New research shows surprising levels of nitrogen loss even at freezing temperatures

One of the coldest and wettest winters in decades has produced soggy ground and sluggish wheat growth. No-tiller Kim Starnes and his son, Jason, who own Four S Farms, says this year has brought some of the worst winter conditions they've seen.

There's been heated debate in New South Wales, Aystralia, about whether mining and farming can coexist side by side. But one mine is showing that its no-till farm can produce proftable crops just fine.

Biotechnology-derived crops and the sustainable farming systems they facilitate are key tools in the race to grow more food, feed, fiber and fuel while protecting the environment, the CTIC reports.

David Brandt switched to no-till in 1971 and started experimenting with cover crops in 1979. Using a three-crop rotation with corn, soybeans and wheat, Brandt incorporates cover crops into the wheat stubble. Cover crops are used to retain the soil, increase the tilth of the soil and to provide nutrients, especially nitrogen for the next crop, usually corn.

Farmers may be facing more compaction issues than usual this spring. Randall Reeder, an Ohio State University Extension agricultural engineer, said that no-till farmers may be better off than others.

Crop producers should consider using soil-applied herbicides even during times of cheap glyphosate. While there can be risks, such as no timely rainfall, a pre-emergence herbicide can get control of early season weeds so glyphosate can work on pesky plants at more equal stages of growth.

Last summer, U.S. Department of Agriculture officials floated a nationwide standard to limit the amount of phosphorus farmers could apply to fields. But by December, they had pulled it back in the face of stiff opposition from a group of agriculture scientists.

Kansas State University scientists have completed long-term evaluations of a limited number of independent kochia (Kochia scoparia) populations on privately-owned land in western Kansas that are now confirmed to be glyphosate-resistant.

Soils in the Corn Belt are among the world’s most productive, but they are degrading at a rate that will affect productivity unless we reverse the trend.