Tag Archives: agriculture

18Sep/20

Improved tool can help Midwest farmers with cover crop decisions

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Cover crops have been shown to improve water and soil quality, reduce erosion and capture nutrients. Choosing the right cover crop, however, can be difficult. The Midwest Cover Crops Council is rolling out an improved cover crop selection tool that will help farmers make those decisions.

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22Jul/20

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium dynamics in a soil health system

As part of the Soil Health Nexus Digital Cafe Series, Matt Fryer of the University of Arkansas hosts a panel discussion soil health and fertility. This presentation was originally broadcast on July 22, 2020. Panelists included:Read More…

02Mar/20

Illinois study shows universally positive effect of cover crops on soil microbiome

A meta-analysis of current cover crop research was done by researchers at the University of Illinois. They found that microbial abundance was up  27%, activity was up 22%, and diversity increased 2.5% when using cover cropsRead More…

27Nov/19

Cover Crop Recipes Being Developed by States in the Midwest Cover Crop Council

A number of states within the Midwest Cover Crop Council have developed cover crop recipes. These publications are intended to provide a starting point for farmers who are new to growing cover crops. With experience, farmers may fine-tune the use of cover crops for their systems. Additional states will be coming soon.

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16Nov/19

Poultry manure improves profits, soil health

A 20-year study by Iowa State University researchers shows fertilizing cropland with poultry manure can benefit soil health and farm profits when compared to a commercial fertilizer. The study looked at long-term impacts of poultry manure on soil quality, crop yield, production costs and water quality in conventional Iowa cropping systems.

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25Mar/19

Soil Health Not Just a Trending Topic

Many of us take the soil we stand on for granted, including myself. I mean, it’s everywhere – especially on my carpet with 2 boys in my house. However, without soil, we can’t grow crops. Farmers know that soil is a critical part of farming, and making sure that soil can continue to grow crops for many years to come is at the forefront of every farmer’s mind – sometimes without even realizing it.

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28Sep/18

Maintaining soil fertility is important for soil health

Maintaining soil fertility is important not only for profitable crop production, but also soil health. In a long-term P and K fertility trial, we can see that there is much greater residue cover in plots that have received adequate potash applications over time compared to where no K was applied. Application of P had minimal to no effect on residue cover.

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