Soil – Page 16 – ATTRA – Sustainable Agriculture

Episode 202. Ag Strategies for Ogallala Aquifer. Part 2

May 13, 2021

This episode of Voices from the Field is the second of a two-part…

Episode 201. Ag Strategies for Ogallala Aquifer. Part 1

May 12, 2021

This episode of Voices from the Field is the first of a two-part…

Reflections on NCAT’s First Soil Health Innovations Conference

April 7, 2021

Everyone has their “thing”—that topic or interest that they just can’t get enough of. That topic that you bore people with at parties (remember parties?) when you talk about it just a little too long. For me, my “thing” is soil. I find the topic of soil so endlessly fascinating, and I get to think about, talk about, teach about, and play with soil as a job and a way of life. I’m lucky enough to be a soil specialist for NCAT and I live on a family farm.
By Nina Prater, NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist

Measuring and Conserving Irrigation Water

Moebius-Clune and Soil “Livestock”

February 19, 2021

Dr. Bianca Moebius-Clune sees soil as a living ecosystem whose critters need attention, just like the animals in any agriculture operation. 'Every one of you who's a farmer or even a gardener has livestock, because your livestock are in the soil, and you wouldn't think to not feed them,' Dr. Bianca Moebius-Clune said recently to producers in Kansas.
By Rich Myers, NCAT Outreach Specialist

Buz Kloot: Seven Words that Sparked a Change

February 12, 2021

In 2013, Montana Highland Lamb had finally come to the conclusion that we were spending way too much on fertilizer for our irrigated pastures. Sure, they were producing more than six tons of grass dry matter per acre, but for what? We were not realizing any profit—the fertilizer manufacturer was. Somehow, we had to escape the immense gravitational bondage of more and more inputs. But how?
By Dave Scott, NCAT Livestock Specialist and Co-Owner of Montana Highland Lamb

Meet The Subsurfer

January 22, 2021

Designed and patented by Dr. Dan Pote, the Subsurfer inserts dry poultry litter a few inches into the soil profile without disturbing the soil. It’s kind of like a combination of a no-till seed drill and a manure spreader. It was originally designed to be used in pasture and forage production systems, but Dr. Ashworth has been leading a three-year research project to assess its use in organic specialty crop production. This research, funded by the Arkansas Department of Agriculture, is trying to determine best practices for using the Subsurfer in organic sweet corn and edamame production.
By Nina Prater, NCAT Agriculture Specialist