Oregon State University (OSU) Extension specialists have spent six years studying the role cover crops play in fertility management, to the benefit of hundreds of farmers in the highly productive Willamette Valley. To date, the OSU researchers’ main contribution is a calculator for estimating the cost and nitrogen (N) contribution of cover crops, compost, and organic and synthetic fertilizers. The … Read More
GROWMARK Excited About N-Watch
If farmers could determine the concentration, form and location of plant-available nitrogen, deciding when and where and how much to apply would be that much easier. That’s the goal of N-Watch, which started this year as a small scale, pilot program by GROWMARK in partnership with FS Member Cooperatives. The objectives of the program are to quantify the form of … Read More
New Nitrogen Study Released
Plants’ ability to absorb increased levels of carbon dioxide in the air may have been overestimated, a new University of Minnesota study shows. The study, published this week in the journal Nature Climate Change, shows that even though plants absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide and actually can benefit from higher levels of it, they may not get enough of … Read More
Precision.AgWired.com Podcast: Questions you need to answer
As farmers get into the full swing of harvest there is plenty of information to review ahead of next year. In fact some – there are some questions that they should be asking themselves. What do I need to do on my farm to prepare for next year? Should I be concerned about herbicide carryover? What do I need to … Read More
Nutrient Management Options Growing
Keynote speaker Dr. Newell Kitchen, USDA-ARS, had a unique title to his presentation, “From Poking Holes to Precision Sensing: Options Growing for Nutrient Management.” He wanted to be clear that the options available to farmers today for managing nutrients are growing. He started out with a historical perspective on what has taken place in this area in recent years. One … Read More
GROWMARK: Aerial Imagery More than Just Pictures
It’s been around for about 30 years, but aerial imagery has changed and is bringing more information to producers than ever before. In an interview with Cindy, GROWMARK precision agriculture manager Sid Parks says we’re not just looking at pictures anymore. “We’ve got the ability to get that information digitally, so we can use that image to quantify variability within … Read More
GROWMARK Testing Crop Sensor Technology in Corn
Midwest cooperative GROWMARK is looking at how well crop sensor technology like Trimble’s GreenSeeker works in Midwestern corn fields. We talked with GROWMARK precision agriculture manager Sid Parks about GreenSeeker, which is a sensor application either mounted on equipment or handheld that senses how green the crop is with the hope of assessing how much additional nitrogen the crop needs. … Read More
Dry Conditions May Impact Nitrogen Application
Dry conditions may have a negative impact on nitrogen applications in some areas of the country, according to experts at South Dakota State University. According to SDSU Extension Soils Specialist Ron Gelderman, while surface application of nitrogen fertilizer in late fall and early spring is a typical practice in South Dakota, dry soils this season may be putting that nitrogen … Read More
Environmental Groups Sue over Nutrients
A coalition of environmental groups has filed lawsuits in New York and Louisiana to require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Clean Water Act to address nitrogen and phosphorous runoff in the Mississippi River basin. The lawsuits allege that nitrogen and phosphorous fertilizer run-off from farm fields adversely affects water quality in the Mississippi River basin and creates a … Read More
January 31 Deadline for USDA Conservation Innovation Grants
January 31, 2012 is the deadline to submit project pre-proposals for fiscal year 2012 Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) from the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Pre-proposals support large-scale demonstration projects that test and prove original approaches to conserving America’s private lands. “These conservation grants continue to generate exciting new ideas that help farmers and ranchers run sustainable and profitable … Read More