In this edition:

• Sixty years of crop diversification with perennials improves yields more than no-tillage in Ohio grain cropping systems
• Conservation Tillage Practices on GHG Emissions, Soil Health and Overall Agricultural Sustainability
• Long-term continuous no-till corn-soybean systems: Examining soil carbon sequestration and nitrogen accumulation across various pools
• Assessing the agricultural, environmental, and economic effects of crop diversity management: A comprehensive review on crop rotation and cover crop practices
• Cover Crops Optimize Soil Fertility and Soybean Productivity in the Cerrado of MATOPIBA, Brazil
• Short-term no-tillage improves soil water retention and maintains soil aeration at high moisture conditions despite reduced macroporosity
• Tillage Radish as Cover Crop Improves Soil Health Indicators Depending on Pedoclimatic Conditions.

In this edition:

• Further Adoption of Conservation Tillage Can Increase Maize Yields in the Western U.S. Corn Belt
• A New Theory for Soil Health
• Weed Communities after Decades of Mineral Fertilization and Tillage Treatments in a Corn–Soybean Rotation
• Changes in Soil Microbial Parameters after Herbicide Application in Soils under Conventional Tillage and Non-Tillage

There are many benefits when using cover crops in a crop rotation including reduced erosion from wind and water and improved soil organic matter.

It’s imperative that soil be protected and conserved as much as possible because the simple fact is that we no longer have the luxury of leaving our degraded soils in the dust as we go in search of new ground. We must take care of the soil if we have any hope that it will continue to provide for us.

Agricultural producers often base their land management decisions on the living things they can see above the ground – crops, livestock, forage, weeds, insects, wildlife, etc. However, new research is showing they should also consider life found in the soil.

Farmers who have used a three- or four-crop rotation system for more than 10 years are most likely to reap the benefits of improved soil health and higher yields, according to a survey of producers in eastern South Dakota. With fertilizer prices at an all-time high, this might be an opportune time for producers to consider adding oats, peas and spring or winter wheat to their rotations, according to associate professor Tong Wang of South Dakota State University’s Ness School of Management and Economics. Read more in this story from South Dakota State University.

This week’s podcast, sponsored by NewLeaf Symbiotics, features Katja Koehler-Cole, Research Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska. Koehler-Cole will discuss how soil nitrates are lost in corn-soybean rotations, the role of soil microbes in the soil, what cover crops provide soil microbes, and more.

Farm profitability from grain production is an age-old concern of farmers. Improving yield stability is also an important management strategy to counteract weather extremes (i.e., heat waves, droughts, flooding) that stress both crop growth and farm profitability. Farmers need reliable information about the effectiveness of crop rotation and fertilizer management that involves many years of data to account for the year-to-year variability in growing conditions. Read more in this article from University of Nebraska Extension.

So, you added wheat into your rotation to help diversify the market opportunity of your operation. Now that the wheat is off and straw is baled, that field is a clean slate. Read more in this article from Farm & Dairy.