By Clint Thompson The Georgia Cotton Commission (GCC) and University of Georgia Extension remind growers about the importance of soil sampling this time of year. With fertilizer prices skyrocketing in recent months, producers need to have a plan about what nutrients are needed in their soils, says Glen Harris, University of Georgia (UGA) Professor and Extension Agronomist in Environmental Soil …
USDA Launches First Phase of Soil Carbon Monitoring Efforts
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced they will invest?$10?million?in?a new initiative to sample, measure, and monitor soil carbon on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres. The investment seeks to better quantify the climate outcomes of the program. USDA says CRP is an important tool in the Nation’s fight to reduce the worst impacts of climate change facing our farmers, …
USDA Compost and Food Waste Reduction Applications are Due Friday
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is making available up to $2 million for local governments to host Community Compost and Food Waste Reduction (CCFWR) pilot projects for fiscal year 2021. But the deadline to apply is Friday, July 16. The cooperative agreements support projects that develop and test strategies for planning and implementing municipal compost plans and food waste …
Investment in Land and Water Conservation Announced by USDA
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service will invest more than $218 million to fund Great American Outdoors Act projects. Their objective is to conserve critical forest and wetland habitat, support the economic recovery of rural communities and increase public access to national forests and grasslands. This investment will improve public access by funding strategic land acquisitions. Funds will also …
Why Probiotics Should Be Added to the Garden Soil
How and why probiotics should be added to your garden soil. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. We’ve all heard how using probiotics can help improve our overall gut health. But you may not know that probiotic gardening can improve your plant’s health! Probiotic gardening is all about nurturing your soil to encourage the highest quality minerals, nutrients, …
USDA Investing to Protect Communities in Florida
The U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) will be investing more than $46 million this year through the Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership for projects that mitigate wildfire risk, improve water quality, and restore healthy forest ecosystems on public and private lands. Through the projects, USDA’s Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) are working hand-in-hand with agricultural producers, forest landowners, and …
UF Scientist Finds Way to Reduce Greenhouse Gas in Soil
(UF/IFAS) — When soil gets saturated with water, the ground can produce nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that depletes the ozone, that the layer protects plants and animals on Earth from harmful ultraviolet light. For context, nitrous oxide is 310 times more powerful than carbon dioxide, another greenhouse gas that’s harmful to the ozone layer. That’s why it’s important to …
What’s Happening on America’s Lands, Soils, and Waters?
(USDA/NRCS) — NRCS You may be curious about what’s happening on the lands across the United States over time. If we didn’t have the data collection of the National Resources Inventory (NRI), we could only guess. NRI collects data on natural resources, soil and water conservation practices, irrigation, and many other farming practices so we can not only know what …
Maximizing Benefits of Cover Crops for Soil Health
Investing in soil health is an adaptive strategy to improve the sustainability and productivity of soils. Cover cropping is a management practice in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) toolbox used to contribute to soil health on working lands. The NRCS Plant Materials Program, through its network of Plant Materials Centers (PMCs), recently completed a …
How to Grow Your Own Popcorn Plant
Today, Cathy Isom provides information of how you can grow your own popcorn plant. Homegrown popcorn is delicious with unique flavors that will lead to this being a permanent addition to your garden. You might not realize that there are many different types of corn. You can grow sweet corn, pod corn, flour corn, and popcorn. And there are many …