Soil Management

Whole Farm Mass Nutrient Balance Calculator

Nutrient Management Tools and Curriculum

Type: Northeast SARE Grantee-Produced Info Product

This software program calculates the annual difference between a farm's imported and exported nutrients (N, P and K). Teaching guides and instructions for the tool's use are also available.

Using Manually Operated Seeders for Precision Cover Crop Plantings on the Small Farm

Type: Southern SARE Grantee-Produced Info Product

This information sheet describes research in Virginia on using inexpensive, manually operated seeders to establish consistent cover crop stands.

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The New American Farmer, 2nd Edition

Profiles of Agricultural Innovation

Type: Book

Hailing from small vegetable farms, cattle ranches and grain farms covering thousands of acres, the producers in The New American Farmer, 2nd edition have embraced new sustainable approaches to agriculture.

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$16.95

Reduced Tillage and Cover Cropping Systems for Organic Vegetable Production

Type: Southern SARE Grantee-Produced Info Product

This information sheet captures research by Virginia Tech and the Virginia Association for Biological Farming to develop cover crop-based, reduced-tillage systems for organic vegetable production.

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Managing Cover Crops Profitably, 3rd Edition

Type: Book

Managing Cover Crops Profitably explores how and why cover crops work and provides all the information needed to build cover crops into any farming operation.

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$19.00

Influence of Cover Crops on Insect Pests and Predators in Conservation Tillage Cotton

Type: Southern SARE Grantee-Produced Info Product

Results of a two-year research project to determine the impact of several cover crops on pest and predator insects in conservation tillage cotton.

GIS Applications in Agriculture: Nutrient Management for Improved Energy Efficiency

Type: North Central SARE Grantee-Produced Info Product

Provides an outline of how management recommendations are developed and how a ground-based active sensor can be used. It contains 24 case studies (exercises) ranging from using historical techniques to overcome production barrier to calculating soil organic carbon maintenance requirements.  A CD containing data sets is included with the book.

Diversifying Cropping Systems

Type: Bulletin

This bulletin describes some of the many agronomic crop alternatives, with plentiful examples of on-farm successes.

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Free

Crop Rotation on Organic Farms

A Planning Manual

Type: Book

Crop Rotation on Organic Farms: A Planning Manual provides an in-depth review of crop rotation, including how it improves soil quality and health and helps manage pests, diseases and weeds.

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$24.00

Cover Crops for All Seasons

Expanding the cover crop tool box for organic vegetable producers

Type: Southern SARE Grantee-Produced Info Product

This Virginia Association for Biological Farming information sheet provides research-based information on a cover crop “toolbox” from which growers can select cover crops most suited to their regions and production systems.

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Cover Cropping: On-Farm, Solar-Powered Soil Building

Type: Southern SARE Grantee-Produced Info Product

This information sheet gives an overview of how to use cover crops to maintain good levels of nutrients and organic matter in the soil.

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Building Soils for Better Crops, 3rd Edition

Sustainable Soil Management

Type: Book

Building Soils for Better Crops is a one-of-a-kind, practical guide to ecological soil management, now expanded and in full color.

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$20.95

Alternative Continuous-Cover Dairy Forage System for Profitability, Flexibility and Soil Health

Type: Fact Sheet

In a SARE-funded study in New York, a team of farmers, researchers and consultants addressed economic, labor and weather constraints in dairy farm rotations by developing an alternative forage cropping system with multiple options to produce high-quality forages. This system produces forage with yields comparable to traditional cropping systems, and is based on soil health management.

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