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Diversity helps mitigate drought effects

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FARGO, N.D. — Are you interested in increasing soil water absorption by 685 percent?

Remember the commercials that showed paper towels absorbing copious amounts of water, more than a competitor’s paper towel? Is one paper towel better than another in water absorption? I think we know the answer: Yes.

Could this also be true in soils? Are the soils within some soil management systems better at absorbing water than soils in other systems? The answer is: Absolutely yes!

What does this mean? Poorly managed soil is like a poor paper towel; the soil does not absorb adequate water. Soil managed to improve soil health is like the super-absorbent paper towel; the soil literally can drink water. And that is good.

The Dickinson Research Extension Center had a quarter of land that was much like a poor paper towel. After a hard rain, the land looked like a lake, absorbing water at 1.3 inches per hour. Essentially, a good rain simply would run off the land, moving onto other parts of the watershed. The soil was not functioning as soil should, thus not allowing timely absorption of rainfall.

An important point: Water needs to stay in the soil, especially when the water received is in short supply.

To get the soil back on track and healthy, in 2008, the center started a diverse crop rotation of three years of alfalfa followed by winter triticale/hairy vetch, corn, oats/peas, a multispecies cover crop, spring wheat and winter wheat. The goal: get a better understanding and demonstrate the principles that enhance soil health.

The center stepped out of the box, set aside some long-established dryland cropping principles and switched to no-till. Previous tillage-based cropping systems disturbed the soil at seeding.

At the same time, an increase in plant diversity through an aggressive crop rotation and the use of cover crops was implemented. The sequence of primary crops planted for grain or forage and the cover crops kept living roots in the soil during periods of time that cash crops no longer were growing actively. In addition, the soil was covered with plants and plant residue through most of the year, thus keeping bare areas to a minimum.

In the past nine years, crop production on this quarter of land has changed from a minimal, survivalist mode to fields that produce agricultural products from a functioning soil. After eight years, average water infiltration into the soil increased from 1.3 inches per hour to 10.2 inches per hour, an increase of 685 percent. That is good. Water is going directly into the soil.

Recent rains that fell on the parched soil brought life to thirsty plants, not coulees full of flowing water. During dry years such as this year, that is significant.

An added benefit is an increase in projected average plant-available nitrogen from 100 to 175 pounds per acre. That is an increase of 75 percent.

Healthy soil is critical to effective, sustainable farming practices. The crop rotation utilizes early fall-seeded crops, early spring-seeded crops and early summer-seeded crops. By varying the seeding dates, chances of getting moisture on some field at the time it is needed certainly increases.

There is no perfect system, and Mother Nature does not provide irrigation pivots and a control box. Our response: Retain tools that support a multiple approach. Providing a program of good soil health that permits absorption of all the water when it arrives, increases soil critter activity and enhances nutrient cycling is critical.

All of these factors have helped target inputs for the center while increasing output. The eight-year rotation opened up a lot of opportunities.

Those same principles have been applied to another quarter of land, only in this case, the cropping rotation is five years, with the addition of cattle to improve net returns from within the cropping system.

The rotation is spring wheat, a multispecies cover crop, corn, field peas-barley and sunflowers. Spring wheat and sunflowers are cash crops. This rotation allows for more than 100 days of 2-plus pounds per day of beef gain while steers graze through the field peas-barley, standing corn and multispecies cover crop. The rest of the ranch uses a twice-over grazing system stocked appropriately to the various soil types to produce the steers that graze the rotation’s annual forage crops while building soil health.

Perhaps we just need to stop and ponder for a while. No question about it: Diversity is not easy to implement and maintain. Agriculture tends to be mechanistic, and most of those mechanistic processes lead producers to specialize. Once specialized, the economics of scale and the practicality of focused equipment and inputs tend to lead producers away from diversification.

Unfortunately, replacing inputs that healthy soil provides with purchased inputs comes at a long-term cost. Dry or wet, systems that foster improved soil health help us make the most of what Mother Nature gives us.

May you find all your ear tags.

For more information, contact your local NDSU Extension Service agent (https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/extension/directory) or Ringwall at the Dickinson Research Extension Center, 1041 State Ave., Dickinson, ND 58601; 701-456-1103; or kris.ringwall@ndsu.edu.

— Kris Ringwall, NDSU Extension Beef Specialist, NDSU Extension Service

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NYFVI welcomes new leaders

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The New York Farm Viability Institute (NYFVI) confirmed two new board members at its August meeting: Mary Jeanne Packer, an eastern NY maple producer was nominated by the Council of Agricultural Organizations, and western NY apple grower Jill MacKenzie was nominated by the New York State Horticultural Society. The board elected grape grower Mike Jordan to serve as chair, Livingston County dairy farmer Rob Noble to serve as vice chair and Seneca county beef producer Jim Fravil to continue as secretary-treasurer.

Long-term NYFVI chair Jim Bittner and past vice chair Steve Griffen have stepped down due to term limits adopted by NYFVI in 2014. Bittner, a Niagara county tree fruit grower, and Griffen, a Saratoga county sod farmer served on the NYFVI board since it was created as a stand-alone organization in 2005.

“New York farmers have benefited tremendously from the years of service that Jim and Steve have so generously given to NYFVI. Because of their efforts, New York has an enduring organization that connects research and education funding directly to the challenges and opportunities that growers are seeing with their farms,” said Mike Jordan, newly elected chair.

“I feel good about the strength of the Farm Viability organization, and I am confident that the board, under Mike’s leadership, will continue to evolve the organization to meet the needs of the New York agriculture community,” said outgoing chair Jim Bittner.

“Having grown up in an ag extension family, I inherited the family passion for research.” said Jordan, “Over the last few years I’ve been able to better understand the Farm Viability organization, and I am honored to be its chair.”

Jordan has deep expertise in the wine and juice grape industry. He is co-owner of Olde Chautauqua Farms in Western New York and currently manages over 230 acres of grapes, which include approximately 15 varieties. He is also a partner in 21 Brix Winery.

“For several years, Jill MacKenzie has provided input on fruit proposals as part of our farmer review process. Her comments have been thoughtful and strategic, New York growers are fortunate to have her as their representative on the board,” said David Grusenmeyer, Executive Director.

MacKenzie and her husband Mark Russell work at his family’s business, the Whittier Fruit Farm. On the farm, MacKenzie, who has a Master’s degree in Horticulture, is a hands-on manager, overseeing the harvest as well as ongoing health of the orchards.

Mary Jeanne Packer brings a wide array of expertise and insight to the NYFVI board. Packer is the national sales manager for the family maple syrup business Mapleland Farms LLC, based in Washington County, the owner of Battenkill Fibers Carding and Spinning Mill, and the Executive Director for the Christmas Tree Farmers Association of NY.

“Not only have I experienced the benefits of Farm Viability-funded applied research projects as a maple producer, but I’ve also experienced the rigor and discipline of the Farm Viability project proposal review process firsthand with the Christmas Tree Farmers Association’s Turkish fir research project. I’m excited to serve on the board of an organization that continues to create so much value for farmers.” said Packer.

“I’ve seen firsthand the impact of the projects Farm Viability has supported in the dairy industry,” said Rob Noble, new NYFVI vice chair. “I’m pleased to be able to step up and represent the dairy industry on the board.”

Noble is a part owner of Noblehurst Farms, Inc. a multi-family corporation located in Western New York milking 1,600 cows and cropping 2,500 acres of corn, wheat, and alfalfa. The farm encompasses a variety of businesses, which include a methane digester with a food waste collection enterprise, a commodity business, an embryo recipient business, a management business, and partnership in a milk plant located on the farm.

“Farm Viability is supporting good work for New York’s farmers. I really like the structure we bring to grant management, and I’m pleased to support the organization,” said Jim Fravil, secretary-treasurer.

Jim Fravil is the co-owner of Just Serendipity Farms in Lodi New York. He is also a former banker, an accountant, and serves on the board of directors of Alternatives Federal Credit Union in Ithaca.

New York Farm Viability’s board includes ten members. Seven are nominated by some of the state’s leading agricultural organizations, the other three roles are “at-large” and the individuals are identified by the board of directors.

  • Chairman, Mike Jordan, at-large member, wine and grape grower
  • Vice Chair, Rob Noble, serving for the NYFVI Dairy Committee
  • Secretary-Treasurer, Jim Fravil, at-large member, beef producer
  • Peter Ferrante, at-large member, greenhouse grower
  • Mary Jeanne Packer, serving for the Empire State Council of Agricultural Organizations
  • Shannon Kyle, serving for the NYS Vegetable Growers Association
  • Jill MacKenzie, serving for the NYS Horticulture Society
  • Eric Ooms, serving for the NY Farm Bureau
  • Amos Smith, serving for the NYS Corn and Soybean Growers Association
  • Bob Smith, serving for the NYS Nursery & Landscape Association

Farm Viability’s board is all farmers and all volunteers. To learn more about the work they do visit www.nyfvi.org.

The New York Farm Viability Institute is a farmer-led nonprofit. The organization runs a competitive grant program funding research and education projects that create and share knowledge to help New York farmers become more economically viable. Its funding comes primarily from New York State.

—New York Farm Viability Institute

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Workshop on WFRP slated for Tuesday

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GEORGETOWN, Del. — Whole Farm Revenue Protection is now available in Delaware and nationwide. Some Delaware producers are already taking advantage of this emerging income insurance product to ensure operational cash flow. University of Delaware Cooperative Extension and the USDA Risk Management Agency are now offering a chance for Delaware producers to get a better understanding of this beneficial program

On Aug. 22, there will be an informational meeting at the Carvel Education Center, 16483 County Seat Highway, Georgetown, Delaware 19947 starting at 8:30 a.m. Speakers will include:

  • DDA Secretary of Agriculture Michael Scuse
  • DDA Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kenny Bounds
  • Ben Thiel (Risk Management Agency, Spokane, WA)
  • Dr. Jarrod Miller (University of Maryland, Extension Ag Educator)
  • Don Clifton (Farmers First Services, Inc.)

WFRP topics will be covered during the workshop, including eligibility, basic coverage criteria, how commodities are counted, allowable revenue/expenses, and loss/claim information. After attending this workshop producers should be able to contact their crop insurance agents already knowing some of the basics of WFRP.

Whole-Farm Revenue Protection provides a risk management safety net for all commodities on the farm under one insurance policy. This insurance plan is tailored for any farm with up to $8.5 million in insured revenue, including farms with specialty or organic commodities (both crops and livestock), or those marketing to local, regional, farm-identity preserved, specialty or direct markets.

WFRP may be described as an umbrella policy covering a wide array of farm production, both insurable commodities and those for which insurance is not currently available. Many crops which are non-insurable individually are high revenue, high input ventures, involving relatively higher risk. Such crops can often represent a higher percentage of farm revenue than proportionate acreage.

Although WFRP is especially effective coverage for diversified operations with multiple crops and/or livestock, attractive coverage may be available for qualifying operations producing a single commodity.

WFRP protects your farm against the loss of farm revenue that you earn or expect to earn from:

  • Commodities you produce during the insurance period, whether they are sold or not;
  • Commodities you buy for resale during the insurance period; and
  • All commodities on the farm except timber, forest, forest products, and animals for sport, show or pets.

WFRP provides farm growth provisions. Operations that have been expanding over time may be allowed to increase their approved revenue amount based on an indexing procedure or, if you can show that your operation has physically expanded (land, animals, facilities, or production capacity) so it has the potential to produce up to 35 percent more revenue than the historic average, your insurance company may approve your operation as an expanding operation to reflect that growth in the insurance guarantee.

Nutrient manangement credits will be available to attendees. Register at decrophelp@gmail.com, 302-831-2538 or 302-242-8806.

— University of Delaware

Funding available for sustainable ag projects

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ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is now accepting applications for Agricultural Growth, Research and Innovation (AGRI) Sustainable Agriculture and Demonstration Grants. Approximately $250,000 is available to fund projects that explore new ways of conserving natural resources, enhancing farm profitability, increasing energy efficiency, and improving life in rural communities.

“No one cares more about Minnesota’s rural landscape than farmers and their families,” said Lt. Governor Tina Smith. “The Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s Sustainable Agriculture and Demonstration Grant program is available to help farmers improve the sustainability and profitability of their operations. I encourage all farmers interested in making changes to their operations to apply for a grant worth up to $25,000.”

Farmer David Abazs hopes his grant funds will help demonstrate a cost-effective way to increase soil health on the Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center School’s organic farm. Abazs is testing a variety of materials, including lime, wood ash, and biochar for their ability to affect soil chemistry and increase pH levels of the acidic soils in Lake County.

“These fields have never been farmed before and are providing a great template to help us and other farmers,” said Abazs. “We’re trying to find soil amendments that will help simultaneously meet pH goals and enhance soil health.”

Previous grant rounds have funded projects exploring farm diversification, cover crops and crop rotation, conservation tillage, input reduction strategies, and alternative energies like wind, methane, and biomass.

AGRI Sustainable Agriculture and Demonstration grantees must share their findings. These are published annually in the MDA’s Greenbook, which provides a summary of each project along with results, management tips, and other resources.

Applications from farmers receive priority, but the program also funds Minnesota nonprofit and educational organizations as long as Minnesota farmers are meaningfully involved in the project. Projects may last two to three years.

AGRI Sustainable Agriculture and Demonstration Grant applications are due by 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 13, 2017. For more information and to apply, visit www.mda.state.mn.us/grants/grants/demogrant.aspx.

— Minnesota Department of Agriculture

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Northeast farmers see modest improvement

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ENFIELD, Conn. — Farm Credit East recently released its mid-year Agricultural Credit Conditions report indicating net-farm income in its seven-state region is showing some improvement over the prior year, although it is projected to remain far below 2014’s peak. While several industries, including cash field crops and dairy, continue to deal with low prices, some improvement has occurred. The nursery and greenhouse industries are bright spots in the outlook.

Overall U.S. agriculture, as well as that of the Northeast, faces both opportunity and challenge in the current economic climate. Tight margins, labor availability, production costs and the ever-changing weather remain the top concerns across all industries.

Dairy, Northeast agriculture’s largest sector, continues to face marketing challenges and low margins. However, some modest price recovery has occurred in dairy markets, and analysts project that 2017 milk prices will average about $2.00 per hundredweight above last year.

Weather conditions have also been a major concern. Fruit production in some locations has been hurt by hail damage and other adverse weather events. Many crops are behind schedule after a prolonged wet and cold spring delayed planting in some areas.

The Farm Credit East Northeast Production Cost Index, which tracks the costs of a number of agricultural inputs, is slightly lower, year-over-year. Reduced costs will help producers preserve at least some margin in a period of low prices. It is essential for producers to watch margins closely and make adjustments necessary to maintain profitability.

To view the full report, 2017 Mid-Year Northeast Credit Conditions and Outlook Report, please visit FarmCreditEast.com.

—Farm Credit East

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'Hemp Festival' to make debut in Vermont

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EAST BURKE, Vt. (AP) — Eli Harrington thinks holding the first-ever Vermont Hemp Festival in the rural, remote Northeast Kingdom makes perfect sense.

Harrington and Monica Donovan, co-founders of Heady Vermont, chose to have their inaugural hemp conference in the NEK because the Kingdom has an important history with hemp.

“The last time hemp was prevalent in the NEK, a couple of guys from the St. Johnsbury Hemp Company named Fairbanks changed the world,” says Harrington.

Harrington said the platform scale invention by the Fairbanks Scales Company was inspired by the need to weigh hemp crops at the St. Johnsbury Hemp Company in the 1830s.

The festival is planned for Sept. 9 at the new hotel and conference center at Burke Mountain.

Heady Vermont, the event’s organizer, is a 2-year-old grassroots statewide network and digital media company in Burlington’s South End Arts and Business District.

According to Harrington, “Heady Vermont covers everything from statehouse happenings to artists to investigative reporting and the identities of the individuals who are changing the face of Vermont’s cannabis culture.”

The event has an admission charge, and organizers say there will be an NEK resident discount.

There is more information about the conference at the website, http://headyvermont.com/vermont-hemp-fest/

Heady Vermont’s announcement noted, “As the future of recreational and medical marijuana remains uncertain, the national hemp industry is growing and Vermont remains one of 17 states where hemp cultivation is legal under state law.”

“Hemp is defined practically as cannabis that has less than .3% of the compound THC, the cannabinoid of the plant showing psychoactive effects. Historically, hemp was a government-mandated crop grown by American settlers and even inspired Vermont’s own industrial revolution via the Fairbanks Scales, originally invented to weigh wagon loads of hemp,” Heady Vermont’s news release about its upcoming Hemp Festival says.

“We’re fortunate in Vermont that we have strong agricultural hemp protections and low barriers to entry,” said Heady Vermont Publisher Monica Donovan. “Now that a much larger market is emerging locally, regionally, and nationally, we think it’s important to provide resources, information, and practical instructions to as many interested parties as we can.”

Sponsors for the Hemp Fest include: The University of Vermont Agricultural Extension, Ceres Natural Remedies, the Vermont Hemp Company, Humble Roots Horticulture and the PhytoScience Institute.

The event will also include a business pitch competition sponsored by Purple Fox Engineering – and entries are due by Aug. 15.

Harrington and Donovan founded Heady Vermont about two years ago believing “somebody should be focusing on this full time,” said Harrington. “We started this company with the value and mission that people should be getting the most accurate and well-researched information about cannabis they could. We are in a sort of historic, transitional time period right now in the U.S.”

“We felt like it was a subject that was of interest to us and a lot of other Vermonters,” said Harrington. “There is a cannabis culture in Vermont, and there is a cannabis community, and it deserves to have high-quality information and be presented in a serious way.”

“There is an explosion of hemp products,” added Donovan, who has grown hemp herself, “It’s a growing market, we’re pretty excited about it!”

Heady Vermont sponsored an event at Parker Pie in West Glover in April, said Harrington, and “most of the people who showed up were people who were land owners or artisans or food makers who wanted to know about hemp . We wanted to talk about those opportunities and give all those folks who have questions all this information in one concise place and at one time.”

Heather Darby, an agronomist with the UVM Extension in St. Albans, on Friday said the extension is both a sponsor and a collaborator in the Hemp Fest coming to Burke Mountain Resort in a few weeks.

“I’ve been working on industrial hemp research for two years,” said Darby. “Essentially, the 2014 Farm Bill allowed research institutions to research industrial hemp and marketing and production opportunities for the U.S., so we could legally conduct research and look at the opportunities for industrial hemp as a crop for farmers in the U.S.”

Darby said, “I’ve been very interested in figuring out if the crop can actually be grown here and what are the opportunities for farmers, so that’s my role.” She said connections with local and regional businesses which would be interested in buying Vermont hemp have been developed, “That’s our angle, and so we’re looking primarily at fiber and seed. Our role at the conference is to help farmers and others understand the industry of agronomics and production techniques that are used to grow this crop and what are the potential yields and uses.”

“The science behind hemp is just incredible. It’s really an interesting plant. It’s related to hops, they are in the same family,” Darby said.

The UVM hemp information states, “Industrial hemp is a historical crop. It is estimated that hemp was first cultivated in China between 4,000 and 6,000 years ago, making it one of the first cultivated crops. It was brought to the U.S. in 1645 and was a major crop until the 1940s, used in making paper (it is said that the first drafts of the Declaration of Independence were printed on hemp paper), cloth (the first U.S. flag and first pair of jeans were made of hemp).”

Kyle Gruter-Curham, founder of Creek Valley Cannabidio in Irasburg graduated from Sterling College in 2009 with a degree in Conservation Ecology, and while teaching at the Laraway School in Johnson, began growing his own food to become sustainable, he said.

“This hobby style farming quickly became a full blown passion. I then moved my small farm on to 100 acres and attempted to make it economically viable. I tried many crops at this time, as well as raising various types of livestock. It was definitely a struggle to say the least, the overhead was super high and the returns super low,” said Gruter-Curham. “I then stared to gear toward crops that needed less inputs and had higher returns, garlic being the main one. It wasn’t until the fall of 2015 that CBD (or Cannabidiol, a medicinal, therapeutic component extracted from the plant) hemp caught my attention.”

He said, “At this time I was watching friends harvest CBD hemp crops in Colorado. This had interested me but I wasn’t committed to grow it yet, I began to do research at this time on CBD as a viable crop, as well as the legality around it.”

“During the summer of 2016 I grew out 1,000 plants on one acre . At this time we were also testing a few varieties to see what would do the best in Vermont. Our first crop was successful, but was mostly for medicine for family and friends.”

He said, “I knew if we wanted to be successful we would have to create our own brand and have a unique product. I then started to get amazing feedback form people using our oil, and quickly knew my purpose. I then began to combine two things I was passionate about: solvent-less CBD oil and Kombucha to create a unique product. I geared up to make the jump from my full-time job as a science teacher to farmer and launch our CBD Kombucha.”

This year, the farm is growing more hemp, and registered as Creek Valley Cannabidiol LLC said Gruter-Curham, “Our goal is to increase the health of people, soil and the community through the uses of local food systems, probiotics, sustainable agriculture and cannabis.”

This spring, the farm began marketing its line of kombucha, its main seller being their Ginger CBD Kombucha.

Gruter-Curham said, “The NEK of Vermont is one of few places in the country where local food systems get tremendous support, however it’s not just growing hemp that’s going to get farmers out of debt, it’s marketing a product from that crop and building their brand.”

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Online: http://bit.ly/2w6WtYo

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Information from: The Caledonian-Record,http://www.caledonianrecord.com

—By AMY ASH NIXON , The Caledonian Record

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Kansas Corn listening tour

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GARNETT, Kan. — Kansas Corn’s District Listening Tour is making six stops this month in Hutchinson, Towanda, Atchison, Atwood, Scott City and Ellsworth. This is the second year for the listening tour that takes Kansas Corn farmer leaders and staff to each of the nine crop reporting districts in the state. Three districts were visited earlier this year.

Each breakfast or dinner meeting features an update on the programs of the Kansas Corn Commission as well as an issues update from the Kansas Corn Growers Association. However, the goal of the tour is to receive input from growers.

“We will give updates on the activities of Kansas Corn, but our main interest is to hear from corn farmers. We want to visit with growers across the state to discuss issues and to hear their ideas on how to make our corn industry better,” Kansas Corn CEO Greg Krissek said.

Hutchinson
Monday, Aug. 14 – 7am – 4H Centennial Hall Kansas State Fairgrounds (23rd and Main entrance) Hutchinson

Towanda
Monday, Aug. 14 – 6pm – Fulton Valley Farms-Oaks Conference Room – 5079 SW Fulton Rd, Towanda

Atchison
Tuesday, Aug. 15 – 7am – Atchison Event Center- 710 S. 9th St., Atchison

Atwood
Monday, Aug. 21 – 7am – SureFire Ag – 9904 Highway 25, Atwood

Scott City
Monday, Aug. 21 – 6pm – William Carpenter 4H Building- 608 N Fairground Rd, Scott City

Ellsworth
Tuesday, Aug. 22 – 7am – Carrico Implement- 1104 E 8th St, Ellsworth

The meetings and meals are free and walk-ins are welcome. For more accurate meal counts, Kansas Corn requests farmers to preregister for the meetings. For more information and to register, call Kansas Corn at 785-448-6922 or register online at kscorn.com/events.

To learn more about Kansas Corn, visit kscorn.com.

— Kansas Corn

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Listening session on future of Leopold Center

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LEWIS, Iowa — A listening session to gather input on the future of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture will be held Wednesday, August 16, 2017, from 5 to 7 pm at the Armstrong Research Farm near Lewis, IA. Several listening sessions have been scheduled around the state, led by a task force that is gathering input from the public.

For more information, contact Mark Rasmussen, Iowa State University, Ames IA 50011. PH: 515-294-7836; email: markras@iastate.edu .

The Armstrong Research Farm is located 12 miles southwest of Atlantic on Highway 6, half a mile south on 525th Street, and half a mile east on Hitchcock Avenue, or 13 miles east of Oakland on Highway 6, half a mile south on 525th Street, and half a mile east on Hitchcock Avenue.

The public is invited and urged to attend.

— ISU Extension

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Grants offered to improve soil health

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SACRAMENTO — This week, California launched the nation’s first program to provide financial incentives to farmers and ranchers for improving soil health as a strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and sequestering atmospheric carbon.

The Healthy Soils Program, run by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), will grant approximately $7 million to farmers and ranchers to support their adoption of soil health practices such as the use of compost, mulch and cover crops, reduced tillage, and planting of trees and shrubs as windbreaks, hedgerows and streams. Some of the money will also fund demonstration projects that showcase various climate smart practices and their many environmental benefits.

The much-anticipated program was first proposed by Governor Jerry Brown in 2015, but didn’t receive its first funding until late in 2016 when the legislature allocated the money from California’s cap-and-trade auction revenue. The legislature’s recent decision to extend the cap-and-trade program to 2030 provides some certainty about the continuation of the program, and has caught the attention of many of the state’s sustainable and organic farmers.

“It’s exciting to be part of such an innovative program that builds on the role that farmers can play in curbing climate change,” said Judith Redmond, co-owner of Full Belly Farm in Guinda and a member of CDFA’s advisory committee on the Healthy Soils Program. “We know that climate change is impacting our farm and feel a sense of urgency to do what we can.”

CDFA designed the program over the past two years with the guidance of its advisory committee and through extensive consultation with agricultural stakeholders and public input.

“California farms and ranches can not only produce the food we eat, but clean our air and avoid the worst impacts of climate change,” said Jeanne Merrill, Policy Director of the California Climate and Agriculture Network (CalCAN). “Healthy Soils is among a suite of new programs that acknowledge the powerful climate solutions agriculture offers.”

More information about the Healthy Soils Program can be found here:http://calclimateag.org/healthysoils/ and https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/oefi/healthysoils/.

—California Climate and Agriculture Network

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Managing drought through proper soil health

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FARGO, N.D. — Tough times are times that allow producers to ponder that next turn in the road and think through better ways to prepare for Mother Nature’s wrath.

Drought is one of those times. Effective mitigation of drought is improved soil health; thus, it’s more effective utilization of available moisture.

That is not to say drought is manageable, but rather our response to lower moisture levels may mitigate the severity. We know beef, grass and crops require inputs, including water, to live on the land. When water is short, grass and crops will dry, soon followed by an exodus of the animals that depend on the grass and crops.

Droughts are not new; they cycle periodically through the land. Before the confines of modern agriculture, animals and people moved with the changing weather patterns. Today, the sale of cattle moves them to land with feed. Ranchers set aside drought sales revenue to restock at a later date. The goal always was to settle around water and then produce the needed food to survive.

The challenges still remain. Despite technology breakthroughs, water still is required for food production. Droughts in arid areas may see no moisture, semiarid areas may see a little moisture and humid areas still will have moisture, just less of it.

Land was not created equally. Soil types, temperature and moisture make up land. Proper land management involves an understanding of what goes on within the living soil within the land base that individual producers manage. Soil is the presence of particles bound together, forming soil aggregates and the living processes that create those aggregates and fill the spaces between them.

Unfortunately, our modern expectations of the land we live on are not always in sync with Mother Nature. The challenges still remain. Life does not end when moisture is in short supply. Rather, native vegetation adapted to the long-term moisture pattern for the area generally covers soil. In the extremes, life emerges for very short periods that coincide with rain.

Climate is what we expect; weather is what we get. Understand the climate zone and plan for the vagaries of weather.

Hay carryover is one example. While stored hay will deteriorate, this carryover is the insurance for a failed hay crop and is an important aspect for cattle production. Is the amount of hay deterioration a worthy expense for the assurance hay will be available the next year? Generally, the answer is yes; however, the human thought process often believes anything can be done.

When Mother Nature alters the road (in this case through lack of moisture), not enough resources are available to offset the impact economically. But let’s remember, tough times are times that allow producers to ponder that next turn in the road and think through better ways to prepare for Mother Nature’s wrath. Effective drought mitigation is improved soil health, which utilizes available moisture more effectively.

Dryness, although very apparent on the top of the soil, is not as important as what is going on within the soil. The Dickinson Research Extension Center has dedicated resources to help better understand soil health. Jon Stika, a part-time professional at the center, specializes in soil health and notes soil health is defined as the capacity of the soil to function through plant nutrient cycling (particularly nitrogen) and maximizing water infiltration into the soil.

The general principles of managing to improve soil health require reduced soil disturbance, increased plant diversity (crop rotation, cover crops and species on rangeland), the maintenance of living roots in the soil as much of the year as possible, and keeping the soil covered with plants and plant residues at all times. These principles have proven to be the core principles of center research and mitigating the lack of moisture in southwestern North Dakota.

The center had a quarter of land with dysfunctional soil. Crop production was minimal and repeated attempts to improve the land were of no avail. Crops grew, but they were much closer to being in survival mode.

In 2008, the center, in conjunction with local soil conservation districts, started a diverse eight-year crop rotation on this quarter in hopes of improving the underlying health of the soil. The rotation was three years of alfalfa, followed by winter triticale/hairy vetch, corn, oats/peas, a multispecies cover crop, spring wheat and winter wheat. The goal was to get a better understanding of what is necessary to implement the soil health principles in an effort to enhance soil health.

After eight years, the fields do not even look the same. The eight study fields are alive and productive, but more importantly, they are soil healthy. Remember, tough times are the times to ponder that next turn in the road and think through better ways to prepare for Mother Nature’s wrath.

May you find all your ear tags.

For more information, contact your local NDSU Extension Service agent (https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/extension/directory) or Ringwall at the Dickinson Research Extension Center, 1041 State Ave., Dickinson, ND 58601; 701-456-1103; or kris.ringwall@ndsu.edu.

— Kris Ringwall, Beef Specialist, NDSU Extension Service

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