Planning for the “summer slump?” Now is the time to consider planting summer annuals to maintain forage production during this period of the grazing season when recovery periods slow for cool season pasture perennials, such as timothy, orchardgrass, and clover. Summer annuals are warm-season grasses typically planted in early June (now!) and can be grazed …
Category Archives: Out Croppings
Updated Nitrogen Recommendations for Corn Now Available
Nutrient recommendations based on soil testing and other soil and crop information are the basis for manure and fertilizer management for your field crops that optimizes economic returns while protecting water quality and the environment. The recommended nutrient rates reported on the UVM Soil Test Report and found in the Nutrient Recommendations for Field Crops …
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Cover Crops Resources Galore!
Our morning Cover Crops webinar series is in full swing! Thus far, we have held three webinars featuring Bill Curran, PennState Extension; Heather Darby, UVM Extension Northwest Crops and Soils Program; and Kirsten Workman, UVM Extension Champlain Valley Crops, Soils, & Pasture Program. Don’t worry if you missed the live broadcasts of these webinars; recordings …
Now’s the Time to Consider Frost Seeding
Looking for a cost effective strategy to improve forage diversity and quality in your fields? Frost seeding is a low cost seeding strategy that relies on the action of the soil freezing and thawing to incorporate broadcasted seed into the ground. Frost seeding can begin at any point now as most fields throughout Vermont are …
2015 Corn Research Reports Ready
Our Northwest Crops & Soils Team has been busy this fall harvesting research trials, collecting samples, and crunching stats on all the data we’ve collected. Now that it is officially winter, we are busy writing reports for all of the trials conducted during the 2015 research season. The first of our reports are ready — …
School may be out for Summer but the Testing Lab is In Session!
The University of Vermont Extension Cereal Grain Quality Testing Laboratory is run by our NWCS team. Since it opened in 2011, we have tested hundreds of grain and hop samples from our research plots as well as commercial samples from farmers throughout the region. The lab is now back open for the season and ready …
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Annual Field Day This Week! 7/23
Join us this Thursday, July 23, 2015 from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for our annual Crops and Soils Field Day at the Borderview Research Farm in Alburgh. The day will include our infamous tour where you will see many of the research trials we are conducting, including those on heirloom beans, silage corn, flax, …
Using the Penn State Interseeder to Plant Cover Crops
Cover crops can add organic matter, increase soil fertility, and reduce erosion, among many other benefits. However, our short growing season makes getting covers established after corn harvest challenging. As an alternative, farmers and researchers alike are looking at ways to establish cover crops as the corn is growing. The first window to establish covers …
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Sidedressing Your Corn: How Much is the Right Amount?
Before you sidedress your corn, we recommend doing the Vermont Pre-Sidedress Nitrate Test (PSNT). The PSNT measures nitrate, the main form of nitrogen (N) taken up by plants and an indicator of N available to the crop for the remainder of the season. The PSNT should be taken right before you sidedress, so you can …
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Recent Rain Creates Stress on Crops
Recent intense rainfall events have caused flooding, ponding, and soil saturation in many of our corn and hay fields. What are the prospects for these crops? Corn Fields Beautiful and dry spring weather allowed most folks to get corn planted in a timely fashion. We’ve seen corn around the state that is just about knee …
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