Remove Fertilizer Remove Harvester Remove Manure
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Across Farm Country, Fertilizer Pollution Impacts Not Just Health, but Water Costs, Too

Civil Eats

This “leaky system” refers to what is not absorbed by the crops on the field, most dangerously, in this case, fertilizer. “It’s And farmers know they’re going to lose some fertilizer. Fertilizer as Poison The U.S. Fertilizer as Poison The U.S. As a consequence, they apply extra as insurance.”

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Will I Really Benefit from Grazing My Cover Crop?

UnderstandingAg

If done right, it should always be building fertility, not extracting it. Concentrations of minerals in cereal rye forage at several developmental stages when harvested at a 4-inch height. 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.

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Growing Healthy Soil and Grass Regenerates Minnesota Farm, Farmer and Family

UnderstandingAg

Never applying more than 100 pounds of nitrogen per acre to his corn acres, Bergler harvests 230 bushel-per-acre corn behind a seven-way grain mix with peas and flax. I used to haul 80-100 loads of manure each year and now Im down to seven. They also wonder why Im not harvesting my sorghum or hay mixes.

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Practicing Resurrection: Using Green Manures on a Small Semi-Urban Homestead

ATTRA

To “every day do something that won’t compute… say that the leaves are harvested when they have rotted into the mold.” I rely on these crops, idealistically to bolster hope, and practically to provide most if not all the fertility my garden crops need to live fully and produce quality fruits. This year was different.

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Living Mulch Cover Cropping for Gardens and Small Farms: Managing an “organic matter” system

ATTRA

He found that undersowing the clover was an amazing way to get the field covered by harvest. He would let the cover crop grow and overwinter and then plow down the following spring for green manure. Periodic mowing keeps it under control and adds a green manure mulch to the crops.

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The Carbon Chronicles – Part 3

UnderstandingAg

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. Fertilizers and animal manures are a special case, because whether the ultimate result is net positive or negative depends on how they are managed.

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Managing Dairy Slurry to Maximize Nutrient Capture

UnderstandingAg

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. This causes the soil microbiology to go dormant.

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