soil health

“This is an extraordinarily transformational and pivotal moment for American agriculture,” said Agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack thanking the National Association of Conservation Districts during their recent annual convention.  He expressed t...

As we get ready for another growing season, many farmers across the PNW are concerned about fertilizer availability and prices in the year ahead.  Helena's Dawn Brunmeier has tips to keep your commodities strong and your costs down.       If you have a story idea for the PNW Ag Network, call (509) 547-9791, or e-mail glenn.vaagen@townsquareme...

Balancing the farm books can be challenging to say the least.  On one hand, you don’t want to spend money you don’t need to, but conversely, you want to give your commodity the best chance for success.  In the ongoing challenge to find that happy medium, Bio Huma Netics said they have the right combination of cost saving products, and soil health improving materials to help a variety of growers ac

What are the unique challenges when studying soil, and how difficult is it to determine cause and affect when addressing so many variables at once?  USDA's Devin A. Rippner talks about the unique challenges he's facing in today's PNW Ag Network Wine Minute.  ...

According to ERS, cover crop mixes account for 18%-25% of acres with cover crops.  However, the use of single-species cover crops is more common.    For corn fields in 2021, almost 75% of acres with cover crops used a grass or small grain cover crop, such as cereal rye, winter wheat, or oats.  At 44% of ac...

Regardless of commodity, more and more emphasis is being place on managing soil health and plant health across the Pacific Northwest, and across the county.  To help growers, Helena has Extractor, an advanced plant tissue analysis offering.  Stephen...

What's the latest when it comes to vineyard soil health?     ARS' Devin A. Rippner talks about the latest research taking place at USDA and how it could impact growers across the Pacific Northwest.   If you have a story idea for the PNW Ag Network, call (509) 547-9791, or e-mail glenn.vaagen@townsqu...

Earlier this week, American Farmland Trust released its updated Carbon Reduction Potential Evaluation Tool.  The announcement includes the first of a series of briefs to help states estimate greenhouse gas emission reduction opportunities from the climate-smart cropland and grazing land management practices. ...

NRCS is encouraging Idaho farmers to participate in no-till November.   “We're excited to borrow from the no shave November, because in agriculture we have our own version of stubble, after harvest," said Mindi Rambo with NRCS-Idaho.  "And so ...

Many in farm country know the type, and extent of, conservation practices being employed by farmers.   “But the next logical step is to understand why producers are adopting or not adopting conservation practices.”   Dan Mullarkey with NRCS said to try to answer that question, USDA surveyed 34,000 crop producers as well as livestock confinement operators this spring and summer.  And the USDA has j