Soil health - Articles

[Video] Future of Soil Health Policy

January 17, 2022 | Posted in Soil Health

In this video from the National Center for Appropriate Technology, U.S. Senator Jon Tester from Montana, a third-generation farmer, discusses soil health policy under the Biden administration.

[Video] Putting Traditional Soil Health Practices to Work

January 10, 2022 | Posted in Soil Health

The speakers in this video explore the ways indigenous and traditional cultures have been “regenerating” the land for centuries. These practices can play an important role in today’s agricultural systems. Working together and learning from each other, all land stewards can regenerate soil health in the U.S.

[Video] Agriculture's Sustainable Future

December 28, 2021 | Posted in Soil Health

Dan Kittredge, founder and executive director: Bionutrient Food Association's Real Food Campaign talks about ways the market farmer can take advantage of soil health innovations. This was a far-reaching exploration of agriculture’s sustainable future: on-farm practices, soil biology, carbon markets, and public policy.

[Video] Panel on Soil Health Public Policy

December 15, 2021 | Posted in Soil Health

This panel discusses the need for coordinating soil health data collection efforts. Innovations in soil health data can help catalyze innovations in healthy soil policy at the state and federal level. Unfortunately, soil health data are often siloed and there is currently limited coordination between public and private sector soil health efforts. This lack of coordination often ends up burdening farmers and ranchers with the arduous role of collecting and reporting different kinds of data for those public and private efforts.

Canadian Study Looks to Improve Yields Through Cover Crop Trials

December 3, 2021 | Posted in Soil Health

Source: Guelph Today

Greater yields and improved soil health, with an eye on sustainable farming practices. That’s what researchers at the University of Guelph are looking for in a long-term cover cropping research project currently underway. Read more in this article from Guelph Today.

Crop Insurance Isn’t Holding Growers Back From Using Covers

By Sarah Hill posted on December 2, 2021

Crop insurance has been perceived as a barrier to growers adopting the use of cover crops to improve their soil health and minimize risk, but that is not the case, according to a peer-reviewed study in the Journal of Environmental Management.

New Edition of Cover Crop Field Guide Released

November 19, 2021 | Posted in Economics

Source: News release

The Midwest Cover Crops Council (MCCC), composed of representatives from 12 Midwest states and the province of Ontario, agricultural stakeholders and universities, including Purdue, is releasing a new edition of the Cover Crops Field Guide. The popular pocket-size in-field reference helps growers effectively select, grow and use cover crops.

[Podcast] Cover Crops Are About Stewardship

This week’s podcast, sponsored by NewLeaf Symbiotics, features Dean Jackson, a grower and dairyman from Columbia Crossroads, Penn. Jackson will be a panelist during the upcoming 2021 National Cover Crop Summit: Fall Edition. He will discuss how his operation got started using cover crops, their success with drilling cover crops, his experiences planting green, and more.

November 12, 2021 | Posted in Seeding Practices

This week’s podcast, sponsored by NewLeaf Symbiotics, features Dean Jackson, a grower and dairyman from Columbia Crossroads, Penn. Jackson will be a panelist during the upcoming 2021 National Cover Crop Summit: Fall Edition. He will discuss how his operation got started using cover crops, their success with drilling cover crops, his experiences planting green, and more.

Canadian Cover Crop Survey Finds On-Farm Innovations

November 8, 2021 | Posted in Soil Health

Source: University of Manitoba

Researchers at the University of Manitoba (UM) have shared the results from the 2020 Prairie Cover Crop Survey which capture a snapshot of the use and grower observations of this new practice. The report suggests that cover crops are becoming established in the Prairies and can be grown in a wide range of locations and environments across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

[Podcast] Canadian Grower Has Basically Eliminated Erosion with Covers

This week’s podcast, sponsored by NewLeaf Symbiotics, features Jim Denys, a grower from Parkhill, Ont. Denys will be a panelist during the upcoming 2021 National Cover Crop Summit: Fall Edition. He will discuss his operation’s goals for using cover crops, how their soil has come to be swarming with earthworms, the challenges they’ve had planting green, and more.

November 5, 2021 | Posted in Seeding Practices

This week’s podcast, sponsored by NewLeaf Symbiotics, features Jim Denys, a grower from Parkhill, Ont. Denys will be a panelist during the upcoming 2021 National Cover Crop Summit: Fall Edition. He will discuss his operation’s goals for using cover crops, how their soil has come to be swarming with earthworms, the challenges they’ve had planting green, and more.