Matt Grosshans was tired of seeing his strip-tilled fields washed out with heavy spring rains. As extreme weather patterns started impacting his operation, the Hamilton County, Neb., farmer realized reduced tillage, cover crops and crop rotations were vital to maintaining his soil. 

Country Crock partnered with a Kansas City distiller to make a limited-edition batch of rye whiskey from cereal rye being used as a cover crop on local soybean farms.

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.

Iowa State University is hosting 3 field days in April in northeast Iowa as part of a research project demonstrating the use of winter annuals for spring grazing.

The carbon to nitrogen (C:N) ratio of the cover crop determines the durability of the cover crop residue.

A Penn State-led team of researchers suggests that the best pest management outcomes may occur when growers encourage biological control — in the form of pests' natural enemies — by planting cover crops and avoiding broad-spectrum insecticides as much as possible.