From the Field Profiles

According to Sarah Hamlen, Montana State University Extension, and Milton Grieger, University of Wyoming Extension, Western producers’ profitability is closely linked to the consumption and production of energy resources. Decisions made by these producers on energy issues have long-term implications for the sustainability of agricultural production, they assert. To increase producers’ knowledge of energy issues, […]

Across the region, farmers are planting cover crops, a method of revitalizing soil, curbing erosion, and managing pests. Steve Sutera, an Extension educator at South Dakota State University (SDSU), saw an opportunity to bring together Bon Homme County’s Extension service, FFA Chapter, 4-H Club, and ongoing research at SDSU. In 2008, Sutera submitted a proposal […]

Due to the rising cost of feed, many small scale pork producers are exploring alternatives in order to increase their profit margins. At Donnelly Farms, Jack Donnelly is producing hydroponically-grown green forage for his hogs, and has been able to reduce feed outlay and increase their bottom line. Donnelly Farms is a small, family-owned farm […]

The multiple benefits that a sustainable bioenergy system can provide underscore the need for its development in a manner that assures that the expansion of this sector provides not just new energy but broader environmental and community benefits as well (Kleinschmit, 2007; Jordan et al, 2007; Kleinschmit and Muller, 2005). It will require that farmers […]

In response to the shift in some crop acres from providing food and fiber to an increased emphasis in energy farming, concerns have been raised about potential problems from crop monocultures or high rates of residue removal. David Clay’s long-term goals for his project were to increase producers’ awareness of the importance of determining costs […]

The rapid increase in ethanol production from corn rain, and the proposed use of crop residues for ethanol production poses significant challenges in increasing awareness and providing needed training to extension educators and agency staff to address the potential environmental impacts of intensive corn production and corn residue use. Mahdi Al-Kaisi conducted an educational training […]

Many greenhouse growers are looking for options to reduce their energy costs, but they don’t always understand which options will provide the greatest return on investment. For his project, Scott Sanford developed curriculum materials, extension bulletins, resource lists, and a spreadsheet model for educators to use for delivering programming on energy management and conservation for […]

Agricultural production capacity, as well as transportation, storage, and marketing infrastructure for alternative biomass feedstocks and other renewable energy sources often presents challenges. In some cases, farmers and ranchers can find themselves at a disadvantage, operating in a knowledge vacuum as they encounter developers moving to position themselves for future energy development. Michael Siepel’s project […]

While perennial biomass crops have both environmental and energy benefits over corn ethanol, there are limited commercialscale facilities utilizing biomass feedstocks for liquid fuel production. The expansion of corn ethanol has provided Nebraska with several million tons of animal feeds from ethanol co-products annually. According to Francis John Hay, these ethanol co-product feeds have excellent […]

Tile drainage reduces soil moisture levels for optimal crop growth, but there is concern about nitrate loss from these systems. Because the water  quality of regional streams, rivers, and lakes can be negatively impacted by nitrate in drainage, researchers at Iowa State University are studying several practices that can be done to reduce the amount […]

Sheep and goat production is a growing enterprise for small and limited resource farmers in the North Central region. While small ruminants (sheep and goats) are adaptable to many different production systems and can be raised with relatively few inputs, they present production challenges. For instance, control of internal parasites, especially gasrointestinal nematodes including Haemonchus […]

If you think the local foods movement is just a fad, think again. For the first time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has included restaurants and grocery store sales in its local food markets survey, and the sales are hard to ignore: nearly $5 billion a year in fruits and vegetables from local farmers. That […]

To fill their need for year-round, inexpensive forages, California dairy producers typically plant and harvest a series of forage crops: small grains, corn for silage, milo and sorghum sudan. While this requires considerable tillage and seed-bed preparation ahead of each successive crop, the production systems lend themselves to conservation tillage approaches developed in other regions. […]

Thanks to the effort of two New Mexico State University faculty members and a SARE grant, the farmers of northern New Mexico are finding that vegetables can be successfully grown year-round in high tunnel greenhouses.  Del Jiminez and Steve Guldan of the Alcalde Research Center received a SARE grant to construct different designs of high […]