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:

• Can no-tillage and crop diversification sustain nutrient stocks in acidic and poorly-fertilized soils? Evidence from 32 years of real-world agricultural management in Paraguay.
• The key role of local and global farmer networks in the development of conservation agriculture in California.
• Mega-analysis of no-tillage and reduced tillage impacts on crop yields and greenhouse gas emissions.
• Beyond the buzz: analyzing actors promoting regenerative agriculture in Europe.

A survey of producers in central and eastern South Dakota showed a majority of those who have used no-tillage and reduced tillage practices for five years or more have seen increases in profitability through decreased production costs and increases in cash crop yields. Read more in this article from the Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan.

This week’s podcast features three Indiana farmers as they discuss planting cover crops with sweet corn, how no-tilling works in different soil types, retaining moisture with cover crops, and more.

A group of California organic farmers is sharing information about their efforts to combine reduced tillage with the use of cover crops, which they have been planting on their vegetable farms for decades to protect soil while adding carbon and diversity to their production systems. "Every one of the pioneering farmers has seen tremendous benefits from the practices," said Jeff Mitchell, UC Cooperative Extension vegetable crops specialist.

Organic soybean producers using no-till and reduced-tillage production methods that incorporate cover crops — strategies that protect soil health and water quality — can achieve similar yields at competitive costs compared to tillage-based production. That’s the conclusion of a new study by researchers in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. Read more in this article from Penn State University Extension.

If you have looked in the dairy case at all in your local grocery store, you can’t miss Horizon Organic, with its bright red cartons and cartoon cow. The world’s largest certified organic dairy brand is now looking to use cover crops, crop rotation and reduced tillage to offset more carbon than is produced by its organic dairy farmer members.

After a year of difficult weather and low commodity prices, farmers everywhere are cutting back on costs. At the Conservation Tillage Conference (CTC) in December, many growers looked at the economics of reduced tillage/no-till and cover crops, and whether or not those management practices really pay off.