Editors' Picks

Cover Crops, No-Till Could Slow Climate Change

Cover crops combined with no-tillage systems can increase soil organic carbon, which could help slow climate change on farms, according to a recent study by University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment scientists. Located at UK’s Spindletop Research Farm in Lexington, the plots are only one of a few sites in the world that have been continuously in no-till agriculture for more than 50 years. Read more in this article from The Lane Report.
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Dryland Cropping Systems & Cover Crops

Can we grow a cover crop that will provide many soil health benefits, including less soil water evaporation, higher water infiltration, better water holding capacity and weed suppression on only the moisture that would have been lost anyway? We can, if the cover crop mix is properly designed and planted and terminated timely. Read more in this article from the Dodge City Daily Globe (Dodge City, KS).
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Less Erosion Means Healthier Soil

Let’s take a closer look at how improving soil health on our farmland acres can have a dramatic effect on reducing soil erosion and rainfall runoff that result in downstream flooding and property damage. During the past few years, as a result of climate change, rainfall totals have increased in north-central Iowa. Read more in this article from the Globe Gazette (Mason City, IA).
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USDA Allowing Grazing, Haying or Cutting Cover Crops on Sept. 1

Changes in federal grazing and harvesting rules on prevented-planting acres could help livestock producers in select counties replenish forage supplies, or at least offset shortages in perennial forage production, according to North Dakota State University Extension livestock specialists. Counties that qualify must have 15% or more acres classified as prevented plant. Read more in this press release from North Dakota State University Extension.
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Soil: Water Reservoir for Crop Production

Dr. Elwyn Taylor, Iowa State University climatologist reported that 200-bushel corn needs 19 to 23 inches of water during the growing season. For 200-bushel corn at 75 degree F (soil temperature), corn needs 1-acre inch of water per week, doubling to 2 inches at 85 degrees F, and doubling again to 4 inches at 95 degrees F. Read more in this article from Ohio's Country Journal.
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Forage Options After Wheat

With winterkill, winter injury and low first-cut yields as well as higher land costs, there is interest in following winter wheat and other cereals with a forage crop to help supplement inventories. Not only can this approach produce some extra feed, it also provides cover crop benefits. Read more in this article from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs.
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Farming Ugly

Some of our fields looked really scruffy, like stands of forgotten, overgrown brush that had given up the ghost and turned that pale, beige color of dead foliage we become so familiar with, and bored of, through the long months of winter. Only the early signs of small, emerging spikes of greenery in rows suggested that the fields had not been forgotten. Read more in this article from Lancaster Farming.
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Harvesting Cover Crops for Feed

Many local producers harvested their cereal rye or other winter small grain crops as baleage or haylage. However, some farmers still are looking forward to harvesting those crops for grain and making some much-needed straw as well. Read more in this article from The Daily Record (Wooster, OH).
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Soil is Critical for Crop Health

Soil is more than just dirt. It is a living substance and when balanced, exchanges nutrients, stores and drains water, and provides a healthy environment for crops and forages to produce realistic yield expectations (RYE). Read more in this article from the Sun Journal (New Bern, NC).
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Cover Crops Can Help Reduce Forage Shortages

Livestock market complications that reduce calf sales can cause unexpected forage demands. Droughts can compound the problem leading to forage deficiencies, while forage shortages can cause poor animal performance, overgrazed and degraded pastures, and increased expenses. Read more in this article from Southeast AgNet.
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The National No-Tillage Conference returns January 12-15, 2027! Build and refine your no-till system with dozens of new ideas and connections at the 35th Annual National No-Tillage Conference in Indianapolis, Jan. 12-15, 2027. 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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