When planning for fall soil sampling there are a number of things to consider. Like a lot of things, it used to be pretty simple. You took your shovel, dug some soil from a couple spots in the field and called it a day. Over the past decade or more, however, we’ve become much more aware of how variable the soil environment can be. We’ve also developed some really powerful tools and technology that can use our soil test data to help us dial in on …
Summer is moving right along and it isn’t too early to start thinking about corn silage harvest. It sounds pretty obvious but you only get one opportunity to get your corn silage harvest right each year. According to University of Illinois Dairy Extension specialist Mike Hutjens , ”Only about one-third of farms chop silage at the right particle length with the kernels sufficiently processed. “Some labs would say that number might even be a bit generous at a third.
As wheat harvest begins in the Midwest it’s time to start thinking about cover crops. The window between wheat or corn silage harvest and the end of the season can be a favorable time to establish a cover crop, but it is important to plan ahead and consider your options before moving forward.
Cover crops offer a variety of advantages. Cover crops can help to contribute, retain and efficiently cycle nutrients, suppress weeds, protect the soil from wind and water erosion, and enhance soil quality.
Dear Farmer/Agribusiness person,
Field Day is coming up soon; the third Tuesday in August this year is the 19th. Also this year we are back to doing a one day, all day event. Field Day is a celebration of biological agriculture and also a time to show you our farm and farming practices. Otter Creek Organic Farm, my family’s farm, has been in operation since the early 90’s or about 20 years ago. When the farm first started (it was a dairy farm), we began experimenting …
These days the ag world is buzzing with talk of yield enhancing biological products. “Boost plant performance”, “harness the power of nature”, “feed soil biology”, “unlock your soils’ potential to supply nutrients”: These types of slogans are heard and seen all over ag media. And you know what’s funny? A lot of these products are trying to do the same things that Midwestern BioAg has been doing for 30 years. The difference lies in the fact that MBA takes a systems approach, as opposed to the …
Dear Farmer/Agribusiness person,
I think spring is finally getting close—I saw a robin today. They return as normal, despite our cold, late spring. Considering the weather we’ve had the last couple of years, I’m not sure what ‘normal’ is anymore. This winter seemed normal, at least, more like what I remember of winter as a kid here in Wisconsin. Then again, we remember best those cold, hard times. We also didn’t have the nice warm, water proof winter boots and clothing we have today.
Dear Farmer/Agribusiness person,
It seems like a long time has passed since I last sat down to write for the newsletter. Change is the only for certain thing that happens in life. Somehow we always seem to get a crop—this year was certainly better than last. Sure, it didn’t look that way in the beginning of June. It was raining every day (or so it seemed): the corn was not planted, the hay was getting more mature.
Quality matters to the Tom and Beth Kearns family of TomBeth Farms of Seneca, WI. Their homegrown feeds support a herd of 125-head of high quality cattle (seven newly scored Excellents among their registered Holstein cows raised the herd total to over twenty; one-third of their cattle are descended from Tom-Beth Jolt Erin, a 14 year old cow scored EX-94 with a 95-scored udder and over 300,000 lbs of lifetime production). And the quality of their crops was recently recognized when the TomBeth Farms entry was …
Dear Farmer/Agribusiness person,
It’s amazing how well things seem to be doing on the farm this summer. They’re late, I know, and at a few times this growing season I wasn’t so sure that we would have much to harvest. We do get tired of always having to switch to ‘plan B.’
Our field days are coming up (Aug 20 and 21) and we are ready to show and present what we do here on Otter Creek Organic Farm.
Farm Highlights:
Product Highlight: Liquid-Carbon Based Fertilizer 10-14-1
It all started in the early 90’s when John Jorasz stumbled across Gary Zimmer at one of his meetings. He believed that what Gary said held a lot of promise and …
