Posted on July 18, 2018 by southernipmcenter
Barges carrying agricultural products aren’t the only traffic on the Mississippi River. Nutrients and sediment from across the Mississippi River Basin travel down the river until reaching the Gulf, where they linger and create low oxygen “dead zones” in which many fish cannot survive.
Monitoring of the Gulf hypoxic zone has shed some light on the important connections between agricultural practices and water quality. Although some practices contribute to the problem, other practices – like cover crops – provide a much needed solution. Continue reading →
Filed under: news | Tagged: cover crops, Gulf hypoxic zone, IPM and water quality, Mississippi River, SARE, sustainable agriculture, water quality | Leave a comment »
Posted on May 30, 2018 by southernipmcenter
by Candice Pollock-Moore, Southern SARE
Barley and hairy vetch growing vigorously in a high tunnel at Lola’s Organic Farm in southeast Georgia were going to seed. It was mid-April. Time to mow and prepare the soil for the summer’s cash crops: ginger and turmeric.
Since last year, couple Jennifer Taylor and Ron Gilmore – USDA certified organic farmers – have been playing around with growing cover crops in high tunnels, following the positive results of a Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SSARE)-funded Producer Grant project that showed cover crops grown in the field ahead of a cash crop can suppress weeds and build soil health. Continue reading →
Filed under: news | Tagged: cover crops, High Tunnel System, high tunnels, NRCS, organic, SARE, Southern SARE, sustainable agriculture | Leave a comment »
Posted on April 26, 2018 by southernipmcenter
The Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SARE) program has awarded over $2.4 million in Research & Education Grants to further sustainable agriculture research across the Southern region for FY2018.
Systems research-based funded projects include cover crops in woody ornamental production, managing plant-parasitic nematodes through sod-based crop rotation, tea production in Florida, and expanding marketing opportunities for small-scale ruminant farmers. Continue reading →
Filed under: featured | Tagged: cover crops, IPM and water quality, research and education grants, Southern SARE, sustainable agriculture, water quality | Leave a comment »
Posted on April 19, 2018 by southernipmcenter
Videos and presentations from the 2017 National Conference on Cover Crops and Soil Health sessions are now available. Held December 7-8, 2017 in Indianapolis, the conference highlighted insights from some of the nation’s most innovative producers, conservation leaders and scientists on using cover crops to improve soil health. Continue reading →
Filed under: featured | Tagged: cover crops, national conference on soil health, soil health, sustainable agriculture | Leave a comment »
Posted on April 17, 2018 by southernipmcenter
In Delta Farm Press
The dominant soil type on Adam Chappell’s Cotton Plant, Ark., farm is a sandy loam. Chappell is persistent and insistent in trying to make that soil better.
He’s found the main way to do that is the use of cover crops. Continue reading →
Filed under: news | Tagged: Arkansas, cover crops, pigweed, weed control | Leave a comment »
Posted on April 9, 2018 by southernipmcenter
No-till vegetable production offers a more sustainable approach to weed management than the frequent use of herbicides and tillage, and also promotes soil health. Because cover crop based no-till vegetable production involves a different approach to management, growers may be reluctant to transition from conventional tillage without seeing the system in action and knowing its costs and benefits compared with conventional tillage. In this workshop Clemson University specialists will discuss the pros and cons of cover cropping and no-till with recommendations based on current research and our experiences in the field over the past decade.
May 17TH, 2018, 8:45 AM – 3:30 PM Continue reading →
Filed under: news | Tagged: Clemson University, cover crops, no-till, organic, sustainable agriculture, tillage, weed management | Leave a comment »
Posted on March 14, 2018 by southernipmcenter
by Katie Pratt, University of Kentucky
Pollinators are extremely important to agriculture, accounting for one in every three bites of food, but their populations have been declining worldwide for a number of years. In a new study, University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment researchers are evaluating how food availability on farmland impacts bee communities in early spring.
“Managing corn and soybean fields in a way that provides food for pollinators early in the spring could be beneficial to bee communities,” said Clare Rittschof, UK assistant professor in the Department of Entomology and leader of the project. “The goal of this project is to help producers improve pollinator populations on their land by providing an attractive and nutritious food source for them.” Continue reading →
Filed under: news | Tagged: cover crops, honey bee health, honey bees, pollinator health, pollinator protection, University of Kentucky, weed control | Leave a comment »
Posted on February 21, 2018 by southernipmcenter
The Southern IPM Center will spend $309,653 to address agricultural and urban issues during the next year with its IPM Enhancement Grant. Out of 32 proposals submitted to the program, a review panel outside of the region selected 11 for funding.
IPM Enhancement Grants are relatively small grants (up to $30,000 for most) to address an integrated pest management issue. Most publicly funded organizations are eligible to apply as long as they reside in one of the 13 states or territories covered by the Southern IPM Center. Continue reading →
Filed under: featured | Tagged: cover crops, invasive species, invasive weeds, IPM Enhancement Grant, metolachlor, Palmer amaranth, red maple, spotted wing drosophila, varroa mite, weed control | Leave a comment »
Posted on February 8, 2018 by southernipmcenter
by Doug Edlund, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture
It isn’t often that researchers have the luxury to examine data from a long-term research project. While most research projects last from three to five years, scientists with the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture recently published a study that covered a 29-year period to find the benefits of cover crops on no-till cotton fields.
After harvesting cotton there is very little residual biomass. Without a crop covering the ground, there is an increased amount of soil exposure that can lead to erosion from winter rains and runoff. Continue reading →
Filed under: news | Tagged: Agronomy Journal, cover crops, Don Tyler, no-till, sustainable agriculture, University of Tennessee | Leave a comment »
Posted on December 5, 2017 by southernipmcenter
I love it when another writer does my job for me–defining integrated pest management in the broad scheme of agriculture and analyzing why the general public still has trouble with the concept. In her essay in The New Food Economy, writer Sophia Mendelson discusses what IPM is, suggests that it should be called integrated crop management and muses about why the general public suddenly jumped on the organic bandwagon in 1990.
Read the article.
Filed under: featured | Tagged: cover crops, integrated crop management, IPM, organic, Sophia Mendelson, sustainability | Leave a comment »
