Mike Starkey, a forward-looking Indiana farmer, changed the way he feeds nitrogen to crops - injecting the fertilizer at the plant roots rather than broadcasting it. That boosted growth and saved money. But he realized by studying the runoff from his field tiles that most of the nitrogen leached from the field once the soybean [...]
Continue reading about Annual Ryegrass Boosts Production Because of Nitrogen Kick
Mike Plumer, an agronomist with the University of Illinois began to recommend annual ryegrass over a decade ago, when he discovered its value as a nitrogen-scavenging cover crop.
“When a soybean plant dies, it immediately starts to degrade. If you get any rainfall on the residue or through the nodules, it’s going to leach nitrogen quickly.”
The [...]
Continue reading about Annual Ryegrass Scavenges Nitrogen from Old Crops - Gives it up to New Crops
Most of the farmers I’ve met this week at the Pennsylvania No-Till training are in the dairy business, even though some are getting out due to the low price of milk the last couple years. Some are putting in row crops, which would change a lot of management practices.
According to folks from Penn State, the [...]
Continue reading about Pennsylvania No-Till Farmers Consider Cover Crops
Annual Ryegrass used as a cover crop adds organic matter in no-till operations. Why? The massive root structure left behind increases organic matter as it decays. Having something growing in the ground year-round allows earthworms and healthy bacteria to keep working, building nutrients, building carbon.
Each time the soil organic matter is improved by 1%, one [...]
Continuous No-Till and Cover Crops – Boosting Soil Organic Matter, Carbon, and Crop Yields
Since 1969, select farm plots at the University of Illinois have been in continuous no-till. In that time, the measure of organic matter has been boosted three-fold – from about 1 percent to 3.2 percent, without use of cover crops. In the [...]
Mark Trumm, a Wisconsin farmer asked: Was thinking of putting annual rye grass in a field that we usually have corn but floods out every year. It would be a field that we would graze beef cow/calves or yearlings on. Any advice on annual rye grass would be greatly appreciated.
Here’s what I answered…but am seeking [...]
Continue reading about Wisconsin Farmer Asks about Annual Ryegrass for Summer Pasture
