Conducting an infiltration test will allow growers to get an idea of how much water their soil can hold for crop use, says Michigan State University Extension.

Despite low winter wheat prices, University of Nebraska Extension says keeping the crop in rotation provides benefits to the soil and subsequent cash crops.

A simple change in perception is helping growers in Niger make the most of the rainfall they receive and improve the productivity of their dryland crops, beating back the creeping ‘cancer’ of desertification.

A four-year University of Nebraska cover crop research project is exploring whether winter cover cropping in no-till corn and soybean systems can benefit soil quality despite their short growing season.

Eric Eberhard of Eberhard Farms in Bellevue, Ohio, talks about the cover-crop program they’ve implemented on 100% of their no-till farm. He explains why they prefer to use Austrian winter peas before corn, the benefits of ‘planting green’ and terminating the cover later, and the changes they’ve seen in terms of water infiltration, yield and earthworm populations.

Cover crop adoption has been a little slower in parts of the Great Plains, possibly more over fear of the unknown than actual poor outcomes seen by growers. But researchers reviewing decades of cover-crop studies say there are plenty of benefits to covers, whether you farm in the warm southern Plains or cooler prairies of western Canada.

South Dakota State University Extension shares what was learned at a recent field day about soil aggregates and soil structure, and the influence they have on water quality.