Renewable Farming

August 2015

Patches of premature soybean yellowing offer management clues

An Aug. 31 windshield cruise around northeast Iowa showed many yellowing areas in otherwise still-green soybean fields.  Uniform yellowing and leaf drop indicates maturity, but the patchy areas can offer signals of nutrient deficiency, too much or too little moisture, or disease symptoms.  A current and knowledgeable report on how to read the signals was recently […]

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Federal judge blocks EPA’s new “clean water act” regs in 13 states

The Patriot Post has a clear summary of a federal judge’s injunction against the Environmental Protection Agency’s “over-reach” in its latest regs tightening the Clean Water Act. Somehow, EPA has interpreted “navigable waters of the United States” to mean anyplace outdoors which might get rained on. Judge Ralph Erickson of the District Court for the District of

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How Heartland Farms won the hearts of its fruit and vegetable customers

  By Erik Carlson     The early eighties found the Midwest in a farm crisis. As divorce rates and home troubles in farm families rose, some individuals broke under the strain of an economic disaster in America’s rural heartland. Many more who depended on American agriculture for their livelihood faced financial ruin. Dave Myers started

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Five-star speaker lineup for BRT field day Sept. 2 near Stockton, IA

Dr. Don Huber, Dr. Michael McNeil and Dr. George Kindness will bring important production updates to farmers at the Sept. 2 field day on Keith Schlapkohl’s farm near Stockton, IA. Keith Schlapkol and 230-bu. corn Keith will also present his ideas on making non-GMO production highly effective — based on two generations of experience.  Ag

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Germany’s ag minister moves to ban growing GMO crops in Germany

German ag minister Christian Schmidt has sent a letter to all states within the country announcing his intent that Germany will “opt out” of genetically modified crop cultivation, using new European Union provisions allowing that action. This move follows a similar ban announced by Scotland. Until now, Germany has tightly restricted cultivation of GMO crops,

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A few farmland buying funds focus on organic, non-GMO production

Plunging stock markets, disappearing debt and weakening currencies have encouraged investors to buy about $25 billion in U.S. farmland over the past decade. A small slice of that cash has come from investors keen to own land managed with “sustainable” technologies: non-GMO diversity instead of chemical-dependent, biotech monocultures.  We expect those ecologically mission-minded investment firms

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We asked, “Show me the evidence on glyphosate.” Here it is

Finally, a research organization has assembled a virtually complete spectrum of information on glyphosate’s health effects — and published it in a single, well-written document. The 80-page report, titled “Banning Glyphosate,” was released Aug. 20 by the Institute of Science in Society. You can review it at this link. Eight world-recognized researchers cooperated to assemble a

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