Learning together: Soil health hub reaches out to southwest Nebraska farmers
It was a big change when Jason Regier moved his family from Kansas City, where he worked in youth ministry, back to southwestern Nebraska to transition the family farm as his dad retired.
It was an even bigger contrast when farmers would talk about their challenges – weeds and pests and crop-damaging fungus.
“I struck me as odd that most conversationsw I had with farmers was about killing stuff,” he said.
First relay crop provides learning experience
Wheat harvest is done, but the field will be harvested again this fall because a crop of soybeans is growing in the stubble.
This was the first year harvesting a relay crop for south central Nebraska farmer Jordan Uldrich. He did the custom harvest work for a neighbor who grew winter wheat and soybeans together.
Rainfall is Cash: Why Nebraska Irrigators Are Turning to "Soil Armor"
At the dryland Rogers Memorial Farm at Lincoln, switching to no-till and cover crops boosted water infiltration from 1 inch per hour to 6-plus inches per hour. The result: More water in the soil, leading to consistently higher yields.
If You Can’t Buy It, Build It
Jordan knelt beside his homemade interseeder, a planter that threads between young corn rows to sow cover crops. He built the machine himself by modifying an old grain drill. “Nobody’s driving around a 50-year-old car. Why am I farming with a 50-year-old tractor?” Jordan asked.