Renewable Farming

Jerry Carlson

As corporate giants offer “data intensive” technology, we like a weigh wagon

Monsanto’s spinoff of Precision Planting to Deere & Co., announced today, sends a puzzling signal to farmers about Monsanto’s direction. Several indications have come from Monsanto recently that it’s re-inventing itself as a data company… and now they’re selling a sophisticated data-based system bought in 2012 for a reported $250 million. Deere & Co. says […]

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The inconvenient truth is, debunking the global warming deity can get you fired

A few years ago, I wrote a freelance article for a Midwest client that exposed the “Global Warming” swindle. Two or three meteorologists attacked my client, who quickly backpedaled and destroyed all available copies of my report. Its accuracy was never disproven — just its audacity that anyone should deny that man-made global warming is “overwhelmingly accepted

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28-bu. corn yield gain with “cheap” in-furrow feeding at planting

Every season, we get more enthused about building a biological foundation under crops at planting — with in-furrow feeding. That’s contrary to conventional wisdom, which we’re also enthused about. Discoveries are made that way. This fall, the weigh wagon confirmed a 28-bu. yield benefit in strip trials where we applied the following in-furrow mix last spring: Two

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19-bu. corn yield gain with a bio-stimulant and WakeUP in-furrow

Since starting field research with WakeUP in 2008, we’ve seen consistent yield improvements by applying in-furrow nutrients — laced with three or four ounces of WakeUP Spring per acre to mobilize nutrient entry into roots. This season, we saw a nearly 20-bu. benefit for corn yields by applying a bio-stimulant mobilized with WakeUP. Ears in

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Washington Post features USDA “censorship” case filed by ARS entomologist

Today the Washington Post published a report by Steve Volk detailing the Whistleblower complaint by Ag Research Service entomologist Jonathan Lundgren, who has actively warned of the impact of neonicotinoid pesticides on pollinators.  Here’s the link to the Washington Post story. Earlier, our “Healthy Farming News” section had linked to a similar report by Kansas City

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“The road back to conventional” non-GMO crops

Chris Bennett, Farm Journal’s Technology and Issues Editor, posted a feature on the AgWeb site Oct. 24 with that headline — “The Road Back to Conventional.” Chris Bennett Chris describes how Jason Smith transitioned his 3,000 acres of soybeans to conventional, non-GMO varieties and manages to have uniformly weed-free fields.  Yes, he does include a cultivator pass in

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Antibiotics kill beneficial digestive microbes too… leading toward obesity

A study published Oct. 21 in the International Journal of Obesity documents a statistical relationship between children’s antibiotic treatments and excessive weight gain. Public health officials acknowledge that the antibiotics disrupt normal populations of digestive tract bacteria, killing species that constrain fat buildup in tissues.  The agricultural significance of this large-scale epidemiology study is that

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Zen Honeycutt reveals the hidden agenda of that Des Moines food conference

When friends talk among friends, they’re usually confident and candid. They tell it like it is. When people are on camera or talking to reporters, they often raise their guard, choosing words more carefully.  That’s why we get some real insights by tuning in to reports shared among international networks of friends. That includes social media and e-mail groups

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What researchers learned from 15 years of genetically engineering cows

One of the most unique and thorough studies of genetic engineering trials on cows was published today in New Zealand: Genetically Engineered Animals: The First Fifteen Years. The report describes “…a sad and profoundly disturbing story of illness, reproductive failure and birth deformities that have consistently afflicted the genetic engineering trials.” Authors of the report studied the

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