Soil conservation threatened by herbicide-resistant weeds
Farm Futures
Herbicides were developed during the 20th century to be used with conventional tillage for weed control. Conservation tillage subsequently evolved, which enabled less soil damage when used with herbicides. Selection pressure, however, has resulted in weed species that have made adaptations for survival in conjunction with tillage. A new Issue Paper from Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, "Herbicide-Resistant Weeds Threaten Soil Conservation Gains: Finding a Balance for Soil and Farm Sustainability," examines the impact of certain weed management practices on soil conservation objectives and addresses ways to mitigate negative effects.More

Farmers urged to consider combining cover crops with no-till methods
Farm and Dairy
No-till is no longer enough to conserve soil and produce good yields. Experts at the Pennsylvania No-till Day held Jan. 31 in West Middlesex, Pa., say it takes the combination of no-till and cover crops. Jim Hoorman, Ohio State University Extension, was the keynote speaker at the event, and he calls the combination, "eco farming." It ensures there is a continuous living cover on fields and advocates the use of other best management practices.More

Cover crops case study posted
The Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems via The National Center for Appropriate Technology
The Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems has posted another in its series of cover crop case studies. The Gary Sommers Farm case study shares the experience of one Wisconsin farmer who has been growing cover crops on his cash grain farm for twenty years. He presents his philosophy of cover crop use, explains what cover crop management practices have and have not worked on his farm, and describes what benefits he sees from growing cover crops.More

USDA announces CRP general sign-up
Morning Sun
Acting Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Michael Scuse announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will conduct a four-week Conservation Reserve Program general sign-up, beginning on March 12 and ending on April 6. CRP is a voluntary program available to agricultural producers to help them use environmentally sensitive land for conservation benefits. Producers enrolled in CRP plant long-term, resource-conserving covers to improve the quality of water, control soil erosion and develop wildlife habitat. In return, USDA provides participants with rental payments and cost-share assistance.More

Florida fertilizer bill dies under pressure from local communities, environmentalists
The Florida Independent
A hotly contested bill that would have allowed certified landscaping professionals to ignore local fertilizer ordinances died in a Tallahassee, Fla., committee, despite being passed unanimously by past committees. The measure passed the Senate Agriculture Committee unanimously in December, but a meeting of the Environmental Preservation and Conservation Committee saw strong opposition from representatives of local governments who argued that ignoring fertilizer rules would lead to a decline in water quality.More

Ag runoff at center of water quality debate
The Californian
Everyone on the Central Coast seems to want cleaner water but can't agree on how to get it. That message was clear at a recent public debate on water quality in Salinas, Calif. The Central Coast Water Quality Control Board forum came in advance of a March 15 hearing in San Luis Obispo, Calif., where the board will consider controversial agricultural runoff rules, known as the agricultural order. The control board's decision will affect lands spanning 300 miles of the Central Coast, future drinking water supplies and the region's agricultural industry, which brings in about $6 billion in annual revenue. Environmental groups urged the board to adopt the regulations, while growers proposed an alternative path to clean water.More

Radishes and turnips as cover crops?
Agri-View
Radishes and turnips are increasingly being planted as cover crops. However, there's some confusion about whether these crops can be planted on cropland, since they are technically vegetables, says DeAnn Presley, Kansas State Research and Extension soil management specialist. "The 2008 Farm Bill says that farmers have the freedom to plant whatever crops they choose on their base acres except for fruits and vegetables. However, some producers might have acres on their farms that are not fully based, so they could grow radishes and turnips on that number of acres," Presley says.More

Federal Chesapeake Bay cleanup mandate irk officials in Augusta County, Va.
The News Leader
When the Augusta County, Va., Agricultural-Industry Board held its first meeting of the year on Jan. 24, the agenda was mostly housekeeping items like budget votes, election of officers and summer agriculture festivals. What started as routine officer elections, budget approvals and discussion of upcoming agriculture events became consumed for more than an hour in an intense, lively discussion, dire warnings and defiance about the Environmental Protection Agency's Chesapeake Bay cleanup plan — the Total Maximum Daily Load or TMDL pollution diet that mandates watershed states and Washington, D.C., reduce nitrogen, phosphorous and sediment flowing into rivers that empty into the bay.More

Smartphone app offers access to soil information
Western Farm Press
A new smartphone app is available as a free download for both iPhone and Android users to access soil survey information. The app, SoilWeb, combines online soil survey information with the GPS capabilities of smartphones. The SoilWeb app is a portable version of the UC Davis California Soil Resource Lab's Web-based interface to digital soil survey data from USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service. Because the app provides soil survey information in a mobile form, it is particularly useful for those working in the field.More