Getting the most out of what you’ve got is a goal that most producers have, and during last week’s Conservation Technology Information Center tour in Livingston County, Ill., the value of using cover crops to boost a bottom line was shown. Mike Plumer is a retired University of Illinois Extension educator in agriculture and natural resources and currently a consultant … Read More
Communication Helps Cooperation in Conservation
Cooperation is key for successful conservation practices in agriculture, and the key to that cooperation is good communication among all the players. That was the message attendees of the recent Conservation Technology Information Center tour in Livingston County, Ill., heard. “If you want to go back to a simple recipe for success, cooperation among many industries, many individuals and many … Read More
Avoiding Nitrate Runoff Focus of CTIC Panel
One of the best parts about the Conservation Technology Information Center tour is the conversations that come up, either through formal panels or just informal talks. On the more formal side, local Livingston County, Ill., farmer Marcus Maier (pictured seated, holding the microphone) sat on a panel during the tour that addressed soil health and the issue of nitrate runoff … Read More
Voluntary Conservation Efforts Above Regulations
Getting caught up in government regulations and red tape is something any farmer wants to avoid, and attendees of the recent Conservation Technology Information Center tour in Livingston County, Ill., heard how they can avoid more of that with voluntary programs, such as the one on display on the tour. Marcia Willhite, the Chief of the Bureau of Water with … Read More
CTIC: Healthy Crops Start with Healthy Soils
Attendees of the recent Conservation Technology Information Center tour in Livingston County, Ill., heard about the importance of soil health and how it can pay big dividends back to producers … and the consequences of not taking care of the soil. “We have really degraded our soils in the Midwest,” explained Hans Kok (on the right, pointing to his demonstration … Read More
Precisely Seeding from High Above
One of the “high”lights of the recent Conservation Technology Information Center tour in Livingston County, Ill., was a demonstration of using a crop duster to seed ground cover on a field still growing corn. Eric Smith with Pontiac Flying Service explained shortly after one of his pilots (in fact, Scott Petersen, the company’s owner/operations manager) flew over the field and … Read More
GROWMARK Shows Good Stewardship on CTIC
The Conservation Technology Information Center tour just completed with a theme of “Community 4 Conservation” this year. Dan Maggart with GROWMARK (pictured to the right, talking to bus load on the tour about what GROWMARK offers in way of agronomic services) explained why his company sees itself as such a good fit as a sponsor for the tour and its … Read More
House Passes ‘Partisan’ Farm Bill
Agricultural groups are discouraged with the passage today of the U.S. House of Representatives’ H.R. 1947, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013 (FARRM). The bill slid through with a tight margin of 216 to 208 after more than six hours of debate today and did not include food stamp authorization or nutrition programs, which the House … Read More
AgGateway Launches SPADE2
AgGateway’s Precision Ag Council is building on its successful work to date on the Standardized Precision Ag Data Exchange (SPADE) Project by launching SPADE2. While the first phase focused on seeding, the second phase will cover crop protection and harvest operations. SPADE2 will also build infrastructure to source the machine and product reference data needed to share crop plans, recommendations, … Read More
Syngenta Provides Integrated Crop Solutions
Syngenta and Lindsay Corporation formally announced a collaborative agreement to provide corn farmers with a more efficient way to grow and manage irrigated corn acres. This collaboration will provide farmers with access to a proven combination of best-in-class products, technology, expertise, analysis, automation and service. The two companies have been working in recent years to develop projects and will deliver … Read More