Working with nearly 50 farmers on the west coast to implement strip-till, Illinois farmer Monte Bottens will share entry points and expansion opportunities for the practice at the 2019 National Strip-Tillage Conference.

Seeking to support the adoption of innovative practices and systems on agricultural land, the USDA's NRCS is launching a new sub-program created by the 2018 Farm Bill. Apply now through July 15, 2019.

In this Strip-Till Farmer podcast, bought to you by Topcon Agriculture, we're joined by Rob Myers, regional director of extension programs for Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) to dig into data from the recently released Census of Agriculture’s 2017 report to dissect some of the national momentum for cover crop adoption.

With improved weather in much of the Corn Belt this week farmers should make some significant progress in getting their corn and soybeans in the ground. They will need it because, as of this past Sunday, May 12, planting lagged far behind what one might expect at this point in the season.

One area where Dr. Ray Asebedo sees potential is with crop protection. In one study, the end result revealed as much as a 40 bushel difference in corn yields — 220 to 260 bushels per acre — based on where fungicide was and wasn’t applied.

Planting over much of the Midwest is seriously delayed and history suggests the odds have also increased for reduced yields and very low net incomes. Two ag economist discuss why obtaining the number of acres eligible for prevented planting by crop for each insurance unit is useful background information to acquire in case planting decisions need to be made after the prevented planting date.

Several barriers to entry can make it difficult to break into the organic market but a program from the USDA is lowering one of them by offering cost share funds to assist with the expense of receiving and maintaining organic certification.