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Annual Net Returns To Cover Crops In Iowa, Alejandro Plastina, Fangge Liu, Wendiam Sawadgo, Fernando E. Miguez, Sarah Carlson, Guillermo Marcillo

Journal of Applied Farm Economics

Despite the active promotion of cover crops as a key conservation practice, their adoption is very limited. We developed a series of partial budgets based on a statewide survey of Iowa farmers to evaluate the changes in net returns resulting from the incorporation of cover crops into a corn or soybean production system. The average net returns to cover crop use for farmers who did not use cover crops for grazing livestock or forage were consistently negative across different planting and termination methods, tillage practices, and experience levels. Only farmers who used cover crops for grazing livestock or forage and …

Exploring The Physical, Chemical And Biological Components Of Soil: Improving Soil Health For Better Productive Capacity, G. F. Sassenrath, K. Davis, A. Sassenrath-Cole, N. Riding

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

“Soil health” is a term that is used to describe soil quality. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service has defined soil health as “The continued capacity of soil to function as a vital living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals and humans (NRCS 2018).” For a farmer, soil health is the productive capacity of the soil, or the capacity of the soil to produce a crop or pasture. Healthy soils produce more and with better quality.

Soil health is critical for water and nutrient cycling. Soil captures rainwater and stores it for use by plants. Soil health is …

Effects Of Fallow Replacement Crops On Wheat And Grain Sorghum Yields, J. Holman, A. Obour, T. Roberts, S. Maxwell

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Interest in replacing fallow with a cash crop or cover crop has necessitated research on soil, water, and wheat yields following a shortened fallow period. Fallow stores moisture, which helps stabilize crop yields and reduces the risk of crop failure; however, only 25 to 30% of the precipitation received during the fallow period of a no-till wheat-fallow rotation is stored. The remaining 75 to 70% of precipitation is lost, primarily due to evaporation. Moisture storage in fallow is more efficient earlier in the fallow period, when the soil is dry, and during the winter months when the evaporation rate is …

Electrical Resistivity Tomography Of Claypan Soils In Southeastern Kansas, M. A. Mathis Ii, S. E. Tucker-Kulesza, G. F. Sassenrath

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Claypan soils cover approximately 10 million acres across several states in the central United States. The soils are characterized by a highly impermeable clay layer within the profile that impedes water flow and root growth. While some claypan soils can be productive, they must be carefully managed to avoid reductions to crop productivity due to root restrictions, water, and nutrient limitations. Clay soils are usually resistant to erosion but may exacerbate erosion of the silt-loam topsoil.

Soil production potential is the capacity of soil to produce at a given level (yield per acre). The productive capacity is tied to soil …