American agriculture has a great story to tell of increasing productivity while at the same time decreasing its environmental footprint. The first of the Town Hall Forums held Saturday at AG CONNECT Expo in the Successful Farming Innovations Theater was “The Shrinking Environmental Footprint of Agriculture” which was moderated by former National Resources Conservation Service chief Bruce Knight, a third-generation …
No-till Cotton Provides Conservation Opportunity
During the Conservation in Action Tour one of our farm stops was the Carter Farm where we met Jon Black (pictured left). He gave us a presentation on no-till cotton which he is standing in. I caught up to him on the phone afterward since we didn’t have time for an interview there. Jon says continuous no-till farming is the …
Conservation In Action Tour Wrap-up
Conservation Technology Information Center Chairman Tim Healey, AGROTAIN, gave us a preview of the Conservation in Action Tour. Now you get to hear his wrap-up following the CTIC board meeting. Tim says the tour was a real success and I echo that. We learned a lot about what farmers are doing in this Chesapeake Bay area and especially in the …
Corn Farming While Protecting The Environment
Not all the farmers I met during the Conservation in Action Tour were making presentations. One of them was Wayne Kirby, Virginia corn farmer and Chairman of the Virginia Corn Board. Wayne says a lot of people are interested in agriculture in their area and especially what’s happening with the Chesapeake Bay restoration effort. Wayne says he’s glad to be …
Precision Ag Evangelist
Harold Reetz is one of the board members for the Conservation Technology Information Center and has formed Reetz Agronomics. I spoke to him following the CTIC board meeting. He says he just retired after 28 years with the International Plant Nutrition Institute. But he’s not retired from working. In my interview you’ll hear about some other things he’s involved in. …
The 4R Nutrient Stewardship System
Representing The Fertilizer Institute on the Conservation in Action Tour was Kathy Mathers, V.P. of Public Affairs. I spoke to Kathy during the Conservation Technology Information Center board meeting that followed the tour to Nutrient stewardship is on the top of the list for TFI according to Kathy. She says they’re promoting the 4R Nutrient Stewardship System which means using …
More Organic Matter Good For Soil
Making a sponge out of dust. That was pretty much the theme of remarks and a demonstration we saw on the Conservation in Action Tour at the Davis Family Farm. Conducting the demo was Chris Lawrence, cropland agronomist with Virginia NRCS. The point of his message was how no-till farmers are working to create more organic matter in their sandy …
AGROTAIN Assisting No-Till Farmers
During the Nutrient Use Efficiency Expo on the Conservation in Action Tour our sponsor, AGROTAIN, was one of the exhibitors. Manning the booth was Daryl Clay. He says many of the farms in this part of the country have used no-till for decades. However, using no-till does present some challenges with nitrogen management being one of them. Daryl says that …
Variable Rate Application For Conservation
Paul Davis farms in New Kent County, VA and drives a truck with a bumper sticker that says, “Never-Till.” His farm was a stop on the Conservation in Action Tour. He’s been in continuous no-till since 1999. While we were on the farm he gave us a presentation about his use of the Trimble Greenseeker technology that makes variable rate …
Listening To Farmers Conservation Regulation Concerns
The Deputy Undersecretary for Natural Resources and Environment, USDA, is Ann Mills. Ann oversees the Natural Resources Conservation Service. During lunch on the Conservation in Action Tour she spoke to us about several initiatives under her oversight. She talked about her goals of getting 100 percent participation from Chesapeake Bay area land owners to help with the watershed cleanup efforts. …