive.
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Seeding Practices

  • [Podcast] Combining Cover Crops, No-Till Organic

    Interest in organic farming has grown in the past several years, and Pennsylvania cover crop expert Steve Groff discusses how strategic planning can make a big difference in outcomes. Groff talks about why weed control is the biggest challenge when it comes to no-tilling organic with cover crops. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

  • [Video] Planting Into Cereal Rye

    As a cover crop, cereal rye brings a lot to the table. It improves soil structure, builds organic matter, and protects against water and wind erosion. It’s also relatively inexpensive, can be seeded late, enhances weed control and is easy to kill.

  • Farmers’ Biggest Challenge with Growing Cover Crops: Time

    Using cover crops is not a short-term investment. In fact, it’s the complete opposite. Cover crops are an investment in the long-term soil health and a conscious decision to focus more on stewardship of the land rather than short-term profits.
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Grazing

  • Grazing Livestock on Cover Crops: A Practice with Room to Grow

    For growers who use cover crops, grazing is the next level of utilization if the proper opportunity presents itself. If a grower owns their own livestock, cover crops are an additional feed source, especially during winter months when hay and other forages are more expensive.

  • Livestock Grazing Benefits Organic Crops

    Livestock grazing could be beneficial for organic farming systems. "Fresh produce growers and their advisors will benefit from learning about the impacts of integrating livestock grazing with winter cover crop management on soil health including soil organic matter, nutrient cycling and reduced nitrate leaching, and potential food safety risks discovered in this project to make decisions on adoption, management, and environmental benefits of winter cover crop management in annual vegetable systems," said Alda Pires, University of California Cooperative Extension specialist in the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and principle investigator in the study.

  • Reduce Forage Shortages with Cover Crops

    Cover crops can be immediately planted following grain crop harvest, or during fallow in a rotation, which provides extra forage in the fall that can be harvested or grazed. Many producers are already inserting full season cover crops for grazing into their cropping rotation.
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Featured Video

Can Cover Crops Help Farmers Deal with Extreme Weather

Chris Kucharik, Professor of Agronomy & Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin, discusses what weather trends he's seeing and how they could impact farmers, what additional rainfall levels will mean for growers, and how cover crops can play a role.
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Soil Health

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  • Soil Degradation Becoming a Concern

    Soil health, as defined by a team of researchers in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at New Mexico State University, is “the state of the soil being in sound physical, chemical, and biological condition, having the capability to sustain the growth and development of land plants.” Rajan Ghimire, a cropping systems agronomist at the Agricultural Science Center in Clovis, put it more simply: “Healthy soil leads to healthy human beings.”

  • Dig Into Soil Organic Matter

    Steven Hall is dedicated to exploring how farmers can get the most out of their soil. Hall, an assistant professor with the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology at Iowa State University, runs a biogeochemistry lab where students look at the different factors that can effect soil health. Read more in this article from the Lincoln Journal Star.

  • Cover Crops & Carbon:Nitrogen Ratios

    These numbers can have a direct affect on our nitrogen use and can help us be better managers in the context of overall soil health. There’s more to it than just understanding the C:N of a particular cash crop or cover crop residue. That’s where microbes come in to play. Read more in this article from Lancaster Farming.

  • New Mexico State University Researching Soil Health

    Soil is a natural resource that supports human civilization and plays a vital role in global food security. So, while we may not be ranchers, crop growers or researchers, we all have a vested interest in soil — especially soil health. Read more in this article from the Las Cruces Sun News.

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