The Soil Health Partnership (SHP) was launched just shy of a year ago with seed funding in part from Monsanto and technical support from The Nature Conservancy (TNC). At the first Soil Health Summit last week in St. Louis, Monsanto Sustainability Business Development Lead Kevin Coffman said having partners in the environmental community is very helpful to the effort. “They’ve … Read More
Report Shows Increase in Corn Refuge Compliance
A new report from the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) shows an increase in both the overall number of growers planting their corn refuge and integrated refuge products. This news release from the group says as part of the enhanced Compliance Assurance Program (CAP), there’s been a strong adoption of integrated refuge products, which include Bt and refuge seed interspersed … Read More
Importance of Quantifying Cover Crop Benefits
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
WOTUS Interpretive Rule Pulled
The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have at least ditched part of the WOTUS rule. The Interpretive Rule Regarding the Applicability of Clean Water Act Section related to the proposed Waters of the United States (WOTUS) was officially withdrawn by EPA and the Corps in a memo last Thursday, January 29. Congress requested asked for … 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
Record Corn Yield Contest Winner in Georgia
Georgia is a long way from the nation’s Corn Belt, but this year’s National Corn Yield Contest winner Randy Dowdy set a new record of 503 bushels per acre on his farm near Valdosta. “While the contest does not award a single, national prize or have an overall winner, Dowdy’s accomplishment certainly deserves recognition,” said National Corn Yield Contest Manager … Read More
NCGA Announces 2014 Yield Contest Winners
Advanced production techniques, informed growing practices and improved seed varieties helped corn growers achieve high yields in the National Corn Growers Association 2014 National Corn Yield Contest. Entrants continued to far surpass the national average corn yield, setting a contest record with a new all-time high yield of 503 bushels per acre. Additionally, a record six national entries surpassed the … Read More