Modern Farmer

FEBRUARY 13, 2024

They ate grains that couldn’t be sold.” Photos courtesy of Wendy Johnson) The sheep were getting sick from eating too much grain, so Johnson worked to reestablish a natural savanna, a mixed woodland and grassland ecosystem that had once been prevalent on Iowa’s landscape but was destroyed by grazing and row crops. Johnson laughs.

Acre 107

Acre Farming Farming Pasture 107

Civil Eats

OCTOBER 2, 2023

Others have been able to relieve the problem through water treatments and removal of affected hay and manure. Hay provides a particular challenge because it is often sold and transported to other farms where it is fed to livestock who spread the chemicals through their manure.

Farming 129

Farming Farming Farmland Crop 129

Modern Farmer

JANUARY 9, 2024

Anyone who’s spent time in Mexico can report firsthand on the country’s deep reverence for corn, that infinitely versatile and nutritive grain that forms the base of the country’s daily bread, the tortilla, as well as a multitude of other traditional foods. A kaleidoscope of native corn varieties, plus colorful beans in a range of shades.

Crop 88

Crop Plantation Seeding Agriculture 88

Civil Eats

MAY 1, 2024

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 The other main factor, manure, is also increasing as CAFOs become more prevalent. ppm for nitrates. Commercial fertilizer is just one contributor to high nitrate levels in groundwater.

Fertilizer 121

Fertilizer Farming Farming Acre 121

Civil Eats

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

Instead, he wants his cattle to harvest their own feed via managed rotational grazing, even in the winter. In addition, large concentrated animal feeding operations, which have become more prevalent there in recent years, add to the problem by disposing millions of gallons of nitrogen-rich liquid manure.

Crop 120

Crop Farming Farming Acre 120

Modern Farmer

OCTOBER 13, 2023

From 2014 to 2021, Minnesota farmer James Wolf raised organic soybeans, corn and wheat, selling the grains to farmers across the midwest, both for seed and animal feed. Selling organic grain allowed Wolf to make more money than selling conventional grain—a lot more money. How much did you harvest? How much did you plant?

Food 84

Food Farming Farming Supply Chain 84

RR2CS

FEBRUARY 10, 2022

He points out how potatoes are planted 6 inches deep in the soil and the blade of the potato harvester goes even deeper in order to harvest the crop. Instead, we are fall ridging for potatoes directly into grain stubble, using our irrigation to get the soil to the right moisture, to enable a single pass.

Farming 52

Farming Farming Crop Manure 52

Civil Eats

JUNE 20, 2024

Meg Wilcox You Can’t Market Manure at Lunchtime: And Other Lessons from the Food Industry for Creating a More Sustainable Company By Maisie Ganzler Many, many years ago, I spent a long time covering the world of sustainable business practices. Additionally, they say, children must have a voice in policymaking.

Food 124

Food Farming Farming Forage 124

Civil Eats

JANUARY 23, 2024

That proposition has been markedly influenced by similar state policies including California’s Converting Our Waste Sustainably (COWS) Act, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through pasture-based manure management. As a result, smaller producers often face greater hurdles in adopting any practices that sit outside the mainstream.

Agriculture 92

Agriculture Agriculture Food Ranching 92