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From Symptoms to Solutions: Addressing the Underlying Causes of Water Quality Degradation – Part 4

UnderstandingAg

Fall application of nutrients for a cash crop the following year makes no sense from a plant nutrition standpoint. Living ground cover is especially critical on acres receiving manure from confinement operations. This is hands-down the best, most profitable use case for cover crops. Most N demand is in midsummer.

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Can Taller Cover Crops Help Clean the Water in Farm Country?

Civil Eats

Iowa farmers, for example, apply it on 87 percent of their fields at a rate of 149 pounds per acre. Annual crops take up only about half of the nitrogen applied, and the rest often ends up polluting groundwater in the form of nitrate. ” Mark Stokes has been using no-till cropping for 26 years.

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High Tunnel Soil Management for Season Extension

ATTRA

Salts from added compost, manure, or fertilizers can build up in the rain-free environment of a tunnel and accumulate near the soil surface, affecting crop growth. And because tunnel crops are entirely dependent on irrigation water, elevated alkalinity, iron, sodium, or chloride in the water can cause problems in the soil, as well.

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Bringing Back Local Milk, Ice Cream, and Cheese

Civil Eats

The ice cream shop is an extension of the Nicholson family’s sixth-generation, 120-acre farm in nearby Ferndale. More Eyes Per Acre As one of California’s oldest cheesemakers, Rumiano Cheese has a storied presence in the North Coast’s dairy shed.

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Agricultural Diversification: Practice and Policy

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

Prairie strips or other noncrop strips along fields also offer refugia for beneficial species or, depending on species used, can act as trap crops that lure pests away from a cash crop. Rotating crops also significantly reduces pests and diseases.

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These State Lawmakers Are Collaborating on Policies that Support Regenerative Agriculture

Civil Eats

On a crisp weekend this past fall, 30 state legislators from across the nation descended on TomKat Ranch , an 1,800-acre ranch focused on regenerative agriculture in Pescadero, California, an hour south of San Francisco.