In February, the USDA announced they will spend $1 billion on farmers, ranchers and landowners to invest in practices which contribute to curbing greenhouse gas emissions and store carbon. The goal is to support those in agriculture and forestry who are eager to lead the way in implementing climate-smart solutions. One of the key strategies […]
Annual drought has been afflicting wider swaths of the United States with each passing year. While drought stress management has helped to overcome some of the hurdles caused by low precipitation and high-pressure systems, farmers will need to explore every technique at their disposal to keep up yields without exhausting the soil. With livelihoods threatened, […]
With climate change on the rise, many farmers are recognizing the threats to their business and are adapting more sustainable farming practices. In many cases, that means adopting drought tolerant plants that can grow without extensive irrigation or heavy rainfalls. However, these are not miracle crops and still require their own optimum growing conditions to […]
For many farmers, it’s the start of a new growing season, or at least the perfect time for soil preparation. Ongoing cultivation of the nutrients and organic compounds in your soil can help you to grow profitable crops indefinitely, though you’ll have to make adjustments to achieve ideal conditions. Sure, you know the importance […]
Though global temperatures are warming, climate change is not going to eliminate the possibility of low temperature stress. In fact, the risk from chilled temperatures below the optimum growing conditions for tropical, subtropical or even temperate plants will be more erratic than ever. Growers looking to endure these extremes might embrace more cold-weather resilient crops […]
No one will argue against the importance of soil management. Healthy topsoil stimulates the growth of tougher, more fruitful plants from root to shoot. Yet the degradation of topsoil through commercial over-farming has created a global crisis, one that threatens the nourishing compounds found in favorable soil. Though regenerative agricultural practices aim to prevent that […]
Every few months, a new region seems to be struggling under drought conditions. Brazil and other parts of South America are the latest to suffer through insufficient rainfalls, but Australia, California, and Thailand have all dealt with this setback in recent years. In these situations, growers particularly feel the strain of dwindling water supplies. It’s […]
Growers using industrial farming practices have long relied upon chemical fertilizers as a way to maximize crop yield, but there are side-effects that do long term damage to the soil. Through the use of synthetic fertilizers and other practices, the percent of organic matter found in soil has dwindled to a meager 1%. What does […]
Unfortunately, there’s no negotiating with crops about their performance and productivity in your soil. Each species requires a different blend of nutrients, soil acidity, and water supply to flourish – and they won’t compromise on anything less than their optimum growing conditions. This would be fine if the health of any soil system was static, […]