Conservation ag - Articles

SARE Grants Now Available in the North Central Region

Four competitive grant programs open for farmers, researchers, and educators pursuing sustainable agricultural innovations.

October 6, 2026

The North Central Region-Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (NCR-SARE) program currently has four open grant programs to fund research and education projects that advance sustainable agricultural practices in the region.

Tips for Seeding Cereal Rye After Corn Harvest

October 1, 2026

Incorporating cereal rye after corn in a corn-soybean rotation can be a valuable management tool to scavenge residual nitrogen (N), reduce soil erosion and evaporation, and suppress weeds.

How Cover Crops Respond to Various Herbicides

September 26, 2026 | Posted in Nutrient Management

A number of factors, including biological and biochemical characteristics of the plant, chemical characteristics of the herbicide, and weather conditions will influence cover crop response to herbicides.

Frankly Speaking

What Does No-Till Have to Do With a Trillion-Dollar Conglomerate’s Chairman Retiring?

By Frank Lessiter posted on September 21, 2026 | Posted in Agriculture Policy & Programs, Investing in Regenerative Ag

At the 2010 National No-Tillage Conference, Howard Buffet challenged farmers to grow more grains and meat to help feed an ever-growing world population.

Cover Crops Bring Soil Back to Life in Dry Country

By Noah Newman posted on May 30, 2026 | Posted in Economics, Soil Health

“For the first shovel out of the ground to find an earthworm, that’s just unheard of in Arizona,” Robert Boyle says. Editor Noah Newman shares more observations from his visit with the Strip-Till Innovator in Coolidge, Ariz.

Guest Blog

Forage Matters: Cover Crops, Grazing & Nitrogen Fixation

By James Rogers posted on May 4, 2026 | Posted in Grazing

Legumes do have the ability, when conditions are right, to fix large amounts of nitrogen, no doubt about that. To capture the most of that fixed nitrogen, the legume should be cycled back into the soil through plant decay or by grazing and cycling through the animal and back to the soil.

No-Till, Strip-Till and Cover Crops Research Journal - April 2026

Each month, the conservation ag group at Cornell University offers an analysis of the latest scientific papers dealing with conservation agriculture research from around the world. For this on-going web series, our editors will be selecting several research papers from the Cornell list that will be of special interest to North American no-tillers, strip-tillers and cover croppers.

By Frank Lessiter posted on April 14, 2026 | Posted in Investing in Regenerative Ag, Seeding Practices, Soil Health

In this edition:

Conservation Agriculture: Helping to Return to Within Planetary Boundaries
Soil Structure Changes Under Reduced Tillage and Cover Cropping Enhance Carbon Mineralization in Mediterranean Croplands
Cover Cropping Increases the Abundance of Mycorrhizal and Endophytic Fungi Structures Associated with Ecosystem Functioning
Conservation Agriculture: A Review of Plant Residue use with Zero Tillage and Crop Rotation
Unlocking Climate Resilience by Exploring the Mitigation Potential of Improved Rotation with Cover Cropping

'Most Innovative Folks You’ll Find' … What to Expect at 2026 National Strip-Tillage Conference

By Noah Newman posted on March 23, 2026 | Posted in Soil Health

Managing editor Noah Newman checks in from Strip-Till Farmer headquarters with a big announcement about the 2026 National Strip-Tillage Conference program.

No-Till, Strip-Till and Cover Crops Research Journal - March 2026

Each month, the conservation ag group at Cornell University offers an analysis of the latest scientific papers dealing with conservation agriculture research from around the world. For this on-going web series, our editors will be selecting several research papers from the Cornell list that will be of special interest to North American no-tillers, strip-tillers and cover croppers.

By Frank Lessiter posted on March 11, 2026 | Posted in Investing in Regenerative Ag, Seeding Practices, Soil Health

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.

Strip-Till, Cereal Rye Pay Off for Pumpkin Growers

New system helps crop survive & thrive after historic 2025 rain event

By Noah Newman posted on November 14, 2025 | Posted in Soil Health

The Basses’ switch to the new system couldn’t have come at a better time. Just a few weeks after planting pumpkins into the strips, a “1,000-year” rain event dumped a foot of rain on their farm in less than a day.