Search results for 'KY'

Root Exudates 101: What They Do and Why They Matter

By Laura Barrera

Published Mar 23

When you picture what’s happening below ground in your fields, you probably imagine a web of roots branching out to provide your crops support, nutrients and water. But root growth isn’t the only thing happening beneath the surface. Roots are also secreting chemical compounds, known as root exudates, which play an important role in both crop production and soil health. Released primarily from the root hairs and cells immediately behind the penetrating root tip, says an Agronomy for Sustainable Development article, root exudates attract and sustain a variety of microorganisms, like arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and nitrogen-cycling bacteria, in the rhizosphere, which is the zone of soil directly surrounding the roots... Some plants will produce more sticky root exudates made of polysaccharides, which are essentially sugar molecules bonded together...

Categories: Cover Crops

How Yield Champions Use Cover Crops for Growing Higher Bushels

By Laura Barrera

Published Jun 1, 2018

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...

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

By Laura Barrera

Published Sep 5, 2019

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

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

By Laura Barrera

Published May 17, 2018

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

So Good They Can't Ignore You: How to get attention as a young farmer

By Farmers Under Forty

Published May 18, 2018

For aspiring young farmers, often times the only thing standing in the way of them and their dreams of farming on their own is a chance. Starting a farm is tough. It’s tough if you are starting with help from your family and it’s even tougher to start from scratch on your own. Farming is a game of scale which means that your best chance of surviving and thriving is to accumulate a large enough land base to realize machinery, labor and overhead efficiencies... Someone once said they’d rather be lucky than good...

Categories: Agribusiness

How Brazilian Big Agriculture is Destroying the Brazilian Amazon

By Maria Dampman

Published Apr 4, 2018

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...

Nutrient Stratification Not a Problem in No-Till

By Laura Barrera

Published Aug 13, 2018

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

Starting from Scratch - How Beginning Farmers can Break Ground

By Gregory Heilers

Published Sep 9, 2018

Despite the fact that there is near-guaranteed job security, thanks to booming population growth, many beginning farmers face seemingly insurmountable obstacles to bringing a product to market. In this article, we’re going to cover how young farmers can start from the ground up, even if they don’t come from a family of farmers. Informing this subject is Jason Silverman, the Massachusetts Field Agent of Land For Good, and Joel Salatin, co-owner of Polyface Farm. Jason’s experience as a first generation farmer, and as an agent connecting farmers with resources, balances well with Joel’s, who took over the family farm, and has since mentored scores of intern cohorts... By not “getting in over their heads at first, even if it means a backyard garden and a flock of chickens,” beginning farmers can continue to grow their skills and work towards a future of farming...

Categories: Agribusiness

Learn about wildfire safety and fire prevention tips

By Nationwide Farm Insurance

Published Jun 3, 2019

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

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

By Cortney Farmer

Published Apr 17, 2018

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...