Fall 2020

5 tips to go from no-till-curious to no-till farmer

Reduced erosion. Saved time and fuel. Improved nutrient cycling, soil moisture, and resiliency in the face of drought. You likely already know the potential benefits of no-till. No-till...

Dirt doctor Kate Tully says organic farming has a value for soil building

Kate Tully is an associate professor of agroecology in the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture at the University of Maryland. She holds a Ph.D. in ecology...

Keeping soils fit for food farming

Soil health sounds simple but it’s based on soil organic matter and the processes affecting soil organic matter are complicated with many interrelationships. That’s the message of Laurie...

Multiyear rotation in high tunnels curbs soil pathogens

Tomatoes are the high revenue crop in high tunnels but growing tomatoes after tomatoes can build up soil pathogens and affect soil fertility. Carefully planned crop rotations can...

Organic ag can mitigate climate change, industry tells congress

Organic growing techniques could be part of the solution for slowing or reversing climate change – that’s what the industry told Congress recently. Members of the Organic Trade...

Organic certifier, grower Dan Rossman dishes on soil fertility, weeds

Rossman’s organic farming on the family farm near Lakeview, Michigan, started when the corn price fell to $1.50 per bushel in 1999 and the farmers he had been...

Pioneering work in organics pays off for Grimmway Farms

Growing interest in organic produce is helping Grimmway Farms expand sales. Positioning East Coast operations in the Southeast feeds rising demand. The Southeast expansion has also taught the...

Proposed rule to toughen organic enforcement draws diverse comments

The governmental website Regulations.gov serves as a sort of digital filing cabinet for the formal rulemaking processes federal U.S. agencies use to set policy. In Regulation.gov’s endless stacks...

The best-laid crop rotation plans oft go awry. Here’s how to circle back when they do

Crop rotations quickly become complicated – that’s what Charles Mohler found when he and Sue Ellen Johnson wrote the book on that difficult subject. Although professional growers understand...

Thinking like an island: grower column

Every spring for the last 43 years I have followed the same routine. I turn under green manure crops, spread compost, prepare fields and direct seed and transplant....

Vermont Valley Farm finds a niche in supplying organic seed potatoes

Small, organic farms need organic seed potatoes, and a small, organic farm in Wisconsin has found its niche in supplying those farms. The Vermont Valley Community Farm was...

Why horticultural growers love cover crops

CCover crops are widely used in agriculture to strengthen soils and keep weeds away, but a recent survey showed fruit and vegetable growers are using them differently than...

Why organic growers respect the soil: Editor’s letter

Ask a good grower about their ground, and you’ll get a detailed response, and occasionally, a lengthy conversation. After three years of interviewing growers around the country, one...