The 13th class of Responsible Nutrient Management Practitioners says using cover crops is key to managing manure and fertilizer inputs. Sponsored by AgroLiquid and No-Till Farmer, below is a synopsis of each farmer’s fertilizer program.

Jim Hershey, Elizabethtown, Pa.

For Elizabethtown, Pa., farmer Jim Hershey, no-till farming has been a way of life for more than 30 years. While the conversion to no-till wasn’t initially conservation focused, Hershey says the many benefits of no-till farming have become clear. 

“The main reason I started no-till farming was time. My wife and I were running the farming operation by ourselves and we also had a dairy operation. Time was very valuable,” Hershey says. 

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“We can meet most of our nutrient needs with the hog manure…” – Jim Hershey

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Today, the 600-acre multi-generational operation is no longer a dairy but grows corn, wheat and soybeans and finishes 1.7 million organic broiler chickens along with 6,500 head of hogs.  

Planting Green. The 3-year corn, soybean and wheat rotation…