No-Till Farmer readers appear firmly committed to using cover crops. The percentage of no-tillers using cover crops grew to 83% in 2017 — a 6-point jump over the prior year, an all-time high in the decade-old no-till benchmark study and the 6th consecutive year of growth.
Boosted by record corn yields, no-tillers eked out slightly better profits in 2017 despite higher expenditures for land rent, crop protection, equipment.
Being “better than average” on a consistent basis usually leads to success. In the 2017 world of farm economics, it took something extra special for no-tillers to finish in the black.
Crop diversity and biological activity in a cover-cropped farming system ensures healthy interactions between plants, roots and soil organisms, says Keith Berns.
Likening a healthy, robust industrial economy to the types of biological activities taking place underground in a no-till, cover-cropped farming system isn’t a stretch of the imagination, says Keith Berns.
While small grains prices lag in traditional markets, General Mills will be using many of the conservation tools you’re already using on your farm to convert 34,000 acres in South Dakota into a guaranteed market for organic wheat.
No-Till Farmer caught up with Nick Bowers, owner of KB Seed Solutions at the 2018 National No-Tillage Conference in Louisville, Ky. A title sponsor of the event, Nick spoke about making good cover crop decisions and how cover crop usage has changed with crop prices.
Keith Berns and his brother Brian co-own Providence Farms and Green Cover Seed in Bladen, Neb. They farm 2,500 acres, including corn, soybeans, rye, triticale, peas, buckwheat and sunflowers using continuous no-till and a variety of cover crop strategies to maximize the health of their soil.
WHEN WE STEP into our office, soil conservation posters serve to remind us why we do the things we do on our farm. Our soils need to be protected and nourished to keep waterways healthy and the nation’s food supply sustainable.
Circleville, Ohio, no-tiller Ryan Wilson explains the cover-crop seeding tool his family created with a Flexi-Coil air cart, Kuhn Krause Excelerator vertical tillage tool and some well-placed brackets and hoses. The family is in their 6th year of seeding cereal rye on their farm.
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Go behind the scenes with Leo Johnson and his son, Patrick, as they plant corn into strips for the first time on their 1,000-acre farm in Clinton, Wis. Jason Pennycook, precision specialist for 9-store Case IH dealer Johnson Tractor, comes to the rescue with remote support when Patrick runs into a problem with the planter in the field.
Needham Ag understands the role of technology in making better use of limited resources within a specific environment by drawing on a wealth of global experience to overcome the challenges facing today's farmers, manufacturers and dealers.
The Andersons grows enduring relationships through extraordinary service, a deep knowledge of the market, and a knack for finding new ways to add value as we have done for nearly 70 years.