Farmers and ranchers are increasingly interested in conservation practices to strengthen soil health and improve water quality for present and future generations. Conservation practices can also help farmers improve their profitability in the face of increasinglyRead More…
Leslie Johnson’s childhood home is only 4 miles as the crow flies from her current office where she works as Animal Manure Management Extension Educator at Nebraska Extension, based at the Haskell Ag Lab.
“I like to joke – I didn’t make it very far in life,” quips Johnson. But for her, she couldn’t be happier. She is close to her family farm and her family while contributing to her husband’s family farm and teaching and helping producers and ag professionals through her work with Nebraska Extension.
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With all the buzz about soil health, regenerative ag, and climate-smart, farmers want to know how practices such as cover crops and no-till pencil out. While data on the financial impacts of conservation practices are stillRead More…
Some of us measure a career in terms of years. Ron Graber, extension watershed specialist for Kansas State University, uses a whole different yardstick.
“When we start a career, we hope to make a difference,” said Graber. For him, that success is measured in innovative partnerships, successful management strategies, and improved water quality.
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In November 2022, I assumed the role of NDSU Extension Specialist and Program Director for Soil and Water Leadership Development. With the assistance of two Program Coordinators and a team of Extension Specialists, I support and guide 54 distinct Soil Conservation Districts across the state of North Dakota.
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The Soil Health Nexus is excited to debut two new resources on the Soil Health Toolbox. Two Soil Health Nexus members, Francisco Arriaga, Associate Professor and Extension Specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Anna Cates, State Soil Health Specialist at the University of Minnesota, recently published a long-awaited whitepaper exploring the connection between soil health and water quality.
“While there has been a lot of work linking farm management practices with soil health or water quality, few have looked at the connection to both soil and water quality,” notes Cates. “Generally, management systems that lead to better soil health result in decreased risk to water quality, but that is not the case in all conditions or for all management systems. What works in one field for both soil health and water quality might not be the best option for another field. This whitepaper explores those intricacies so educators can better recognize and communicate when the relationship isn’t positively correlated.”
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Climate Smart Agriculture has been a buzzword over the past year, with the connotation that farms can play a large role in sequestering greenhouses gasses. In order to do so, carbon in the upper layers of soil has to be increased, methane from ruminants must be lessened or harnessed to be converted to energy, and renewable energy resources have to be incorporated into farm management considerations. In Indiana, many resources have been dedicated to progressing in this arena. We just used a variety of other terms in the process.
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This story was originally published UNL Cropwatch. It has been adapted and re-published here. In March 2022, Katja Koehler-Cole started a new position as a soil health management extension educator for the University of Nebraska EasternRead More…
The Soil Health Matrix Decision Tool is a free tool that was recently developed by the Soil Health Nexus and a regional advisory team with support from North Central SARE. It is designed as a 101Read More…
Cover Crops and their impact on soil health – Dr. Rob Myers Selecting cover crop species – Dr. Eileen Kladivko