Renewable Farming

October 2016

Early harvest has an upside: More opportunity for biological soil building

Oct. 28, 2016  By Bob Streit, crop consultant     1. Harvest is continuing with more people expecting to finish up by this weekend. The long string of semi-dry weather has helped and much of the corn is down around 16-17%.   2. Even most wet and replanted beans have been harvested. The yields have […]

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Book early for the best non-GMO hybrids and varieties for 2017

A No-Till Farmer magazine survey of 400 readers indicates an ongoing shift away from Roundup Ready traits.  Non-GMO corn gained share of market in 2016, along with LibertyLink technology.   The survey doesn’t forecast farmers’ intentions for seed choices in 2017. However, from our own visits and observations, the trend toward non-GMO will probably gain acreage again.

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Your next crop starts now, as your “littlest livestock” digest 2016 harvest residue

Oct. 20, 2016 — It’s really encouraging to see a growing percentage of farmers in our north central Corn Belt region pushing hard to capture carbon and nutrients from corn and bean residue just as it hits the ground from the combine. Some farmers have separate crews applying residue-digesting biologicals, running vertical tillage rigs, shredding stalks,

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Streit: Nutrition points to check if your yields come in a little short of expectations

Oct 18, 2016 — By Bob Streit, crop consultant —   The month is over half complete and harvest progress is moving along erratically. In spite of often rosy weather predictions, many of the days end up cloudy and overcast with accompanying drizzle, instead of being warm and sunny. It is tough to combine beans

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Further field evidence that good nutrition helps crops resist disease, live longer

I met a new source of nutrition information after the Farm Progress Show at Bob Streit’s evening briefing for farmers in Boone, IA. JR Santos of Brazil introduced himself and expressed interest in whether WakeUP could help mobilize his company’s line of nutrients, many of which are foliar-applied. He’s based at Urbandale, IA as a

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Heroes of American health research, part 1: Samsel and Seneff

A generation or two from now, historians will reflect on the courage and intellect of only a few scientists and other serious investigators. We’re pointing toward those who are piercing through the political shrouds which obscure the troubling truths about the rapid rise in agriculture of genetically engineered crops and the toxins linked with them.

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