Remove Cash Crop Remove Fertilizer Remove Plowing
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Living Mulch Cover Cropping for Gardens and Small Farms: Managing an “organic matter” system

ATTRA

They are documenting Lincoln’s living cover crop system, where he undersows Dutch white clover into vegetables after the last cultivation in July. He would let the cover crop grow and overwinter and then plow down the following spring for green manure.

Crop 102
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Regenerative Agriculture: A Strategic Approach for Farming

Cropaia

This means increased crop yields and reduced inputs like fertilizers and pesticides. Healthy soil can absorb and retain water more effectively, helping crops withstand droughts and floods. Healthy soil can absorb and retain water more effectively, helping crops withstand droughts and floods.

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

Civil Eats

It works as both a cover crop and forage for the cattle, and it’s helping Bedtka build up organic matter in his soil. Corn requires lots of nitrogen, and it’s by far the most commonly used fertilizer in the United States. Southeastern Minnesota’s Olmsted County is a microcosm of agriculture’s dependence on nitrogen fertilizer.

Crop 121
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A pillar of the climate-smart agriculture movement is on shaky ground

Food Environment and Reporting Network

Researchers, using satellite data, found that cash crop yields in the corn belt dropped significantly—on average 5.5 percent for soybeans—on fields that were cover-cropped, compared to fields that were not. Such losses could dissuade farmers from planting cover crops, no matter the financial incentives.