“When I was a young kid, my grandfather had a painting of a Gaucho riding a horse at full gallop chasing down a cow in the Patagonia Steppe. The Gaucho was swinging a set of ‘boleadoras; above his head, which is the traditional tool to help them wrangle cattle. Ever since I first saw that painting, […]
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We recently had the privilege of attending the National Future Farmers of America convention in Indianapolis, Indiana to represent Understanding Ag. Mingling with a sea of over 70,000 kids wearing the classic blue and gold FFA jackets with their home states emblazoned across the back is an unforgettable experience. It brought back memories of my […]
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“It’s not how much rain you get but how much rain you can keep.” As I write this in late Oct 2024, we have had no measurable rainfall for the entire month here in west-central Indiana. If you look at the August-through-October total rainfall here, we have not been this dry since 2010, and we’ve […]
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The headline in The Washington Post article, published August 25, 2024, proclaimed “Scientists may have found a radical solution for making your hamburger less bad for the planet.” The article, written by Shannon Osaka and Emily Wright, examined research currently being conducted at the University of California-Davis using gene editing techniques on rumen microbes to […]
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In part one, I outlined some of the societal challenges linked to soil erosion and poor soil function. Now let’s take a look at some of the economic costs and benefits of addressing erosion on farms and ranches. To determine the cost of erosion, first we must assign a value to soil. In truth, topsoil […]
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Soil erosion has been one of the most persistent challenges humanity has faced since the advent of agriculture over 10,000 years ago. Loss of productive capacity of the supporting land base contributed to the collapse of numerous civilizations during that time. Poor grazing practices and tillage were the main causes of land degradation historically and […]
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Life is short so embrace change.” That’s the “distilled” philosophy Rodrigo Mestas brings to his tequila business, his regenerative agriculture management style and his outlook on life. In the acres he’s transitioned to regenerative agriculture, Mestas allows naturally occurring cover crops to emerge between the rows of the agave, and then grazes livestock- including […]
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I pulled this image up on GoogleEarth yesterday. The photo below shows an area 12.5 miles wide, by 6.5 miles vertically, much of it in Rock Dell Township, Minnesota where our farm is. Hayfield is in the upper left-hand corner. The green area in the middle is along Hwy 30, and at the top is […]
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In Part Four, I discussed the importance of keeping living roots in the soil and avoiding overapplication of nutrients at the wrong time. In this final post I will examine nitrogen sourcing options and how plants acquire nutrients in a healthy soil. To understand what the ‘right source’ of nitrogen is, we first need to […]
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God designed the world to function as a perpetual motion machine. If done right, it should always be building fertility, not extracting it. But you have to understand the principles of soil health, and the four ecosystem processes, in order to achieve that outcome. While many individuals are content with simply “growing a cover crop” […]
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In Part Three, I reviewed the concept of using marginal nitrogen use efficiency and zero N check strips as tools to evaluate application rates. Now I will shift the focus to problems with overapplication, how to determine the right timing for application, and the consequences of not doing so. The fastest way to diminish the […]
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In business, it all comes down to profit. In farming, profit comes down to things we can’t control like the weather and the markets, and the things we can control like our management decisions. One of those key management decisions is determining how much nitrogen to apply to our crops. In part two of this […]
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In part one of this series, I briefly discussed the importance of education for understanding how soil function and ecosystem processes play a critical role for water quality. Now let’s turn our attention to determining the “right rate” for nitrogen. Nutrient management plans focus heavily on nitrogen because it is critical for plant growth and […]
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Poor water quality has been a persistent challenge in agriculture, particularly due to sediment and nutrient loss from farmland. It is considered a “wicked problem” with conflicting social, political, economic, and environmental aspects that prevent solutions. In this blog series I will challenge the notion that degraded water is something we all have to live […]
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Most of us have heard the old sayings regarding weather and farming including, “Don’t plant until the barn swallows return,” and “Wait until the oak leaves are as big as a squirrel’s ear.” These, and many other sayings, were tied to observations and farming in sync with what Mother Nature was telling us in terms […]
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The first two parts of this series examined the critical role of carbon in powering plant and soil life (all terrestrial life) and the cyclic outflow from an average corn field. Now let’s look at inflows. Unsurprisingly, the lack of photosynthesizing plant cover throughout the growing season makes the carbon inflows smaller. Maintaining living cover […]
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I’m a traveler unseen, in cycles I flow, From the air to the earth, far down below. Plants welcome me in their leafy grace, As part of a process, essential to embrace. I dance with the sun, in the atmosphere high, Yet in oceans and soil, you’ll find me nearby. Roots release me when they […]
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In soil I lie, a secret unseen, A cornerstone of life, in every green. With humble microbes, a dance serene, In Earth’s embrace, my role is keen. In the ground I dwell, unseen but grand, A vital link in life’s command. With microbes and roots, a partnership planned, In the soil I’m hidden, yet readily […]
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When I began studying ornamental horticulture and landscape design over 25 years ago, regenerative agriculture was just a twinkle in Gabe Brown’s eye and a glimpse of the future in the eyes of Allen Williams’, Ph.D. For me, well, I was taking an introductory soil science class in a two-year horticulture degree program at Farmingdale […]
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Planning Winter Cover Crop Rotations Maximizing cover crop benefits in the garden requires strong crop planning with strategic rotations coupled with creative improvision so it’s important to examine strategies and considerations for incorporating cover crops with no-till methods and inter-seeding. These strategies can apply to the market gardener or home gardener, and have applications for […]
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In parts one and two of this series, we reviewed the role of biology and the importance of living roots, aggregated soil, and a functioning water cycle for building strong, compaction-resistant soils. Now let’s look at the equipment and field management practices that can help mitigate compaction while you transition to a regenerative system. Compaction […]
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In part one of this series, we reviewed the fundamental role that biological glues and soil aggregates play in creating healthy, strong soil that resists compaction. Given the importance of living roots that drive aggregate formation, how can we use that to our advantage to remediate and prevent compaction? Living roots not only build aggregates, […]
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Soil compaction is the most common problem that I have encountered on farms as I travel across the Midwest. It is so prevalent that it’s easy to forget that compaction is a symptom, not an inherent property of soil. It is the result of poor soil function, which is the result of management practices that […]
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In part one of this series, we examined some of the findings from research conducted by a science team headed up by Dr. Stephan Van Vliet that had a goal of performing deep metabolic and nutritional profiling of grass-fed beef samples. In this article, I’d like to share even more detailed evidence from the study […]
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