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Laura Barrera

Laura Barrera

Laura Barrera is the former managing editor of No-Till Farmer and Conservation Tillage Guide magazines. Prior to joining No-Till Farmer, she served as an assistant editor for a greenhouse publication. Barrera holds a B.A. in magazine journalism from Ball State University.

Articles

ARTICLES

9th Annual Benchmark Study

Small Grains Gain Ground

Corn remained the top crop grown by readers in 2016, but small grains started to pick up acreage, particularly in regions outside the Corn Belt.
By Laura Barrera posted on March 11, 2017 | Posted in Seeding & Planting
No-tillers remained consistent in their crop acreage in 2016 as they did in 2015, with the amount of corn and soybeans slightly dipping as small grain acres increased.
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9th Annual Benchmark Study

More Acres, Crops No-Tilled in 2016

No-till saw increases across the board in terms of total acres and the percent of corn, soybeans and small grains managed under the practice.
By Laura Barrera posted on March 11, 2017 | Posted in Seeding & Planting
No-tilled acres saw a significant increase among readers in 2016 in comparison to recent years.
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9th Annual Benchmark Study

No-Tillers Slash Spending to Stay in the Black

Readers once again stayed under budget to turn a profit, and plan to continue making cuts for the upcoming growing season.
By Laura Barrera posted on March 11, 2017 | Posted in Equipment
While crop prices remained unfavorable, more No-Till Farmer readers were profitable in 2016 than 2015 — but they had to stay under budget to make it happen.
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9th Annual Benchmark Study

No-Tillers Hit New Yield Records Across the Board

No-tilled corn and soybean yields climbed to new highs in the history of the study, while most U.S. regions saw better yields than 2015.
By Laura Barrera posted on March 11, 2017 | Posted in Seeding & Planting
No-tillers had one of the best crop performances in the history of No-Till Farmer’s annual No-Till Operational Benchmark Study, hitting record corn and soybean yield averages overall and beating 2015 yields in most regions.
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Laura Barrera
From the Desk of Laura Barrera

Will Politics Affect Your Crop Rotation?

By Laura Barrera posted on February 22, 2017
Two of the biggest issues President Trump focused on during his election campaign were ending illegal immigration, mainly from Mexico, and trade policy. And now U.S. corn farmers may feel the backlash of that agenda.
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Mixing Up a Sprayer Solution for an Effective Herbicide Kill

Accurate measurements, water pH and hardness, and the use of adjuvants are all key to ensuring every spray droplet makes it into the weed or cover crop.
By Laura Barrera posted on February 11, 2017 | Posted in Crop Protection

Herbicides are one of the most critical tools used on no-till operations. But you may not be utilizing these chemicals as effectively as you could, which can result in increased herbicide resistance or another pass across the field to clean up any yield-robbing weeds or cover crops.


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Laura Barrera
From the Desk of Laura Barrera

5 Fast Takeaways from the 2017 NNTC

By Laura Barrera posted on February 8, 2017
A month has passed since nearly 1,000 people gathered in St. Louis for the 25th annual National No-Tillage Conference, and as usual, I returned to Milwaukee with a list of story ideas, questions to explore and a wealth of information to share with our No-Till Farmer readers.
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Getting a Better Gauge on No-Till Soil Livestock

Using soil health tests can help no-tillers determine how their soils are performing and set a solid baseline to track improvements for years to come.
By Laura Barrera posted on January 14, 2017 | Posted in Soil Health
Given the numerous beneficial roles soil biology plays in crop production — including nutrient cycling, water-holding capacity and disease suppression — more no-tillers want to learn how well their soil biology is and what they can do to improve it.
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