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Tag Archives cover crops

Holding an Earthworm in Hand
Columns, Crops, Hart Attacks

Don’t underestimate the power of soil bugs

Save money, increase profits by getting billions of little creatures working for you

By
There’s that message again — learning to farm without inputs. It is a pretty compelling concept: being able to grow a crop without $200 or $300 per acre invested in added fertilizer and crop protection products. Is it a myth? Does it work? What are these guys trying to sell me? Kevin Elmy says it works. […] Read more
This almost-robot looking device is the John Deere Field Connects weather station that collects a wide range of environmental data such as rainfall, solar intensity and wind speed. The weather station also ties into the moisture probe which is installed near the steel post at right.
Crops, Features

Are you leaving water on the table?

New app and service gives producers a better handle on moisture

By
Since technology so far can’t make it start or stop raining on dryland farms, it is obviously important to make the most efficient use of moisture that is available during the growing season. But how much moisture do or will you have for that crop? Depending on the year and location, spring seedbed soil moisture can range from […] Read more
Cover crop growing after harvest.
Crops, Features

Why didn’t my cover crop work?

Kevin Elmy lists nine potential causes of things that could go wrong when you try growing cover crops on your farm

By
Ever try something and it didn’t work the first time? What’s the next step? Try again doing the same thing, modify the approach or give up? Ideally, getting a mentor or someone with experience to find out what went wrong will help create a successful situation. Or maybe it just doesn’t work. Cover cropping is […] Read more
Insuring intercrops in Manitoba
Crops, Features

Insuring intercrops in Manitoba

Manitoba farmers can now insure intercrops and also get incentives to grow them

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In response to requests from producers for some kind of insurance on unconventional crops such as quinoa or multi-species crops like intercrops, Manitoba Agricultural Insurance Corporation (MASC) has introduced a new insurance product for what it calls ‘novel crops.’ At a recent intercropping workshop at Brandon in November, Robert Manastyr spoke on behalf of MASC […] Read more
Soybean and flax intercrop example.
Crops, Features

Reducing inputs through intercropping

In Part 2 of a 2-part series, a panel of farmers discuss the benefits of intercropping

By
Many producers who adopt intercrops and cover crops are looking to increase soil and plant health and reduce the need for inputs such as synthetic fertilizers. That effect often becomes clearer the longer they manage the system. The three producers on a panel at an Intercropping Workshop in Brandon, Man., last November shared how they […] Read more
Can a cover crop help establish forages?
Crops, Wheat & Chaff

Can a cover crop help establish forages?

Q & A with Nutrien Ag Solutions

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Q: Are there benefits to a cover crop for forage establishment? A. There are many benefits to planting a cover crop (sometimes referred to as a companion or nurse crop) for forage establishment. Cover crops commonly planted alongside perennial forages include oats, barley and wheat. Before a forage stand becomes well established, bare soil can […] Read more
Bean and lentil legumes background as a group of assorted fava soy red black beans as a healthy nutrition high fiber food concept as a healthy cooking natural food ingredient.
Columns, Crops

In response to, ‘Cover crops and green manure’

Clearing up a tillage misunderstanding from a previous column

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It is always a thrill to get letters and book orders from readers. Most letters are complimentary and a joy to receive. But, a recent letter disagreed with ideas in my September column that talked about cover crops and green manure. A phone call cleared up the matter. It was completely my fault for not […] Read more
This photo was taken on August 1, 2009. There was great crop growth, from old fashioned methods.
Columns, Crops

Cover crops and green manure

In the Palliser Triangle, cover crops aren’t the answer in a dry cycle

By
The current interest in soil health issues has expanded our thinking and spawned much research and new farm-scale work with many new-to-us plant species. Cover crops are planted in the non-commercial season to add diversity to the mix and juice up the soil organisms that go along with the different plants. In wet years, cover […] Read more
Brandon Hunnicutt and his family farm near Giltner, Nebraska.
Corn, Crops

Corn, corn, and more corn

There’s a lot of it, but 
there’s also a plan behind Nebraska crop rotations

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If you drive through Nebraska in the summer, expect to see a lot of corn. It towers on both sides of grid roads and secondary highways, hiding deer just as well as forests do in northern Canada. Sometimes drought-tolerant crops such as sorghum fill corners and line borders, as a pollination buffer for seed corn. […] Read more
Bernie McClean's annual crop rotation includes canola, CPS wheat, malt barley and oats.
Crops, Features

Extending rotations, in the field

Part 1 of 3: How real farmers are extending their rotations

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There seems to be no shortage of articles, presentations and research exhorting farmers to lengthen rotations. Longer rotations benefit everything from weed control to disease suppression in crops. But what are farmers doing to maintain or extend rotations? Grainews spoke to three farmers to find out how they’re managing their rotations. And while each farmer […] Read more

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