From the Field Profiles

Mychorriza is a beneficial fungus that has a symbiotic relationship with the roots of plants. Studies have shown that mycorrhizal inoculation helps plants in soils with heavy metals and that are low in nutrients. It also helps plants take up nutrients and moisture by increasing the surface area of the root systems up to 700 […]

Chris Blanchard raises about 15 acres of certified organic vegetables and fresh herbs for community supported agriculture operations (CSAs) and wholesale customers in the Twin Cities, Rochester, and Decorah on his Rock Spring Farm on the Iowa-Minnesota state line. His farm has been recognized as a model for food safety, post-harvest handling, and good business. […]

Cover crops can help slow erosion, improve soil, smother weeds, enhance nutrient and moisture availability, help control many pests, and bring a host of other benefits to farms across the country. Cereal-legume cover crop mixtures are of particular interest to growers because they can effectively suppress weeds, control erosion, and scavenge leachable nitrate while also […]

Proactive marketing strategies have proven to be a key to success for many agricultural enterprises, and a team of researchers and educators in Ohio are working to connect willing markets to quality sources of food. MarketReady is a comprehensive educational program that prepares food producers to sell directly to consumers and wholesale buyers, and the […]

A nonprofit organization that has made a difference for beginning, immigrant, and refugee farmers in Lincoln, Nebraska is now reaching out to youth. Community CROPS (Combining Resources, Opportunities, and People for Sustainability) has a simple, but lofty mission - help people work together to grow healthy food and live sustainably. What started as a single […]

Soil—and whole farms—have been renewed through soil-improving practices like cover crops and no till. In the semiarid plains of western North Dakota, a team of producers and researchers are working to boost soil health for improved yield stability, farm income, and natural resource health of farms. The Southwest North Dakota Soil Health Project is a […]

A grassroots apple-breeding program has released its first apple variety, EverCrisp. The variety was bred by the Midwest Apple Improvement Association (MAIA), a group of more than 140 apple growers who are interested in developing new varieties for the Midwest. Diane Miller is an apple geneticist and researcher at Ohio State University. She is also […]

In southeastern Michigan, a dedicated non-profit organization is growing and delivering fresh produce to low-income residents through a youth program. “Edible Avalon” is an organic community garden and education program in association with Avalon Housing, the largest provider of permanent, supportive affordable housing for extremely low-income residents in Washtenaw County, MI.   “Most Avalon Housing […]

Ranch ownership transitions can be complex, involving issues such as generational needs, tax issues, social attitudes, and recreational landowner competition.  In an effort to help simplify the process, Calvin Adams of Beloit, KS, Cade Rensink of Ada, KS, and Ted Alexander of Medicine Lodge, KS, and the Kansas Ranch and Range Management Internship Program are […]

The Agricultural Innovation and Commercialization Center at Purdue University has developed a Comparative Decision Support toolkit online resource to assist with entry-level decision-making about small-scale livestock enterprises.   This Comparative Decision Support (CDS) toolkit provides realistic expectations across multiple livestock enterprises. It uses an individual’s input and returns customized results. In 2010, Purdue University graduate […]

Beneficial insects are valued on farms for their abilities to perform services like pollination and pest control. Researchers at Michigan State University are exploring whether plantings of native Midwest flowers can support beneficial insects and lead to improved crop productivity and quality. “There has been a growing interest in recent years about the economic and […]

Abbe and Anderson Turner’s Lucky Penny Farm is a family-owned dairy goat farm located on a once-fallow century farmstead in Northeast Ohio’s Hiram Township. The 14-acre farm includes Nubian, La Mancha and Alpine dairy goats. They also run a creamery located in Kent, OH. “I love working with small ruminants,” said Abbe Turner. “The size […]

A Lincoln University researcher is training extension educators on emerging plant grafting technology and the relevant physiology. Sanjun Gu is a State Horticulture Specialist with an extension/research appointment dealing with commercial vegetable and small fruit production at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, MO. His research interests include vegetable grafting, vegetable production in high-tunnels and the […]

“Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?” – John 3:4 Tucked away in the sprawling prairies of Northwestern Kansas is a town not unlike thousands of other rural communities spread across the country. It is […]

Just off of Highway 77, running north from El Dorado, Kansas, runs seventy three acres of agritourism property which is a part of Carroll and Becky Walters’ family farm and pumpkin patch, Walters’ Pumpkin Patch.  For almost 20 years, the Walters have been growing and selling pumpkins at their U-Pick patch in Northern Butler County. […]

Charuth van Beuzekom-Loth grew up in Holland. Her family raised goats and good cheese was plentiful. Eventually, she moved to the United States and years later settled down with her husband on a small farm named Shadowbrook near Lincoln, Nebraska. The transition went along nicely except for one thing. The cheese just wasn’t the same. […]