UnderstandingAg

JULY 16, 2023

For the past 40 years, our farm was in a hay, pasture and cereal grain rotation. 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.

Plowing 75

Plowing Pasture Seeding Cattle 75

Civil Eats

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

Since the 1940s , oats, wheat, hay, and pasture have been replaced by a duoculture of corn and soybeans. Farmers would often plow the cover under early in the spring before it could provide optimal soil health benefits, and USDA restrictions didn’t allow much flexibility.

Crop 128

Crop Farming Farming Acre 128

Agritecture Blog

MAY 19, 2023

But despite the often harsh conditions, agriculture is a key cog in the Australian export economy, with grazing livestock and cereal grain production being the two major pillars. This would not only slash methane emissions but also reduce the land use impact of livestock by eliminating the need for extra grain production as feed.

Farming 52

Farming Farming Livestock Crop 52

The Equation

MAY 15, 2023

While a small number of winter crops such as small grains (wheat, oats, barley) and forage and pasture crops such as alfalfa can use some winter rain and snow, western agriculture largely depends on a steady supply of irrigated water that has led to extreme groundwater mining.

Industrial Agriculture 79

Industrial Agriculture Crop Agriculture Agriculture 79

CalCAN

APRIL 6, 2023

The plowing of agricultural land during the 19th and 20th century released vast stores of carbon dioxide , only a small part of which has since been returned to the soil. Side by side with that loss of diversity was a long growth in greenhouse gas emissions that has only recently begun to be addressed.

Agriculture 52

Agriculture Agriculture Greenhouse Food 52