Dairy farmers are working extra hard not only to produce the milk, butter, cheese and other dairy products Wisconsin is known for, but to do so sustainably to keep our air and waterways clean. Two farms, Ripp’s Dairy Valley in the Town of Dane and Endres Berryridge Farm in the Town of Springfield, to learn about conservation practices farmers employ to keep nutrient rich soils in place, prevent stormwater runoff and manage manure. Read more in this article from the Waunakee Tribune (Waunakee, WI).

In this video from Iowa State University Extension, find out what tools you need to conduct a visual assessment of soil health, why assessing soil health should be done over time, where soil health should be evaluated in a field, and more.

South Dakota is known for its variety, and Don Nickelson’s operation in Frederick is no exception. With the help of his wife, Trista, and sons Aiden, Gavin, and Ian, Nickelson raises cattle and also grows corn, soybeans, oats, triticale and alfalfa in addition to some cover crops. Read more in this article from Tri-State Livestock News.

Meet John Bitter and Amy Van Scoik, first-generation farmers in Hawthorne, Fla., who practice organic, small-scale, sustainable growing practices and sell directly to their customers. The couple founded Frog Song Organics on six acres in 2011. Read more in this article from the Aberdeen News (Aberdeen, SD).

Fall harvest has started but farmers also need to think about planting cover crops. USDA-SARE publication (10 Ways Cover Crops Enhance Soil Health) states “Cover crops lead to better soil health and potentially better farm profits.” Here is a 10-point summary from Ohio's Country Journal.

This week’s podcast, sponsored by Yetter Equipment, features an interview with Nathan Johanning, Commercial Agriculture Educator, University of Illinois. Johanning discusses the soil health benefits provided by cover crops, challenges growers may encounter when using covers to improve soil quality, how cover crops enhance the physical and biological properties of soil, and more.

This year’s harvest looks a little different than last year’s. Dry soil conditions will allow farmers to complete various tasks, such as seeding cover crops. Read more in this article from KIWA Radio.

The Haney soil health test, named for U.S. Department of Agriculture scientist Rick Haney, includes more than a dozen different soil-test values. Those include standard macro- and micro-nutrients for plant consumption, but what’s different about the Haney test is that it also estimates nutrients for microbial consumption, focusing on how much carbon and nitrogen is in the soil. Read more in this article from KMA.

Cover crops can be integral to a vegetable grower’s production cycle for a number of reasons, including soil erosion reduction, weed control, and more. A new research project backed by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) aims to dig a little deeper by quantifying the nitrogen cycling benefits of cover crops across different organic vegetable production systems in Florida. Read more in this article from Growing Produce.

American Farmland Trust shares publicly its CaRPE Tool, a web-based interactive tool that allows users to quickly visualize and quantify net greenhouse gas, or GHG, emission reductions resulting from the implementation of cropland and grazing land management practices. The user can quantify the current use and impact of key regenerative practices and then estimate the potential to sequester more carbon if these practices are applied more broadly, given the specific farmland resources in a state or region.