Residue might hamper uptake, surface cover slows soil warming and most cover crops raise the carbon penalty. Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie shares timing and placement tips for phosphorus, sulfur and nitrogen.
You’ve removed dense and compacted soil layers, balanced fertility and pH through the profile and set up your soil for vertical farming. Here are the final boxes to check to move away from horizontal farming.
Once you balance fertility and pH in the soil profile, and adjust to making small, more frequent lime applications, you probably won’t need to mix fertilizer into the soil, says Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal field agronomist.
A chocolate layer cake is good. Layers of dense or compacted soil aren't so good. Once you've probed or dug and found the layers put in place by horizontal farming tools, it's time to remove them. Here's how.
What is vertical farming and how can it set you up for future government incentives? Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal field agronomist, explains it often requires mixing and matching tools for primary and secondary tillage.
Some of your favorite hybrids might fizzle this year, but don’t cast them out of the lineup just yet. A Farm Journal Test Plot study reveals the impact of weather and adjusting practices to maximize yield of each hybrid.
Getting into the field now can help you make more informed decisions. What if you need to spray for insects or call your insurance agent? Being proactive will pay you back many times over.
More ears at harvest is the key to higher yield. That requires starting with a picket-fence stand with photocopied plants, achieved by adjusting your planter as conditions change from field to field and within fields.
If your soil is sick, there are ways to nurse it back to health. How long it takes depends on how unhealthy your soil has become. It’s worth the effort because healthier soil means more water for crops.
Concern about water quality has spurred nutrient reduction incentive programs and, in some cases, regulations. If you haven’t been affected by one, you probably soon will be.
Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie shares his recommendations for early-planted soybeans — with the goal of getting the plants to flower before the summer solstice on June 21.
