Crop Production

Innovative Ways to Seed Cover Crops

This session featured a panel of farmers talking about their experiences with a variety of approaches to seeding and establishing cover crops.

Selecting Cover Crops

This session addressed the relative pros and cons of various cover crop species, including the less common cover crops and cover crops suited to grazing use.

Terminating Cover Crops for Maximum Benefits

Learn about the various cover crop termination strategies, including considerations for the use of herbicides, roller crimper and other termination options.

Integrating No-Till or Strip-Till with Cover Crops

Maximize soil conservation and soil health benefits of cover crops by combining this practice with no-till or strip-till systems.

Cover Crops as Part of an Overall Nutrient Management System

Learn from soil health experts about some of the latest research on impacts of cover crops on soil nutrients.

Environmental Impacts of Cover Crops

Speakers in this session discussed both local and off-site environmental impacts of using cover crops.

Grazing Cover Crops and Benefits for Livestock Operations

This session explored integrating cover crops with livestock operations.

No-Till and Cover Crop Innovations Increase Dairy Profits

Summertime for dairy farmers in New England is anything but slow. Silage corn must be planted and harvested in a short window to provide high-quality forage for cattle, leaving little time to plant cover crops to replenish the soil. Under pressure to get corn planted early, farmers may delay the first cutting of hay, sacrificing […]

Water Use Efficiency in Tomatoes

University of California at Davis graduate student Felipe Barrios-Masias and Professor Louise Jackson saw promise in alternative irrigation methods that could use less water but still produce high yields, leading to increased agricultural sustainability and efficiency. Until successfully obtaining Western SARE funds, they were finding it difficult to receive funding for the on-farm research. However, […]

On-Farm Fertigation Trials in Kansas City-Area Organic High Tunnels

Five certified organic farms in the Kansas City area did one-year comparisons of the use of compost, fertigation and foliar feeding on high tunnel tomatoes, with respect to quantity and quality of yields.