Breaking outside that box and finding alternative grain markets can yield dividends in price premiums and extended crop rotations enhancing farm resilience to drops in commodity prices and other external shocks. We talk with Willie Hughes, an organic and conventional grain farmer in Rock County, and Alyssa Hartman of the Artisan Grain Collaborative about how they navigate finding, complying with and knitting together these differentiated markets.
A common misconception about livestock manure is that it is simply a waste product of the farm. However, manure is rich in many nutrients and is a valuable resource when applied back onto fields that can benefit from manure application. Research has demonstrated positive impacts to soil quality/health, crop production, and overall farm management when manure is managed effectively.
Most midwestern farms do not have a drought risk management plan. The topic of weather-resilient or extreme-weather crop production practices is in its infancy throughout the Midwest. Why? In Wisconsin it rains weekly, if not more in the summer, with an average annual rainfall of 34”. A flash drought occurred in 2023 as the result […]
The beginning of a new year is always a good time to consider ways to improve a farm for greater long-term success. A way to improve long-term success is to consider how to make a farm more resilient. In the constant pursuit of increased production, resilience is often overlooked, undervalued, and perhaps misunderstood. But what exactly is resilience?
Whereas most grain farmers with a livestock grow crops to feed their cattle, Jeff Gaska a farmer between Beaver Dam and Columbus in Dodge County is trying to grow his cattle to feed his crops. One of the ways he is moving towards this goal is by grazing cover crops interseeded into 60″ row corn.
The October 25, 2023 Badger Crop Connect session features discussions by Brenda Boetel, Professor and Department Chair of Agricultural Economics at UW-River Falls and Extension Agricultural Marketing Specialist.
Just in time for Thanksgiving, Field Notes brings you an episode all about cranberries. Wisconsin’s state fruit for a reason; we produce the majority of the world’s supply, and who better to dig into the details, or the peat, than UW-Madison Extension Cranberry Outreach Specialist Allison Jonjak?
An interview with three entrepreneurs in the hemp fiber and grain processing industries. Trey Riddle is the Chief Strategy Officer of IND Hemp in Fort Benton, Montana; James Forbes is Co-Founder of Tiger Fiber in St. Louis, Missouri; and Alex Mootz is the President of Complete Agronomy Solutions in Adams, Wisconsin. Resources IND HEMP Tiger […]
Surrounded by the peak autumn colors of Wisconsin, we thought we’d take a turn to talking about trees, specifically about integrating trees and crops in a system called agroforestry. We call up Jacob Grace of the Savanna Institute and Eric Wolske of Canopy Farm Management to chat about the many benefits of trees in cropland and some of the challenges.
Alfalfa has an establishment-year yield issue. Corn has a runoff and soil erosion issue. But planting the two together could be a unique solution to mitigate both problems.
The October 11, 2023 Badger Crop Connect session features discussions by Krista Hamilton, Entomologist with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection, Dr. Emily Bick, Assistant Professor of Entomology and Extension Specialist for field crops and precision pest ecology, and Josh Kamps, Regional Crops Educator with UW-Madison Division of Extension for Rock, Walworth, and Jefferson Counties.
Karst topography and Silurian bedrock are areas that are more susceptible to water contamination due to shallow soils and increased number direct conduits to groundwater, such as sinkholes. When farming in these areas, and especially spreading manure, it is important to follow all rules and regulations.
