Thinking outside the box about a farm’s economics can lead to opportunities, including those created by climate-smart agriculture. Michael Morrow, executive director of the Indiana Farmers Union and land steward who farms with his family, and Hans Schmitz, Conservation Agronomist for the Conservation Cropping Systems Initiative, dive into adopting climate-smart strategies, from carbon markets and […]
Economic Opportunities Outside of the Box
Resource Source: CCSI-HAT Soil Health Podcast
Combines, Crop Residue, and Cover Crops
Saving time is critical during fall harvest. So is managing residue to ensure an even template for the following season’s crops. In this episode, southwestern Indiana farmer Ray McCormick and Needham Ag Technologies’ Phil Needham had called in to the podcast earlier in the spring to discuss the importance of uniform residue spread for even […]
Cover Crops in the River Bottoms?!
Everyone knows you can’t use cover crops in river bottoms, right? WRONG! Ray McCormick, Knox County, Indiana, farms about 1000 acres of river bottom farmland and uses cover crops on every acre. He is joined by CCSI Director Lisa Holscher to talk about the benefits and challenges of this practice.
Insects and Soil Health
It turns out that a discussion about insects and soil health isn’t just a discussion about how insects affect soil health. It’s also about how the disappearance of beneficial insects is affecting the health of plants, wildlife, livestock, crops, rural communities, and ourselves. Jonathan Lundgren, founder and director of Ecdysis Foundation, trains future scientists and […]
Scouting and Troubleshooting Cover Crop Termination Issues
Planting time is also a time for terminating cover crops, and that’s the topic for the latest CCSI-HAT Soil Health Podcast. Kosciusko County farmer Jamie Scott and Purdue Professor of Weed Science Bill Johnson discuss scouting and troubleshooting cover crop termination issues. They discuss the need for patience to avoid poor termination and expensive resprays. […]
Irrigation Efficiency and Soil Moisture
Betsy Bower, a Ceres Solutions Co-op Agronomist, and Mark Kingma, a farmer in NW Indiana and board member of the IASWCD, talk about irrigation system efficiency, the tools used for measure moisture, and the benefits of soil health systems for irrigation and water use efficiency. Kingma uses moisture sensors to manage water applications and they […]
So… You want me to change how I farm?
From financial to operational to managerial – there are a lot of decisions a farmer has to make before adopting a conservation practice. Understanding that is critical for anyone working with farmers – conservationists, agronomists, and land managers. Indiana farmer Rodney Rulon and Indiana NRCS State Conservationists Jerry Raynor talk about their passions for conservation […]
Discussing Soil Health with Your Ag Lender, Part 1
Explaining soil health investments to your ag lender can be challenging for some farmers. Join Indiana farmer Ken Rulon (Rulon Enterprises) and Nebraska Farmer Keith Berns (Green Cover Seed) as they give advice on talking to loan officers – especially if you’re relatively new to a soil health practice.
Pollinator Strips: More than Bees and Butterflies
When we talk about pollinator strips, we typically think about bees and butterflies. However, pollinator strips also attract a host of other beneficial insects that bring value to crop production. Listen to Rick Clark, West-central Indiana Farmer, and Christian Krupke, Purdue University Professor of Entomology wax poetic about the positive impacts of planting insect habitat.
Discussing Soil Health with Your Ag Lender, Part 2
Explaining soil health investments to your ag lender can be challenging for some farmers. Join Indiana farmer Ken Rulon (Rulon Enterprises) and Kansas Farmer Keith Berns (Green Cover Seed) as they dig deeper into the numbers on economic returns.