A new report from 2,020 farmers nationwide shows growers find a boost in corn and soybean yields when they use cover crops. This is the fourth survey conducted by the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program and the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC) with help from the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) and Purdue University. Multi-year data highlights the …
Soil Health Institute at #ASTAannual
The cover crops session at the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) annual meeting in Portland, Oregon heard about a new initiative focused on soil health – the Soil Health Institute. Dr. Wayne Honeycutt, who was Deputy Chief for Science and Technology for USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, is president and CEO of the group that is working to protect and …
Farm Foundation, SHP Share Common Goals
Farm Foundation is one of the supporting partners of the Soil Health Partnership (SHP). While at the Soil Health Summit late last week, Tim Brennan, Farm Foundation, shared why the being a part of the Partnership just makes sense for their organization. The Farm Foundation started the Soil Renaissance (with the Noble Foundation) a little over two years ago to …
Iowa Farmer Joins SHP As Demo Farmer
Last year at Commodity Classic, John Maxwell was introduced to the idea of soil health. From there, he became excited about it and signed up to become a demo farmer with the Soil Health Partnership (SHP) to learn how cover crops could impact the soil on his farm. Years ago, Maxwell originally got into cover crops years ago to feed …
National Organizations Support Soil Health Partnership
Several national organizations are supporting the efforts of the Soil Health Partnership (SHP). Jim Gulliford with the Soil and Water Conservation Society spoke about their involvement while at the Soil Health Summit in Indianapolis this past week. When asked about the value in supporting the SHP, Gulliford commented on the mutual goals the two organizations share. “Farmers learn from farmers …
Soil Health Partnership Continues To Grow
Nick Goeser, Director of the Soil Health Partnership as well as Director of Soil Health and Sustainability for the NCGA, gives us an update on what to expect at the Soil Health Summit as well as future plans. “The Soil Health Summit is a number of different topics combined together. First we’re focusing on innovation, innovation in agriculture production. We’re …
The Economics of Cover Crops
At the first Soil Health Summit last year, I talked with Purdue University agricultural economist Dr. Wally Tyner about the need to quantify the economic benefits for farmers of using cover crops. This year, Chuck talked with him again about where they are at with that initiative. “We’ve designed some new studies…to get statistically, economically valid comparisons on farm fields …
#SHPSummit16 Hears From Indiana Farmers
Carrie Volmer-Sanders farms with her husband and parents in Northeast Indiana/Northwest Ohio, and they have implemented cover crops on their farm for about 5 years now. Sanders works for The Nature Conservancy which is where she first heard about the project. “There are a couple of goals being a part of this. Some include sharing the information with local farmers …