Search results for 'KY'

How Yield Champions Use Cover Crops for Growing Higher Bushels

By Laura Barrera

Published 1 years, 6 months ago

There are many factors that can influence corn yield. In fact, Fred Below, a plant physiologist at the University of Illinois, identified seven of them, which he dubbed the “Seven Wonders of the Corn Yield World. ”The seven wonders, ranked in order of most influence on yield, are:WeatherNitrogenHybridPrevious cropPlant populationTillageGrowth regulatorsWhile Below was referring to the cash crop rotation in the fourth wonder, some farmers are taking it one step further by seeding cover crops. The benefit of added crop diversity along with improvements to soil health is paying off, as some of these farmers are achieving the highest yields in the country... His water infiltration rates have also skyrocketed from ½-1 inch per hour to now 6-7 inches per hour...

Early Cover Crop Benefits: What Can You Expect in the First Year?

By Laura Barrera

Published 2 years, 6 months ago

In 1995, Pennsylvania farmer Steve Groff was speaking at an event when he asked the audience the question: Do cover crops pay off?His thinking at the time was that he had been no-tilling since 1982, and maybe if he no-tilled long enough, he wouldn’t need them. Ray Weil, a soil ecologist with the University of Maryland, happened to hear his question and approached Groff about doing a cover crop study on his farm. It turned into a 12-year project, from 1995 to 2007. It was in 1999, four years into it, Groff got the answer to his question... “If you have 3-foot deep topsoil in Illinois, you’re not going to see a dramatic difference in the soil as you would in maybe another soil that’s on a hillside, or rocky, or sandier,” he says...

Categories: Cover Crops

How to Use the SmartMix Calculator to Create the Perfect Cover Crop Mix

By Laura Barrera

Published 2 months ago

When it comes to creating a cover crop mix, the options are endless. You need to determine what kind of species you’ll use, how many you’ll use, and at what seeding rates. For anyone new to cover crop blends, these decisions can be overwhelming. Fortunately, there are several free tools available today that can guide both new and experienced cover crop users through the process of developing their own mix... When you click on the “Add Species” button you’ll see cover crops separated into four categories: excellent, good, marginal and risky...

Categories: Cover Crops

Learn about wildfire safety and fire prevention tips

By Nationwide Farm Insurance

Published 5 months ago

The combination of increased risk and high-value assets makes fire protection at farms and ranches a high priority. The first step in minimizing the fire and wildfire risk is increased knowledge and awareness. It's never too early to prepare. Take several basic steps right now to protect your family, farm/ranch and property from disaster... (IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, MO, NE, OH) (PDF)Great Lakes (MI, MN, WI) (PDF)Mid-Atlantic & Northeast (CT, DE, ME, MD, NH, NY, PA, RI, WV, VT, VA) (PDF)Pacific Northwest (ID, Northern CA, OR, WA) (PDF)Rocky Mountain (CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY) (PDF)Southern California (PDF)Southeast (AL, AR, GA, MS, NC, SC, TN) (PDF)Southwest (AZ, NM, NV, OK, TX) (PDF)Wildfire safety and risk management brochures Learn how to create defensible space and decrease wildfire risk around your property with the following quick reference brochures:Reducing wildfire risk for farms and ranches (PDF)Reducing wildfire risk for homeowners (PDF)Learn more about protecting your business from wildfires...

Categories: Agribusiness

Blockchain Technology: A Lifeline to Small-Scale Farmers

By Gregory Heilers

Published 2 years, 7 months ago

Technology has been an integral part of agriculture since at least 5,000 years ago, documented through the use of ploughs in ancient Sumeria. Today, drone and GPS farming is old news. Still, some in the industry are unsure of the latest development to disrupt agriculture. From Chinese pork to Mexican mangoes, blockchain technology is already fostering direct marketing, improving traceability for compliance, reducing waste, and increasing profit margins... He enjoyed extensive hands-on involvement building his father’s grass-fed beef, breeding meat goat, and poultry farm in south-central Kentucky, which leverages the Internet to direct market (and should start looking into blockchain soon!)...

Nutrient Stratification Not a Problem in No-Till

By Laura Barrera

Published 1 years, 3 months ago

A common concern growers may have when they move to a no-till system is nutrient stratification. Without tillage to mix fertilizer into the soil, no-tillers may wonder whether the nutrients applied to the soil surface are reaching the crop roots. According to University of Nebraska Extension engineer Paul Jasa and Ray Ward, plant scientist and founder of Ward Laboratories in Kearney, Neb. , the resounding answer is: yes, they are... According to a paper written by University of Kentucky soil scientist John Grove, Ward and University of Maryland soil scientist Ray Weil, research conducted in Kentucky from 1980-81 looked at corn’s uptake of surface-applied potassium under moldboard plowed and no-tilled plots that were established in 1970...

Categories: Corn, Cover Crops

Recent College Grad? Why Now Is The Perfect Time To Pursue A Career In Farming

By Cortney Farmer

Published 2 years, 7 months ago

The U. S. agricultural industry finds itself at a precarious professional crossroads. Recent decades have resulted in a steady and significant decline in the number of working farmers in our country, for a variety of reasons... As long as bio-engineers and growers can use skyscrapers and other city features to cultivate plants and animal life, modern-day farmers can opt to perfect their professional trade in regions that best suit their personal preferences and tastes...

How Brazilian Big Agriculture is Destroying the Brazilian Amazon

By Maria Dampman

Published 2 years, 8 months ago

The rampant deforestation of the Amazon began in the 1970s when the government of Brazil determined they needed to build over 9,000 miles of roads help integrate the rainforest with the populated bordering areas. As the deeper parts of the rainforest became accessible, development of these lands became possible, and once begun, continued at an alarming rate. Farmers, loggers and cattle ranchers cleared forest to create grazing land as well as to grow highly profitable crops like soy... To make this even clearer, beef imports skyrocketed from 86,000 MT CWE in 2012 to 825,000 MT CWE in 2016... With little entertainment available other than alcohol and drugs, these children fall into the despair that is fueling the skyrocketing suicide rates...

2019 Corn Producer “Scale-In” Hedge Strategy Update

By Capitol Commodity Hedging Services

Published 2 months ago

May through July offered an excellent opportunity to start our hedge campaign for 2019. In light of the next to impossible early planting conditions throughout the corn belt, the prices somehow, are right back down to the early May lows. Unbelievable! Which is why a proactive approach must be taken by buying puts into rallies each season on a scale-in basis. . We had 3 trigger sell signals this year, see chart below...

Categories: Corn, Marketing

Agrilend uses Emerging Technologies to provide the highest returns to Agricultural Investors.

By Robert Morgan

Published 1 years, 5 months ago

Risk Neutrality is conceptually the inverse of Risk & Return, it is a critical concept for arbitrage issues in corporate lending to the agricultural market. When playing heads and tails, we toss a coin. Let's say we gain if we have heads and lose in the case we have tails. There is a 50% chance of winning or losing... The Agricultural Business after fluctuating prices, cost of goods, labor, and production and after it repays its bank debt if lucky has a return on asset at 3...