From Our Experts
For Brandon Bock, it was a crisis of conscience.
“I saw all of those grasshoppers at the edge of my spring wheat field. I knew I shouldn’t apply an insecticide, but it ran counter to everything I had done before,” the 37-year-old farmer from Foxholm, North Dakota, says. “The spring wheat was starting to flower and normally would get sprayed with a fungicide and insecticide in one pass around this stage.”
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Confounding Economics: The Farm Income Mirage and How to Prepare for the Future Allen Williams, Ph.D., Understanding Ag, LLC Recent articles have left me scratching my head about the state of U.S. farm economics, especially looking at conflicting titles like, “Farm Income to Hit 7-Year High, Thanks to Record-Setting Aid” and “Farm Cash Receipts Forecasted […]
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“Kiss the Ground.” Understanding Ag’s Ray Archuleta, Gabe Brown and Kris Nichols, Ph.D. Upcoming ‘Kiss the Ground’ Movie Features Three Understanding Ag Experts Questions and Answers with Our ‘In-House’ Stars By Ron Nichols, Understanding Ag Kiss the Ground is a new, feature-length movie that explores key soil health and regenerative agricultural principles, and features interviews […]
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By Doug Peterson There are many things that influence what a person does and how well they take care of the land they own or operate. Several studies show that any kind of absentee or non-operating landowner (investors, heirs, retirees) generally do not invest in conservation on the land as much as owner-operators. There are […]
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By Ron Nichols Sometimes, adversity is a blessing, though rarely does it seem so in the moment. Just ask Roy Thompson, a 33-year-old farmer from Akaska, South Dakota. At age 20, Roy was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel condition that the Mayo Clinic’s website describes as “both painful and debilitating, and sometimes may […]
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By Ron Nichols I first spoke with the then 25-year-old Macauley Kincaid a little over a year ago, shortly after he attended a Soil Health Academy school. After that experience, Macauley went back to his Southwest Missouri farm and began applying the insights and recommendations from SHA’s experts with what can only be described as […]
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Allen R Williams, Ph.D. Parasite control in livestock is a major issue and has been heavily focused on for several decades now. There are numerous anthelmintics (chemical dewormers) available for internal parasite control and a host of pyrethroid and organophosphate products available for fly control. The issue with any of these products is that they […]
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Allen R Williams, Ph.D. The 1859 novel written by Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, was required reading for millions of school kids in English Literature classes and is one of the best-selling novels of all time. The story is set in the late 18th century against the background of the French Revolution. Just […]
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Allen R Williams, Ph.D., Understanding Ag, LLC Did you know that the health of plants, animals, ecosystems and humans is inextricably tied to plant phytochemical diversity? So, what are phytochemicals? In short, they are compounds naturally produced by plants that help the plants thrive in challenging conditions, fight off competitors, pest insects and disease. When […]
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Ray Archuleta, Understanding Ag, LLC Concerns about the US food chain supply made their way into the mainstream this week, as more meat processing and packaging plants suspend operations temporarily due to coronavirus outbreaks in the workforce. When Smithfield Foods announced it was shutting its Sioux Falls plant indefinitely, CEO Ken Sullivan warned that doing […]
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