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Different crops come with much different rooting zones, and soil specialists are urging farmers to keep that in mind when choosing cover crop mixes. photo: Alexis Stockford

Calculating a Good Cover Crop Plan

August 26, 2019 | Posted in Soil Health
Source: Manitoba Cooperator
Cover crops have gained their champions in Manitoba. The practice is cited among other alternative grazing strategies like bale or swath grazing to extend the grazing season and, arguably, improve soil, according to livestock and forage organizations. Find out why growers need more than a cursory plan in this article from Manitoba Cooperator.
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[Video] Growing 365 Days a Year

August 26, 2019 | Posted in Soil Health
Jim Hershey farms 500 acres in Southeast Pennsylvania, where he grows corn, wheat, soybeans and barley along with raising organic broiler chickens and hogs. He has been using cover crops for the last three years.
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Rejuvenate Fields by Tapping Power of Sunlight

August 23, 2019 | Posted in Soil Health
Source: Tri-State Neighbor
As soybeans started to blossom in Andy Lacey’s field west of Trent, another plant was in full bloom, sprouting clusters of white within the rows of beans. The white were the flowers of buckwheat — one of three cover crop species Lacey planted a week after his soybeans this spring. Find out how Lacey captures sunlight in this article from Tri-State Neighbor.
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The Facts on Nitrogen Release Using Cover Crops in the Dakotas

August 21, 2019 | Posted in Soil Health
Source: AgWeek
There's this idea floating around that cover crops will take up nitrogen this growing season and then release that nitrogen for next year's crop. Add on top of that, an ability to anticipate when that nitrogen will be released by selecting specific cover crops in a mix (this is the C:N ratio stuff you hear about). Find out more in this article from AgWeek by Abbey Wick, North Dakota State University Extension Soil Health Specialist.
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[Podcast] Cover Crop Lessons Learned in Hungary

Hungary is the destination for this week’s podcast, as Pennsylvania cover crop expert Steve Groff shares his observations from visiting the country for their first-ever soil health conference. Hungarian growers are just becoming more interested in cover crops and no-till, despite the fact that they plow up to 90% of their land.
August 20, 2019 | Posted in Soil Health
Hungary is the destination for this week’s podcast, as Pennsylvania cover crop expert Steve Groff shares his observations from visiting the country for their first-ever soil health conference. Hungarian growers are just becoming more interested in cover crops and no-till, despite the fact that they plow up to 90% of their land. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)
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[Video] Cover Crops in Every Rotation

August 20, 2019 | Posted in Soil Health
At Frog Song Organics in North Central Florida, John Bitter grows a little bit of everything, upwards of 80 crops in a year. Figuring out his rotations is the key to success as an organic farmer, and cover crops are an integral part of every rotation.
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Cover Crop Lessons Learned in Hungary

August 20, 2019 | Posted in Seeding Practices, Soil Health
Hungary is the destination for this week’s podcast, as Pennsylvania cover crop expert Steve Groff shares his observations from visiting the country for their first-ever soil health conference. Hungarian growers are just becoming more interested in cover crops and no-till, despite the fact that they plow up to 90% of their land.  Groff explains why it’s important to review the basics of cover cropping, why radishes are the best choice for a beginning cover crop, what lupins are, and much more.







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Cover Crop Strategies to Improve Nitrogen Cycling in Corn

August 19, 2019 | Posted in Soil Health
Source: University of Minnesota Extension
Balancing the supply and demand of nitrogen (N) in crop production is challenging. In most cases, application of N fertilizer is needed to ensure that adequate N is available to corn. Nitrogen that is not taken up by plants can be lost from cropping systems as nitrate through leaching or runoff, according to this article from the University of Minnesota Extension.
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Corn

Fungi on Cover Crop Roots Offsets Corn Yield Losses on Fallow Fields

August 16, 2019 | Posted in Soil Health
Source: Douglas County Herald
A cover crop planted this fall on land flooded without a crop this year does more than control erosion and weeds. Fall-seeded cover crops can boost corn yields next year. A beneficial soil-borne fungus in healthy soil needs roots to survive in fallow years. Without the micro-fungus, fallow field syndrome could cut corn yields next season, says Greg Luce, University of Missouri Extension corn specialist, in this article from the Douglas County Herald.
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The National No-Tillage Conference returns January 9-12, 2024! Build and refine your no-till system with dozens of new ideas and connections at the 32nd Annual National No-Tillage Conference in Indianapolis, Ind. Jan. 9-12, 2024. Experience an energizing 4-day agenda featuring inspiring general session speakers, expert-led No-Till Classrooms and collaborative No-Till Roundtables. Plus, Certified Crop Adviser credits will be offered.

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New FAA Exemption: Efficiency Boost or Safety Hazard?

New FAA Exemption: Efficiency Boost or Safety Hazard?

The Federal Aviation Administration recently granted a regulation exemption that will allow 1 person to operate 3 drones in a swarm. While some see this as a big win from a productivity standpoint since it has the potential to make cover crop drone seeing more efficient, others see it as a massive safety concern.

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