Adding livestock to a cover crop system is considered the last step in bringing cover crops full circle in an operation. One Kansas grower and livestock producer shares insights from 35-plus years of no-till, 23 years of cover cropping and using livestock to increase his soil’s health and productivity while significantly reducing input costs.

Karlen grows peas, lentils, corn, soybeans, winter wheat and spring wheat. Karlen says he saw what was happening in China back in January and February and has tried to plan ahead to alleviate his concerns for his crops.

Underground Agriculture intends to focus on soil health intelligence to optimize equipment choices.

When it comes to crop production, averages don’t work as a guide for fertilizing and controlling weeds or pests. If a grower collects data and then uses averages as a guide, the field will be over-fertilized in some places and under-fertilized in others.

An NRCS soil conservationist explains how soil health is an important tool for meeting the food demands of a growing world population, and the various ways to improve soil health.

Excessive rain and cool temperatures this spring in northern Indiana, had many wondering how no-till and strip-till yields would stack up. The results are in from Purdue University's 41st year of long-term tillage plots near West Lafayette, IN, and they tell an interesting story.

During a recent field day on July 1 at the University of Minnesota Extension's Southwest Research and Outreach Center at Lamberton, Minn., demonstrations on different tillage types helped specialists compare them side-by-side.

Stillman Valley, Ill., strip-tiller Cade Bushnell shares his reasoning and results moving from no-tilled to strip-tilled corn-on-corn. He'd struggled with residue management and consistent emergence in no-till, but has seen improvement since moving to strip-till.

Using strip-till and no-till drastically reduced sediment loss compared to disc-till, chisel-till and conventional till in onfarm research simulations in the fragile soils of Iowa's Loess Hills, according to Iowa State University Extension scientists.