There’s Good Reason to End the Agriculture Versus the Environment Fight

In Conservation, Environmental, Farming, General by Cathryn

Suzy Friedman, director of sustainable agriculture at the Environmental Defense Fund, authored this post which originally ran in AgriPulse and on the EDF Growing Returns blog. NCGA has been allowed to share it on Corn Commentary with EDF’s permission. On paper, I appear to be the picture perfect stereotype of an east coast liberal: I’ve been working at environmental nonprofits …

Less Than a Lemonade

In Activism, Conservation, Education, Environmental, General by Mark

Guest Blog from CommonGround Kansas Have you ever wondered how much weed killer farmers apply to their fields? CommonGround Kansas volunteers answered that question with a helpful visual — a cup of lemonade and a football field — before the Kansas State vs. Missouri State football game in Manhattan, Kan., Sept. 24. Football fans braved thunder and pouring rain during pre-game festivities, …

Love the Earth? Organic May Not Be Your Best Bet

In Biotechnology, Conservation, Environmental, Land Use by Cathryn

Switching to an all-organic agricultural system in the United States would have serious, negative consequences according to analysis of government reports published in Forbes. With clear documentation of a yield gap between conventional and organic production indicating increased land use would be required to make such a switch, the authors detail why, amongst many other reasons, organic is not the …

Soil Health Hinges on Farmers

In Audio, Conservation, Farming, soil health partnership by Cindy

The first year of the Soil Health Partnership (SHP), introduced at the 2014 Commodity Classic, enrolled 20 farmers in six states to be demonstration sites for the effort and by the end of five years they expect to have 100. These farmers have agreed to basically be the “guinea pigs” to help other farmers learn from their experiments and innovations. …

First Soil Health Partnership Summit Held

In Audio, Conservation, soil health partnership by Cindy

The Soil Health Partnership (SHP) was officially launched at last year’s Commodity Classic so it will just be one year old in another month. But Nick Goeser with the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) says the concept had a relatively long gestation period. “The idea for the Soil Health Partnership started in 2011, so within three years we came to …

Learning About Conservation in the Everglades

In Audio, Conservation, Video by Cindy

Normally, the Conservation Technology and Information Center stays pretty close to the Midwest for its annual Conservation in Action tour, but this year they headed way south into the Florida Everglades to get a look at some very different types of crops. On the tour was CTIC board member and National Corn Growers Association Soil Health and Sustainability Manager Nick …

Taking Proactive Water Quality Steps

In Audio, Conservation, Environmental, Water by Cindy

Following closely on the heels of the toxic algae bloom on Lake Erie that shut down water supplies in Toledo Ohio, Michigan’s livestock and crop producers recently announced proactive steps on water quality issues. “Michigan agriculture is proactive and part of the solution when it comes to water quality issues in the Western Basin of Lake Erie and surrounding areas,” …

Save the Corn Farmers?

In Conservation, Environmental, Farming, General, Research by Mark

Google “save the rainforest” and watch all the organizations that pop up; everything from the World Rainforest Fund to Kids Saving the Rainforest.  I don’t have a problem with that because rainforests are a critical cog in the blue planet’s eco-system. Rainforests provide incredible biodiversity and through the process of photosynthesis they also provide the duel function of removing carbon …