Organic dairy farming has increased rapidly in the United States (US) over the past several decades, and the viability of these operations relies on forage production. The production of high-quality, high-yielding forage crops depends on optimal forage management and resilience to increasingly unpredictable climate.In an effort to (1) assess current forage production practices and producer …
Tag Archives: soil building
Grass-Fed Dairy Production Course
With increasing organic grain prices, many dairy farms are looking to reduce or even eliminate feeding grain. Grass-Fed dairy is of growing interest and this ONLINE COURSE will walk you through unique aspects of this production system and as well as practical considerations before starting a transition. The online program will include weekly presentation/discussion and …
UVM Extension Announces New Opportunity: Building Soil Health through Farmer Peer Learning Networks
Through a recently awarded 3-year Conservation Innovation Grant, the University of Vermont Extension, Northwest Crops and Soils Program and the Vermont Association of Conservation Districts partnered up to develop soil health peer learning groups for farmers with the goal of advancing soil health of Vermont farmland. Through this program farmers will learn to benchmark soil …
Impact of Cover Crop Termination Date on Weed Suppression and Corn Yield
Cover crops can retain nutrients, increase organic matter, and reduce erosion. In addition, cover crops may help to increase cash crop yields. Zeroing in on cover crop benefits, what happens to weed suppression and corn yield the longer the cover crop grows? Would more cover crop biomass suppress weeds better? Would that suppression of weeds …
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Rock and Roll-er Crimping: Management of Cereal Rye Late Spring
While the adoption of cover crops across the northeast has exploded over the last 10 years and farmers have learned how to manage the termination of the winter cover crop, there are times when issues arise. At the start of the 2022 planting season we’ve run into some cool, unsettled weather leading to delayed plantings. …
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Time to Plant Summer Annuals
Summer annual grasses, such as sudangrass and millet, can provide supplemental forage during the hot summer months as the growth of cool season perennial grasses slows. These grasses can yield 3 to 5 tons of highly digestible dry matter per acre even under droughty conditions! Now is the time to be planting these heat loving …
Winter Rye Cover Crop: When to terminate?
Winter rye is a hearty cereal grain that is considered a “workhorse” and, although it is not the highest quality forage crop, it is often chosen for its reliability and versatility. It thrives on well-drained, loamy soil but it also performs adequately in heavy clay as well as droughty, sandy soils. It can grow in low-fertility soils; it prefers a soil pH of 5.0 to …
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Measuring Percent Surface Cover: In-Field vs Remote Technology
INTRODUCTION: From improving soil health to pollinator habitat to protecting water quality, cover crops can provide a multitude of benefits! One way cover crops can protect the field from erosion and reduce nutrients from reaching our waterways is by covering the soil with their leaves and stems. This is called surface cover by cover crop …
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No-Till Training Webinar Series
In 2018, the UVM Extension Northwest Crops and Soils (NWCS) team hosted a No-Till Training Program for Agricultural Technical Service Providers (TSP). This training was created to help foster a stronger working knowledge of no-till equipment, soil health, and technology used to make no-till systems successful, better enabling TSPs to support farms and farm operators …
Gearing Up for Spring: Improve Your Pasture & Hayland through Frost Seeding
With the spring-like weather these past few days, now’s the time to consider frost seeding as a cost-effective method to improve forage diversity and quality in your hayland and pastures. Frost seeding is a low cost seeding strategy that relies on the action of the soil freezing and thawing to achieve the seed-to-soil contact needed …
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