More in Conservation

Feb. 26, 2013

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Cover Crop Interseeder

One pass seeds cover crops, sidedresses the corn crop and sprays weeds, at least in State College, Pa. Penn State’s cover crop experimental interseeder potentially increases profits by $100/acre in corn yields, reduced N requirements and glyphosate applications costs.
Feb. 19, 2013

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USDA Announces 45th General Sign-Up for the Conservation Reserve Program

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced that the USDA will conduct a four-week general sign-up for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), beginning May 20 and ending on June 14. CRP has a 27-year legacy of protecting the nation’s natural resources through voluntary participation, while providing significant economic and environmental benefits to rural communities across the United States. Under Secretary Vilsack’s leadership, USDA has enrolled 11.7 million acres in various CRP efforts....More
Feb. 15, 2013

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Cover Crops in Corn, Soybeans, Wheat

Cover crop use is growing. The benefits offered are numerous, from increased soil health to less erosion. We've covered many angles of cover crops, and here we bring you photos from USDA SARE and the Conservation Technology Information Center of different cover crops planted, including peas, hairy vetch, tillage radish and ryegrass. If you planted cover crops in 2012, be sure to take the CTIC survey, and let them know about your 2012 cover crop production.
Feb. 14, 2013

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Corn and Soybean Digest

USDA Reports Say Climate Change Will Affect Agriculture 1

Two USDA reports say U.S. agriculture and forest management will have to adapt to climate change and that some of those efforts are already underway. "It’s well documented that the climate is changing, that we are seeing changes in temperature and in changes in precipitation patterns, and that those changes are having implications for forests and for agriculture," says William Hohenstein, director of climate change program, USDA. "What these reports actually look at in more detail are the changes that we expect in changes in terms of extreme events. Changes in the probability of droughts, and floods and how that also will have implications for our resources."...More
Feb. 8, 2013

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How Many Acres of Cover Crops Were Planted in 2012?

The Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC) is taking a survey of farmers who've grown cover crops. Sponsored by the USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, CTIC would like to know when you started planting cover crops, how many you've planted in recent years, how many acres you plan to plant in 2013, how many total acres you farm, among other cover crop questions....More
Feb. 5, 2013

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Farm Programs Should Reward Not Penalize Soil Health

An appeal to the USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) system by Kansas farmer Gail Fuller – who is recognized by USDA NRCS and the American Soybean Association for his commitment to conservation – highlights the importance of aligning insurance policies with agronomic and environmental efforts....More
Feb. 4, 2013

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Corn and Soybean Digest

Size is No Excuse | Large Farmers Make Cover Crops Work

If you think cover crops are for smaller operators only, don't tell Mark Anson and Lanny Greenhalgh. Anson sees them as an integral part of his family's 20,000-acre farming operation. For Greenhalgh, who farms several thousand acres near Guide Rock, Neb., cover crops build soil, retain moisture for higher yields and allow custom grazing....More
Jan. 28, 2013

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Education, Support for Conservation Tillage is Focus of Conference

When it became apparent that the dry spell many Ohio growers experienced last year would become the worst drought in 50 years, David Brandt wasn't worried about how well corn and soybeans on his 1,150-acre farm would fare. The Carroll, Ohio, farmer instead relied upon a natural form of insurance that left the soils in his fields protected against the devastating effects of the record heat and drought that decimated many farmers nationwide in 2012....More
Jan. 25, 2013

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Corn and Soybean Digest

2013 Conservation Legacy Awards: Northeast Region: Roger Wenning

Soil health is the main focus at Wenning Farms, in the rolling hills and tight clay soils of southeastern Indiana. The family operates more than 600 acres in a corn/soybean rotation....More
Jan. 25, 2013

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Corn and Soybean Digest

2013 Conservation Legacy Awards: South Region: Jeremy Jack

Combine flat fields, lots of rainfall and a need for irrigation to fight summer heat and it becomes obvious that moisture management is critical for Jeremy Jack, South Region winner of the 2013 Conservation Legacy Awards. “In the Mississippi Delta, one of our biggest conservation efforts goes into water management,” Jack says. “Soil and nutrient management is set by the way we manage water.”...More
Jan. 25, 2013

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Corn and Soybean Digest

2013 Conservation Legacy Awards: Midwest Region: Gail Fuller

Gail Fuller is a farmer by occupation; he also is equal parts philosopher and futurist. This Emporia, Kan., farmer quotes an ancient philosopher: “To be a successful farmer, one must first know the nature of the soil,” he says, quoting Xenophon of Athens, a Greek author who wrote those words nearly 2,500 years ago. From Fuller’s point of view, “knowing the soil” has slipped pretty far down the priority list in today’s agriculture. But it is job one at Fuller Farms....More
Jan. 23, 2013

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Soybean Growers from Indiana, Kansas and Mississippi Win Conservation Awards

The American Soybean Association (ASA) is pleased to announce the regional winners of the 2013 Conservation Legacy Awards program: Midwest Region Winner: Gail Fuller from Emporia, Kan.; Northeast Region Winner: Roger Wenning from Greensburg, Ind.; South Region Winner: Jeremy Jack from Belzoni, Miss....More
Jan. 18, 2013

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Corn and Soybean Digest

Think Different: Why The Brown Revolution?

It's all about a Think Different approach with the valuable resource that some farmers and investors are paying upwards of $15,000/acre. It's about the need to rebuild and improve the natural biological processes in your soil, so you and your landlord can gain greater efficiency and return on investment....More
Jan. 17, 2013

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NRCS Soil Health Fact Sheets

As a part of the Unlock the Secrets of the Soil campaign, USDA NRCS has put together some soil health fact sheets. From no-till to cover crops, NRCS is giving you basics and other tips to help you get the most from your soil....More
Jan. 17, 2013

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Soil Secrets

The Natural Resources Conservation Service has launched a new campaign: Unlock the Secrets in the Soil. “As world population and food production demands rise, keeping our soil healthy and productive is of paramount importance. So much so that we believe improving the health of our nation’s soil is one of the most important endeavors of our time,” says NRCS....More
Jan. 17, 2013

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Corn and Soybean Digest

Upstream-Downstream Drainage Issues

There’s an old adage in drainage lore: Whiskey’s for drinkin’; water’s for fightin’! Upstream and downstream farmers along 100-year-old County Ditch 57 in Blue Earth County, in heavily tiled south-central Minnesota, started out at loggerheads over ditch improvements. But they ended up working together to improve both drainage capacity and water quality – thanks to innovative drainage methods and a determined fundraising effort by local leaders....More
Jan. 11, 2013

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Voluntary Conservation Approaches Working in Chesapeake Bay Region

Penn State Cooperative Extension works closely with other partners in the public and private sector to help restore the Chesapeake Bay to its former glory by researching, educating and promoting Best Management Practices (BMPs) to control erosion, nutrient losses and pesticide losses. We are relying heavily on voluntary action by land users and prefer this approach over the strait jacket legal approaches. The question: Is this approach working?...More
Dec. 31, 2012

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Corn and Soybean Digest

Conservation Delta-Style

When out-of-state visitors arrive in Belzoni, Miss., Jeremy Jack likes to offer them a few quick history lessons about the Mississippi Delta. “There’s no place quite like this anywhere else in America,” he says....More
Dec. 31, 2012

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Corn and Soybean Digest

What Cover Crops Can Do

During 2012’s long, hot summer, Roger Wenning got a firsthand look at how a little soil residue can go a long way to add resilience to a crop. On May 14, the Greensburg, Ind., farmer no-tilled corn into a field that had been in a ryegrass/crimson clover cover crop over the winter. Since this was a high population study, he used a twin-row planter to seed at a population of either 39,000 or 45,000 seeds/acre....More
Dec. 31, 2012

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Corn and Soybean Digest

Focused on the Soil

Gail Fuller is a farmer by occupation; he also is equal parts philosopher and futurist. This Emporia, Kan., farmer quotes an ancient philosopher: “To be a successful farmer, one must first know the nature of the soil,” he says, quoting Xenophon of Athens, a Greek author who wrote those words nearly 2,500 years ago. From Fuller’s point of view, “knowing the soil” has slipped pretty far down the priority list in today’s agriculture. But it is job one at Fuller Farms....More
Dec. 20, 2012

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Drainage Solutions: Surface Tile Intakes

Gary and Steve Glazik were sick of slogging through standing water in their farm fields to unclog surface tile inlets. Their Paxton, Ill., fields are pocked with low spots where water ponds, and their perforated risers were forever plugging up with residue. “We’d have to go out in hip boots and clean them out,” Gary says.
Dec. 19, 2012

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Corn and Soybean Digest

Better Ways to Drain | Innovations in Surface Tile Intakes Aim to Improve Convenience, Water Quality

Gary and Steve Glazik were sick of slogging through standing water in their farm fields to unclog surface tile inlets. Their Paxton, Ill., fields are pocked with low spots where water ponds, and their perforated risers were forever plugging up with residue. “We’d have to go out in hip boots and clean them out,” Gary says....More
Dec. 11, 2012

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Save Soil, Nutrients, Money with Cover Crops 1

Many farmers want to improve soil quality, but because they operate in a competitive, rotation-intensive environment, any soil-building practice they are likely to adopt needs to be backed by solid data. That is why Oregon State University (OSU) Extension specialists have spent six years studying the role cover crops play in fertility management, to the benefit of hundreds of farmers in the highly productive Willamette Valley....More
Dec. 1, 2012

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Corn and Soybean Digest

Cover Crop Info Swap

Dave Rodibaugh wants more from his cover crops. In addition to seeking advice from his local Extension officers or seed company representatives, he talks to neighbors. Rodibaugh, who farms a little more than 2,000 acres in Renssalaer, Ind., is one of a dozen farmers participating in an informal peer group organized by Dan Perkins, Jasper County Soil & Water Conservation District program specialist. The growers meet regularly to discuss farm-related topics, examine new ideas and talk about what works and what doesn’t on their farms....More
Dec. 1, 2012

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Corn and Soybean Digest

Reverse Erosion

Do you base farm decisions on soil quality? Clay Mitchell does, as he deems it the ultimate resource. That’s why he redistributes accumulated topsoil across parts of his family’s 2,500-acre Buckingham, Iowa, corn and soybean operation. Besides building long-term soil productivity, moving surplus topsoil from valley to hilltop also boosts land value....More