A common theme at last week’s 2015 Soil Health Summit in St. Louis was the need to quantify the benefits for farmers of using cover crops. Purdue University economics professor Dr. Wally Tyner is trying to do just that. “I’ve worked in a lot of different areas in economics and this is the hardest nut to crack,” he said. “Because … Read More
USDA Share of Proposed 2016 Budget
On Monday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack outlined USDA’s $156 billion share of the $4 trillion Obama budget proposal, which is three percent more than last year but includes a $1.6 billion cut in the crop insurance program and some cuts to the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). While the CSP cut would reduce enrollment by three million acres to 7 million, … Read More
Soil Health Hinges on Farmers
The first year of the Soil Health Partnership (SHP) enrolled 20 farmers in six states to be demonstration sites for the effort and by the end of five years they expect to have 100. These farmers have agreed to basically be the “guinea pigs” to help other farmers learn from their experiments and innovations. One of those farmers is Tim … Read More
Gaining Ground on Soil Health
Soil health has become a national focus and Cornell University professor of Soil and Water Management Dr. Harold van Es believes it is something that impacts everyone. “We need to reach a lot of people, it’s not just farmers,” said van Es during the first ever Soil Health Summit in St. Louis this week organized by the Soil Health Partnership … Read More
USDA-NRCS at Soil Health Summit
The deputy chief for science and technology with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Services is a strong believer in the value of partnerships, especially when it comes to improving the health of our nation’s soils. “When you look at all of the demands, the production, the breadth of the country, the climatic zones, the different types of cropping systems – it’s … Read More
First Soil Health Partnership Summit Held
The Soil Health Partnership (SHP) was officially launched at last year’s Commodity Classic so it will just be one year old in another month. But Nick Goeser with the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) says the concept had a relatively long gestation period. “The idea for the Soil Health Partnership started in 2011, so within three years we came to … Read More
Hick Chick Chat: New Holland Offers New Combine
New Holland introduces the CR6.80 Combine, a smaller combine with all the features of the larger models. The CR6.80, the newest addition to New Holland’s CR combine series, is a new model focused on the mixed farming operation engaged in both livestock and crop production. The CR6.80 provides a maximum 374 hp and is designed to work with grain heads … Read More
John Deere App Center Available
AgNerd Cloud alert! Appy Monday to you. How about a program could focusing on Apps? As in the new John Deere App Center. To learn all about it I talked with Nathan Greuel, John Deere Mobile Technician. The John Deere App Center provides users the ability to search and find apps most useful to their business or operations. They will … Read More
Hick Chick Chat: Top Ten All-Time Favorite Tractors
Farm and Ranch Living recently asked their readers to submit and vote for their favorite tractor of all time. This very much hit home for me as my dad still has the first tractor he over bought. A Massey-Harris 101 Junior. He also has the first car he ever bought, but that’s a different story. Old tractors are still used … Read More
USDA Marks New Era for Conservation Efforts
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Wednesday announced 115 new projects in all 50 states and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico will receive more than $370 million in Federal funding as part of the new USDA Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). “This is an entirely new approach to conservation efforts,” said Vilsack. “These partnerships empower communities to set priorities and lead the … Read More