Let’s not beat around the bush — transitioning from conventional tillage to no-till can be tough. Throw diverse rotations, cover crops, and grazing livestock into the mix and it can feel downright overwhelming. The fact is, there are equipment changes, steep learning curves to climb, and mindset changes that need to happen for this to…
Integrated Systems w/ Doug Sieck – Holistic Mindset (2/7)
When it comes to farming, “holistic” is often a word that gets a bad wrap. Walworth County farmer Doug Sieck knows this first hand. He had his own reservations when it came to the term, but that has all changed. In the second video in our 7-part series, Doug shares with us his insights on…
Integrated Systems w/ Doug Sieck – Intro (1/7)
In 2007, Doug Sieck of Walworth County, SD began his soil health journey. A little over a decade later, his soils , his operation, and his mindset have all transformed. In this 7-part series, Doug shares with us his eye-opening journey into soil health, how to make the transition easier, and why we all should…
SD Cropcast 02: Dwayne Beck
15 Trillion Laborers w/ Dr. Mike Lehman – Community (3/3)
3:15 WATCH: In our previous video, Research Microbiologist Dr. Mike Lehman described soil microbes in healthy soils as a “division of labor.” This “division of labor” is extensive and, when cultivated through regenerative practices, works alongside the farmer. In our third and final video, Dr. Lehman takes it a step further and shows us that these…
15 Trillion Laborers w/ Dr. Lehman – Division of Labor (2/3)
3:30 WATCH: If the soil health movement has taught us one thing it’s that healthy soils produce healthy crops. But when we say “healthy soils” what does that actually mean? Well… in short, it means THEY’RE ALIVE! In the second video of our three-part series with Dr. Mike Lehman, we dive head first into the…
Merit or Myth: Season 2
In our first Merit or Myth season, we discussed the issue of no-till in the context of residue management, soil water (mainly infiltration), soil temperature, weeds and economics. In reality, a companion between no-till an conventional till system is very difficult to compare is one only looks at one factor (e.g., residue). When we spoke…
Soil Resilience and Water Holding Capacity
In a lot of ways, farming success comes down to efficiency How efficiently can a farmer make use of his time? How efficiently can he make use of his inputs? How efficiently can he make use of his available resources? When it comes specifically to those available resources, there is one that stands above the…
Economics & Soils: Jorgensen Case Study (Part 5)
One may take the view that soils are a static, medium to grow plants and place nutrients. If one holds this static view of soils, what the Jorgensens have been able to achieve would simply not make sense; at best it would appear anomalous. If one holds the view that soils are living, dynamic ecosystems…
Soil Temperature Part 2: How do No-Till Temperatures Catch Up to Conventional Till?
In our previous video we saw that by the end of the season, there is no difference in the number of heat units and temperature as seen by a conventional versus a no-till soil. In fact any differences in cumulative heat units between the two systems disappears by the first week of July. In this…