Farmers usually plant so-called cover crops after harvesting their main crop in the Fall. This prevents erosion of the soil and nutrient leaching. The roots of these crops also stabilize the structure ...

Throughout the summer, floods and storms destroyed farms throughout Iowa. Many of the crop acres were completely washed out by the flooding, especially in the northwest portion of the state. On fields ...

The latest iteration of the National Cover Crop Survey is the 8th in the research series, which began in 2012.

One year away from a federal deadline to reduce nutrient runoff into the Gulf of Mexico by 20%, increases in tile drainage, livestock and fertilizer use have made success unlikely. CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa ...

A combine harvests corn, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023, at a farm near Allerton, Ill. Cover crops top the list of tasks U.S. farmers are told will build healthy soil, help the environment and fight climate ...

Farmers, livestock producers and gardeners interested in improving soil health and learning more about cover crop systems for soil health and livestock nutrition are invited to attend a ...

Farmers used to plant "cover crops" to rejuvenate fields in the off season. As those were replaced with chemicals, the soil of America's farms suffered. Bringing back the old practice has surprising ...

The world's topsoil is disappearing at an alarming rate, threatening agriculture. Regenerative farming offers solutions.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — When Steve Stierwalt studied agriculture at the University of Illinois in the 1970s, soil health wasn’t commonly taught or discussed. Faculty often told their young farming ...

On a hilltop field in Rush County, Kevin Wiltse stabbed his spade into plant residue-encrusted earth and turned over a shovelful of dark soil. He knelt, scooped up a fistful of moist, porous ...