Building soil health is a long-term endeavor, but one with lasting impacts. There are many practices that yield great short-term benefits. But if it’s not good for the soil, it won’t be good for the farming enterprise in the long run.
Cresco, Iowa, strip-tiller Frank Moore shares his experience incorporating cover crops into his 2,000 acre operation. With changing weather patterns and more "event storms", that can erode soil structure, Moore's goal with cover crops in strip-till is to establish the crop in winter and have it help control spring rainfall through an established root system to hold soil in place.
Engineered to produce the bacterial toxin, Bt, "Bt corn" resists attack by corn rootworm, a pest that feeds on roots and can cause annual losses of up to $1 billion, but besides merely protecting against these losses, the Bt trait has also boosted corn yields, in some cases beyond normal expectations.
Source: Mike Petersen, Orthman Lead Agronomist, Orthman Manufacturing
From the standpoint of economics it befuddles me why growers would not desire to give their corn crop the best opportunity to come out of the ground like a roaring lion.
Strip-Till Farmer delivers a mix of features on strip-till farmers, strip-till management topics and trending practices in strip-till. This FREE quarterly print newsletter is available to qualified subscribers in the U.S. and Canada.
On this edition of Conservation Ag Update, brought to you by CultivAce, longtime no-tiller Jim Leverich explains why 20-inch corn rows are paying off big time on his Sparta, Wis., farm.
Environmental Tillage Systems is a leading manufacturer of strip-till and nutrient-management equipment which enhances soil productivity and farm profitability.
Kuhn Krause's focus, above all, is to continue to produce quality products to serve producers better; to strive to respond to their needs with new tools and new technology to meet their growing challenges. Agronomic practices are constantly changing, and at a faster pace now than ever.
For over 90 years, Yetter Farm Equipment has designed and manufactured innovative and effective solutions for the agriculture industry. Today, we are proud to be recognized worldwide as an industry leader in designing row cleaners, strip till tools, planter attachments, precision fertilizer placement attachments, rotary hoes, toolbars, and harvest attachments.