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Can Cover Cropping Heal Abused Soil? A Mad Farm Reflection

ATTRA

By Lee Rinehart, NCAT Agriculture Specialist In my past two blogs, I reflected on planting cover crops on small plots and gardens. And since cover cropping is scalable to just about any size farm or garden, it made sense to conduct some field experiments of my own. Diversity of food crops and flowering annuals. Give it time.

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

Civil Eats

It turns out a system that relies less on row crops isn’t just good for a time- and resource-strapped young farmer. It works as both a cover crop and forage for the cattle, and it’s helping Bedtka build up organic matter in his soil. farmland is regularly cover cropped. Any day you can graze is better,” says Bedka.

Crop 121
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One Farmer’s Regenerative Journey: Part 2

UnderstandingAg

Local practices included moldboard plowing to reseed perennial hay fields and as part of the plowing procedure, it is common to place drainage furrows with a plow on 30-60-feet centers. In year two and three there was a slump in yield, plant health and almost no soil aggregation.

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Regenerative Agriculture: A Strategic Approach for Farming

Cropaia

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in regenerative agriculture, a holistic approach to farming that seeks to restore and revitalize the land while improving crop yields and overall farm profitability. This means increased crop yields and reduced inputs like fertilizers and pesticides.

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Micronutrient Deficiencies in No-Till Systems

Cropaia

In conventional tillage, plowing redistributes nutrients across the soil profile, mixing organic matter and nutrients from the surface with deeper soil layers. During this period, micronutrients can become “locked up” in microbial biomass, making them less available to crops, especially during early growth stages.

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Commentary: With Agriculture Facing a ‘Great Collision,’ More Farmers Seek to Nourish and Heal  

Daily Yonder

They also embraced crop diversity by adopting traditional crops, including hardier, more nutritious varieties that had been orphaned by modern agriculture demands. In Kansas, some annual row crop farmers are pioneering perennial crops to counter the impacts of yearly plowing that has depleted their soils.

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Breaking Ground: The Pros and Cons of Reduced-Till Farming

Cropaia

While there may be concerns about potential short-term yield reductions during this transition, these practices offer long-term benefits for soil health, environmental sustainability, and overall farm resilience. Traditional plowing or tilling can disrupt the soil structure, making it more susceptible to erosion.