Saving Soil, Nutrients and Money with Cover Crops

December 17, 2012 | SARE

News Release – Many vegetable farmers want to improve soil quality, but because they operate in a competitive, rotation-intensive environment, any soil-building practice they are likely to adopt needs to be backed by solid data.

That is why Oregon State University (OSU) Extension specialists have spent six years studying the role cover crops play in fertility management, to the benefit of hundreds of farmers in the highly productive Willamette Valley. To date, the OSU researchers’ main contribution is a calculator for estimating the cost and nitrogen (N) contribution of cover crops, compost, and organic and synthetic fertilizers. The calculator has been used by more than 620 people since 2010, representing more than 52,000 acres. Read More

Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SARE) Releases 2011/2012 Report from the Field

March 16, 2012 | SARE

News Release – Since 1988, SARE has funded more than 5,000 sustainable agriculture research and education projects on farms and ranches large and small, dryland and wetland, urban and rural, from Florida to Alaska to Guam. This is quite a milestone, especially when considering that behind each of these projects are great innovators—farmers, ranchers, researchers, educators and nonprofits—working hard to develop the next profit-making, land-conserving, community-building project to help feed our growing world. Read More