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Articles by Sarah Hill

Bill Haddad and Jon Spreng

Hedging Your Long-Term Weed Control Bets to Reduce Herbicide Reliance

No-tiller and crop consultant Jon Spreng, Perrysville, Ohio, says the biggest challenge to combining no-till and cover crops is finding a permanent weed control solution.
By Sarah Hill posted on March 10, 2021 | Posted in Seeding & Planting, Cover Crops, Crop Protection, Soil Health
Herbicides alone aren’t going to be enough to control weeds in the long run, says Jon Spreng, a no-tiller and crop consultant from Perrysville, Ohio. The current herbicide choices available on the market may last 10-30 years, but unless new active ingredients come along, the fourth-generation grower says he believes that weed resistance will only get worse.
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Minnesota Grower Strives to ‘Be the Solution’ with No-Till, Cover Crops

With 300 acres near Faribault, Minn., Tim Little has committed himself to focusing on conservation through reducing soil erosion.
By Sarah Hill posted on February 27, 2021 | Posted in Cover Crops, Soil Health

Tim Little of Faribault, Minn., has seen cover crops come full circle on his 300 acre operation. Growing up on a dairy outside Dundas, Minn., Little says his dad, Harold, was committed to using cover crops — they just weren’t called that in those days.


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Holistic Approach: Better Grazing with No-Till, Cover Crops

A South Dakota grower manages 10,000 acres to improve soil health, capture moisture and save money with fewer equipment passes and less labor.
By Sarah Hill posted on February 1, 2021 | Posted in Cover Crops

CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA IS notoriously dry. The region only receives 18 inches of rain, on average, per year, compared to the U.S. average of 38 inches. Farming in such dry conditions is a challenge, to say the least.


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Developing a Resilient No-Till System with Regenerative Ag

North Dakota grower Paul Overby utilizes no-till, crop diversity, livestock grazing and satellite imagery to withstand soil erosion and improve topsoil now and in the future.
By Sarah Hill posted on December 2, 2020 | Posted in Cover Crops, Soil Health
WHEN PAUL OVERBY returned home to the family farm in Wolford, N.D., in 1993 after a 12-year career in politics and non-profit fundraising, he was immediately presented with a riddle. The year before, Overby’s father had had his best crop ever, achieving 80-bushel barley and 45-bushel wheat, on average, in a wheat/barley/flax rotation.
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Combining No-Till, Covers, Pheasants and Cattle

South Dakota grower Dennis Hoyle shares insights on how he’s been successful with no-till for more than 35 years and integrated cover crops and livestock into the system.
By Sarah Hill posted on November 4, 2020 | Posted in Cover Crops, Soil Health

DENNIS HOYLE SAYS that a radio broadcast in 2015 changed his thinking about cover crops and cash crops. 


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4 Ways to Optimize Cover Crop Benefits

Adding cover crops to your rotation can help improve soil health while offering flexibility to your no-till operation and improving the bottom line.
By Sarah Hill posted on October 22, 2020 | Posted in Seeding & Planting, Cover Crops
Prior to the Green Revolution, cover crops were very common in cash crop rotations, as they were recognized as being useful for fixing nitrogen (N), suppressing weeds and preventing erosion.
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4 Takeaways from the 7th Annual National Strip-Tillage Conference

The virtual event assembled a diverse group of strip-till experts sharing experience-based advice on cover crop integration, custom strip-till economics and high-yielding corn tips.
By Sarah Hill posted on September 10, 2020
The 7th annual National Strip-Tillage Conference (NSTC), held August 6-8, may have looked a little different than previous years’ events. But the idea-sharing and diversity of topics discussed during general sessions, classroom presentations and live roundtables embodied the annual experience attendees have come to expect. Here are 4 highlights from this year’s event.
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Pros and Cons of 3 Cover Crop Seeding Methods

Three growers share their experiences with different cover crop seeding methods. Find out what worked for them and why they chose their preferred methods.
By Sarah Hill posted on September 9, 2020 | Posted in Cover Crops
There are so many different ways to seed cover crops, it can be challenging for growers to choose which one will best suit their operation’s needs and be most effective at establishing the cover. There are pros and cons and costs to each approach, which can make it all the more difficult to figure out which one will work best for your acres.
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Most Cover Crops Seeded in Fall, Winter

The first annual Cover Crop Strategies Cover Crop Benchmark Study also finds 80% of growers prefer drills to seed cover crops.
By Sarah Hill posted on June 8, 2020 | Posted in Cover Crops
Once harvest is completed in the fall, many growers want to take a big sigh of relief—that year’s cropping season is finished. But for those who want to take advantage of cover crops, wrapping up harvest means it’s time to dust off the drill.
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