A discussion in the Organic Grain Resource and Information Network (OGRAIN) email group started with a question about interseeeding clover into soybeans. Several no-tillers discussed the topic and how timing of planting could dramatically affect the outcome.

There are simply too many diseases and pests lurking beneath the soil for growers to have a wait-and-see attitude.

A hotter atmosphere is causing rain to fall in harder bursts, pushing back planting seasons and drowning crops. At the same time as human-driven climate change is juicing precipitation, Corn Belt farming practices such as installing underground drainage tiles and leaving fields bare after harvest are changing how water moves across the landscape and into waterways.

No-till production, a type of conservation tillage in which farmers plant directly into remaining crop residue without tilling, has increased substantially for wheat and corn over the past two decades.

U.S. prices for fertilizer stabilized in June and then declined in July and August, but Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute research associate Ben Brown says it is unlikely they will remain low.

The practice of using a dragline on emerging corn began in 2019, due to the extremely wet weather rearranging the Ayers’ cover crop termination schedule. The termination date varies each year, thanks to several factors, including the custom spraying schedule, the weather and what herbicide program the Ayers are using. They typically use glyphosate and 2,4-D to terminate the cereal rye.

I wonder is there a time where we will pass the point of no return because of some people’s greed, lack of knowledge or resistance to change. Will there be the resources to provide for the generations to come?