Cover crops, row covers, mulches and other tools can help onion growers control one of their worst pests without using insecticides. The allium leafminer, native to Europe, was first discovered in Lancaster County in 2015 and has since expanded across the Mid-Atlantic. Read more in this article from Lancaster Farming.

Maryland has become a model of cover crop adoption. Indeed, cover crops are now one of the most common, accessible agricultural strategies for improving soil health and water retention and preventing nitrogen pollution in water and erosion—to the benefit of both the environment and the farmer. Read more in this article from Civil Eats.

Jay Fuhrer, soil health specialist with the Natural Resource Conservation Service of the USDA, spoke about soil health. Fuhrer has identified five principles of soil health, and how they work to improve soil health and increase productivity. Fuhrer defined soil health is defined as “the continued capacity of soil to function as a vital living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals, and humans.” Read more in this article from Grainews.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will invest $56 million this year to help agricultural producers improve water quality in more than 300 high-priority watersheds across the country. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is continuing two of its successful landscape-level water quality efforts, the Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative (MRBI) and National Water Quality Initiative (NWQI). Find out more in this article from Hoosier Ag Today.

Attendees included farm organizations, farmers, environmentalist groups, experts from Cornell University, the Department of Agriculture, plus representatives from the Soil Health Institute, New York Farm Bureau, Northeast Organic Farming Association, the New York State Vegetable Growers Association, and American Farmland Trust. Participants in the roundtable discussed their own efforts to improve soil health, as well as some of the barriers they’re facing. Find out more in this article from the Mid-Hudson News (Newburgh, NY).

The surfactants being used are chemically very similar to dishwashing soap and are listed in the same chemical group. But dishwashing soap is known to be toxic to plants, therefore chemical surfactants have been modified to be used frequently without the detrimental impact on grass. Find out more in this article from the Las Cruces Sun News (Las Cruces, NM).

If you have always wanted to try cover crops, but live in an area with a short growing season, this podcast is for you! There are many variables involved when planting cover crops in a short growing season, according to Pennsylvania cover crop expert Steve Groff.

The importance of soil health and its role in the future of sustainable agriculture has been a topic of much discussion. While specialty crop growers understand the importance of healthy soils, much of the research on the topic has been dedicated to row crops like corn, soybeans, wheat, and cotton. But that’s changing, and more emphasis is being placed on soil health in fruit and vegetable production. Read more in this article from Growing Produce.

Using cover crops as forage for livestock is a profitable and effective way to make cover crops a win-win situation. Pennsylvania cover crop expert Steve Groff welcomes guest speaker Monte Bottens, a California crop consultant, in this week’s podcast to discuss how to choose the best cover crop mixes for grazing, how to scale regenerative agriculture, how cash cropping can mesh with grazing livestock, and more.