ATTRA

AUGUST 15, 2023

The quarter acre I steward in Northeastern Pennsylvania is, I hope, an incarnation of this contradiction. Tomatoes planted into a tilled-in rye, vetch, and red clover green manure, May 21. I put in the tomatoes on May 21, 11 days after tilling in the green manure. Even the pollinator crops are covers providing multiple benefits.

Manure 52

Manure Fertilizer Crop Carryover 52

DTN

JULY 24, 2023

Two neighbors, Farmer A and Farmer B: both farm 1,000 acres and use the same crop rotation schedule. Farmer A tills 30% of their fields, uses cover crops on 20%, and applies anhydrous ammonia. Farmer B tills 50% of their fields, uses cover crops on 40%, and uses stable nitrogen sources. Consider this scenario.

Farming 98

Farming Farming Crop Rotation Grain 98

Food Tank

FEBRUARY 16, 2024

As Adrian Lipscombe, a chef and the Founder of the 40 Acres Project, put it: “If we don’t have soil health, we’re not going to have food.” Farmers can use techniques like no-till growing, cover cropping, rotational grazing and planting, and implementing other buffers against erosion. “We And they’re pushing innovation.

Food 121

Food Grain Ranching Crop Rotation 121

Modern Farmer

FEBRUARY 13, 2024

They farm on 130 acres of the land on which her father and grandfather had raised hogs. A small sheep herd that was on the property from when her parents farmed the land was integrated into organic crop rotation. Elderberry, becoming popular as a hedgerow crop, provides both farm income and ecological benefits.

Acre 104

Acre Farming Farming Pasture 104

UnderstandingAg

NOVEMBER 27, 2023

Adding a cover crop adds a new inflow, and it’s more likely that a portion of that carbon will stay in the soil if that cover crop is not harvested. Adding a perennial to the crop rotation can also drive a large increase in photosynthesis. However, manure does add carbon to the system so the net effect is hard to predict.

Manure 65

Manure Fertilizer Crop Crop Rotation 65

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

JULY 14, 2023

Including noncrop vegetation alongside crops may further increase genetic diversity in a geographic area, as with prairie strips or field borders and other conservation buffers within or adjacent to crop fields. And diversity may also include the temporal diversity of crop rotations.

Agriculture 98

Agriculture Agriculture Pasture Crop Rotation 98

Todays Farmer Magazine

FEBRUARY 1, 2023

The Britts now farm 5,000 acres, raising cattle, corn, soybeans, wheat and hay in Randolph, Chariton and Macon counties. Crop rotations and use of cover crops reduce erosion and improve soil health. Using manure as a natural fertilizer helps them maximize the efficiency of having cattle and crops.

Fertilizer 40

Fertilizer Crop Rotation Cattle Family Farming 40