The USDA recently named 379 priority watersheds where they intend to help farmers improve water quality via focused financial and technical resources through the National Water Quality Initiative (NWQI).

As someone who has now clocked over thirty years of working with farmers and ranchers (and agriculture organizations) on multiple natural resource issues and policies, I can tell you from my experience that people’s opinions on climate change seem to break down roughly into one of four categories.

Adding livestock to a cover crop system is considered the last step in bringing cover crops full circle in an operation. One Kansas grower and livestock producer shares insights from 35-plus years of no-till, 23 years of cover cropping and using livestock to increase his soil’s health and productivity while significantly reducing input costs.

Dairy operations typically have one primary goal: make as much milk as possible, since that is the product they are paid for. Miltrim Farms, a dairy based in Athens, Wis., seeks to not just produce large quantities of milk, but also to be good environmental stewards of the land and water.

Corn and soybeans are the two most common crops grown in the U.S. But many growers who raise those crops might not know how to break the corn and soy cycle to include cover crops.

Research results from a study led by Extension specialist Fabian Fernandez at the Rosholt Research Farm in Westport, Minnesota show data from 2016 to 2019 for two cover crop systems: winter rye and Kura clover living mulch. The farm is in the Bonanza Valley and has an irrigation system. Read more in this press release from the University of Minnesota.

Due to popular demand, the editors of Cover Crop Strategies are pleased to present a fall edition of the National Cover Crop Summit. This free, 2-day virtual event on Nov. 17-18 will feature 6 sessions sharing ideas, tips and information from crop industry experts and growers who have experience using cover crops to maximize economic and soil-health building benefits.

Diversifying crop rotations can offer significant positive results, improving soil health and boosting biological activity and nutrient cycling. Cronin Farms, a no-till operation based near Gettysburg, S.D., has crop rotations down to a science, including forages and cover crops.

According to a September survey from Purdue University, nearly 4 out of 10 corn/soybean producers in the survey said they intend to plant at least some cover crops in fall 2020.