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By: Ron Nichols, Understanding Ag, LLC Every day on his farm, Luke Bergler sees the connection between healthy soil, healthy grass, healthy animals and healthy people. When he pushes a shovel into the soft, well-aggregated soil on his 240-acrefarm near Ridgeway, Minnesota, Bergler sees more earthworms than he ever thought imaginable.
Since 2012, Gail Taylor has built healthy soil, provided hundreds of local families with fresh tomatoes and turnips, and fostered community on less than an acre at Three Part Harmony Farm in northeast Washington, D.C. Turnips from Three Part Harmony Farm (left). is the realization of more than 15 years of work.
Its a rare sunny day in January, and about a dozen people gather on a farm in Snohomish County, Washington. The farmer, Brett Aiello of Reconnecting Roots Farm, wants to suppress the weeds around some newly planted fruit trees without disturbing the soil, and hes enlisted some help. Let’s prove that this works.
In the following discussion, I would like to share some thoughts on how to add net profit into a grazing operation, as well as share my own experiences reducing hay inputs with the grass-finished beef herd that roams across our northern Michigan family farm. Each year provides new opportunities to incorporate more regenerative practices.
When Jeff Broberg and his wife, Erica, moved to their 170-acre bean and grain farm in Winona, Minnesota in 1986, their well water measured at 8.6 Those tiles, which were first installed in the mid-1800s and have now largely been replaced with plastic pipes, ultimately allowed farmers to grow crops on land that was once too wet to farm.
Iowa is the number-one pork producer in the United States, but it has relatively few hog farms. Large factory farm facilities have replaced smaller family farms. The state lost nearly 90 percent of its hog farms from 1982 to 2017, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Census data.
Until a few years ago, Songbird Farm in Unity, Maine, grew wheat, rye, oats, and corn, as well as an array of vegetables in three high tunnel greenhouses, and supported a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program for over 100 customers. Some farms were able to stop production temporarily while they identified possible solutions.
Different agricultural practices emit or sequester different amounts of carbon, so multiple farming practices must be considered when determining a farm’s environmental impact. Two neighbors, Farmer A and Farmer B: both farm 1,000 acres and use the same crop rotation schedule. reduced tillage, cover crops, treed acres).
Yet the bucolic scene belies an environmental problem roiling beneath the surface: The groundwater in this part of Minnesota is so contaminated with nitrates running off farm fields that the U.S. Iowa farmers, for example, apply it on 87 percent of their fields at a rate of 149 pounds per acre.
Using data shown in Table 1, each ton of forage harvested at the boot stage removes 76, 6, and 76 lb/acre of N, P, and K, respectively. The table below illustrates the nutrient content of manure (urine and feces) from a finishing animal (I didn’t find applicable information for a lactating beef cow/calf).
Implementing the following practices can increase the efficient use of nutrients in your farm or growing system. But before that, you need to learn and understand the specific irrigation and nutrient management practices for better farming outcomes. One way we see farms overspending is through the overuse of fertilizers.
The experience led him to start learning about regenerative agriculture and the benefits raising chickens could have for the soil fertility and sustainability of his nine acres. Siewicki started Vital Mission Farm with the hopes of helping to create a more sustainable food industry. But, starting the farm didn’t come easy at first.
The idea, the manager explained, was that Supreme Beef would run a feedlot, and Feeder Creek would supply a biodigester, a machine that would process manure and capture the resulting methane to be sold as energy. We need at least 10,000 cows to get enough manure for the amount of methane we want to generate,’” Stone said.
On the gate hangs an 18-inch-long pallet board with the words “Mad Farm” painted in green. The quarter acre I steward in Northeastern Pennsylvania is, I hope, an incarnation of this contradiction. It has reified the value I place on this farm/garden as a place of connection. This year was different.
Payne operates a 300-acre regenerative farm in Concordia, Missouri, an hour outside of Kansas City, where he raises sheep and cattle. Rooted in preindustrial farming, the method involves intentionally incorporating trees on the same land used by grazing livestock, in a way that benefits both.
Agroforestry—the integration of trees and shrubs into crop and animal farming systems—has been used since ancient times to produce fruits, nuts, coffee, cocoa and medicinal herbs. Wendy Johnson’s ‘natural savannah’ Wendy Johnson and her husband, Johnny Rafkin, own Jóia Food & Fiber Farm, in Charles City, Iowa. Johnson laughs.
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.” Healthy soils, boosted by regenerative farming practices , can sequester more carbon from the atmosphere and more effectively store and drain water. Let’s put this in the next Farm Bill!
The ice cream shop is an extension of the Nicholson family’s sixth-generation, 120-acrefarm in nearby Ferndale. milk supply, mostly on industrial farms in the Central Valley. These farms hold, on average, around 2,300 cows. Herds in Wisconsin, the second-largest producer, average 177 cows.) It’s one of a kind.”
The challenges associated with mud on livestock farms, particularly cattle and horse farms, need to be addressed because their health affects production goals. Not to mention that no livestock owner wants to see their animals covered in mud and manure. Mud and manure harbor harmful bacteria and other pathogens.
Fertilizers and animal manures are a special case, because whether the ultimate result is net positive or negative depends on how they are managed. Overapplying fertilizers or manure (especially high N fertilizers or anaerobic pit manure) can create nutrient imbalances, increase salt loads, and disrupt soil function.
Editor’s Note: This is the fourth post in a multi-part blog series analyzing the Farm Food and National Security Act of 2024 (FFNSA), which was reported out of the House Agriculture Committee on Friday, May 24. Overall, FFNSA misses the mark and fails to sufficiently address the most fundamental threat to our food and farm system.
We’ve got 150 acres of grain.” He found this disconcerting, not only for himself but the future of small-scale grain farming in California, once known for its golden hills of grain. As for Gonzales-Siemens, he often helps transport equipment between farms. “It’s not a novel idea.
At Georges Mill Farm in northern Virginia, Molly and Sam Kroiz’s goats are on the move. The system was created by a Norwegian company called Nofence , and Molly and Sam are among 43 pilot farms testing it ahead of an official United States debut expected in early 2024. Others push into a strip of bushes, munching through brambles.
Manure slurry is a valuable but difficult resource to manage on dairy farms. Slurry pits must be emptied to make room for the never-ending stream of manure. Manure is often not a top priority for most dairies and handling may have to wait until seasonal fieldwork is completed.
Living ground cover is especially critical on acres receiving manure from confinement operations. Industry groups should make it clear to members that cover crops and more in-season application must become part of all manure management plans and programs. This is hands-down the best, most profitable use case for cover crops.
By Chris Lent, NCAT Agriculture Specialist I’ve always found ways to turn “waste materials” into useful resources on the farm fascinating. On my farm, I tried to reuse and recycle resources as much as possible to close the off-farm input loop. I think farms can become more resilient as they rely on fewer off farm inputs.
But the epic flooding this past March was simply unprecedented, says the owner of Lerda-Goni Farms. After a winter of record snow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, a sudden warm spell melted the lower reaches, unleashing nearly 40,000 acre-feet of water —a volume equal to more than a tenth of Las Vegas’ annual supply—in 48 hours.
He plants nitrogen-rich legumes and other perennial cover crops amongst his pear, apple, plum, peach, and cherry trees, but he buys a commercial compost product to keep his 100-acre, fourth-generation family farm thriving. Ela knows first-hand how central compost is to his organic farm—and all organic agriculture.
Many farmers, especially those in the Midwest that apply animal manure, are able to deduct excess fertility when they purchase land that they are currently not farming. This deduction could easily approach $1,000 per acre. Here is an example: Jim buys land in Minnesota for $12,000 per acre in 2022.
Since the resurgence of regenerative agriculture, farming has never been sexier. The star-studded film Kiss the Ground , featuring celebrities Woody Harrelson and Tom Brady, put the movement on the map in 2020, claiming that regenerative farming could be the solution to, not the cause of, climate change, biodiversity loss and soil erosion.
Commodity productivity per acre is down across the board, driving prices up. Interestingly, the huge machine trade show hall featured only one chipper and not a single manure spreader. And goop to put in confinement hog facilities to make the lagoon manure less toxic. It’s been a fascinating and invigorating day. Dad was 39.
Below is a basic diagram showing how carbon cycles through a corn field yielding around 200 bu/acre. Our family farm in Northeast Iowa with 3% SOM in the top six inches has about 67,000 lbs. of carbon per acre in the top two feet of soil. of carbon per acre annually. Carbon flow estimates for a 200 bu/acre corn crop.
And while each of those uses could provide revenue potential for mushroom farms, the expanding piles of spent substrate also represent a mounting logistical challenge. “If Stempel currently takes most of the material to a nearby compost facility, but local farms, gardeners, and florists also take a portion. It wasn’t a tough sell.
By Trina Moyles Jenny Berkenbosch and James Vriend manage Sundog Organic Farm , a 14-acre certified organic vegetable and herb operation, located north of Edmonton in Sturgeon County. After James and Jenny were married, she too spent 5 years working on the Vriend’s farm, learning about organic production.
These factory farms not only force animals to live in overcrowded, dirty conditions, they also produce copious amounts of manure, which can cause water pollution and other health hazards. Calves stick their heads out of pens at a farm near Healdsburg, California. farm is 464 acres.) The average U.S.
Many farmers are able to spread manure on their cropland over many years. However, comparable land in the area that has had no manure ever applied to it and has no excess fertility can be purchased for $6,500. In order to properly document this deduction, you should get an agronomist to workup the value of the excess fertility.
Biochar is created by heating biomass, such as forest waste or animal manure, in a low-oxygen environment—a process known as pyrolysis. I’ve been doing biochar research here on my farm for a good year, and I’ve got feedstock sources, I’m building pyrolysis units, I’ve got different application rate studies already going,” he said.
Instead, they set their sights northwest of the city and came to fall in love with 160-acres of “rough northern bush” in Barrhead County. Of the 160-acres, Jenna and Thomas steward 25-acres to grow organic vegetables, herbs, and flowers and raise honeybees.
When you approach the poultry paddocks at Salvatierra Farms outside Northfield, Minnesota, you might not notice how many chickens are hiding among the tall grasses and young hazelnut trees at first. And that’s by design. Photo courtesy of Wil Crombe/Organic Compound.) Regenerative is a complex term with many interpretations.
Even farms not actively looking to improve their operations often use these events as an opportunity to talk shop and hear what other farmers are up to. There’s no better way to see and learn than by visiting other farms and hearing diverse perspectives. It depends on which management practices work best for the farm.
They’d take a few hundred acres of both leased and family-owned central-Texas farmland—land that for decades had grown row crops of corn and cotton—and give it “what it wants back,” he said. The challenges to farming, period—let alone transitioning to regenerative—can be high. Here’s how the U.S. government actively discourages it.
On September 19th, Community Alliance with Family Farmers held a field day at Vitis and Ovis farm in Capay Valley, CA. Gisèle Herren of Vitis and Ovis Farm alongside their flock of grazing ducks. Hans Herren showing attendees an on-farm device as he discussed their experience in making compost tea.
I’ve visited 10 farms, most of them several hundred sheep on more than 1,000 acres. One was beef cattle on about 4,000 acres. Nobody puts down carbon for bedding, so all the sheep are on solid manure packs that stink and are filthy. As a result, all farms have 24 hour security. I should be home Monday afternoon.
“The ARA adopts many strategies pioneered in California” said CAFF Policy Director, Dave Runsten, “such as the Healthy Soils Program, the diversion of organic matter from landfills, and the Alternative Manure Management Program. It’s a hopeful sign that our advocacy is moving from the state level to the national stage.”
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