Modern Farmer

AUGUST 25, 2023

Their meals of choice are: barley, oats, corn, soy, wheat, rye and alfalfa, the mainstay commercial crops of prairie farmers. Unfortunately, prevention isn’t as easy as spraying the larvae with pesticides. This means farms have to keep the crop alive and use up precious water resources in an already water-restricted environment.

Pesticide 90

Pesticide Crop Cash Crop Seeding 90

Farmbrite

AUGUST 23, 2023

Healthy soil can mean increased yields (and profits) as well as fewer inputs like fertilizer or pesticides. One common method is the traditional or sequential crop rotation, where different crops are grown in a planned sequence over a period of years. Soil health is a holistic measure of soil function.

Crop Rotation 52

Crop Rotation Farming Farming Fertilizer 52

Civil Eats

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

The tall forage stands out in southeastern Minnesota’s corn and soybean fields, which this time of year have been reduced to stubble poking through the snow. It works as both a cover crop and forage for the cattle, and it’s helping Bedtka build up organic matter in his soil. That’s where the sorghum-sudangrass comes in.

Crop 111

Crop Farming Farming Acre 111

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

JULY 14, 2023

And beyond the diversification associated with cropping fields, adding livestock diversity into a system can reduce challenges like pests and diseases while allowing for nutrient cycling from livestock to soil and back to crop or forage species. Rotating crops also significantly reduces pests and diseases.

Agriculture 81

Agriculture Agriculture Crop Rotation Pasture 81

Civil Eats

JANUARY 23, 2024

Along with reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides, practices that build healthy soil, for example, make land more resilient to drought, flooding, wildfires, and erosion. Their insight is essential to creating sustainable, culturally sensitive, and region-specific policies, she says.

Agriculture 80

Agriculture Agriculture Food Ranching 80