skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

White House says Elon Musk isn't in charge at DOGE, but 'advising' the president; CA schools brace for harmful cuts to Medi-Cal; Report says AR students still struggle with COVID-19 learning loss; and UT enacts controversial labor union law.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The SAVE Act, requiring proof of citizenship to vote, is moving in the U.S. House. Environmental groups want the U.S. Senate to kill a bill they say falsely claims to slow climate change, and the agriculture industry is concerned about mass migrant deportations.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural America struggles with opioids and homelessness in unexpected ways, Colorado's Lariat Ditch could help spur local recreation, and book deliveries revive rural communities hit by Hurricane Helene.

MN Farmers to Test New Conservation Tool

play audio
Play

Monday, January 4, 2016   

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Farmers who are interested in helping with land conservation could soon have a new tool – and it isn't a new piece of hardware.

The tool is individually tailored software, designed to help farmers add up the costs and possible financial benefits of converting from traditional crops, including corn and soybeans, to perennial grasses or cover crops, such as oats and turnips.

Robin Moore, coordinator of the Land Stewardship Project's Chippewa 10 Percent Project, says her group will be testing the software with several Minnesota farmers starting this month.

"It just really helps them line up the financial differences between corn and soybean, and a different practice on that land,” she explains. “I would say 80 percent of the time, that more complex system is very clearly showing to be much more profitable than simply a corn-and-beans rotation."

This comes as parts of the Chippewa River watershed in western Minnesota face serious challenges from farmland pollution.

Moore says targeting just 10 percent of one of these trouble spots can help reverse damage to the water system.

Some farmers are concerned that switching from traditional crops could hurt their profits and risk losing some federal subsidies for growing corn and soybeans.

Moore says those concerns are valid, but argues that if farmers start with small changes now, they could see multiple benefits down the line.

"If you can get a three-to-four-year rotation in a farm versus just a two-year rotation, meaning corn and beans, that really increases the soil health and the water quality in that area," she stresses.

Moore adds growing perennial grasses for rotational livestock grazing can help farmers save money because they won't have to mechanically harvest and store feed.

Once it is done testing the new cost-projection tool, Moore says the Land Stewardship Project hopes to have the software publicly available by March. For now, she says her group is focused on helping farmers understand the long-term plans for curbing farmland pollution.

"Water is kind of the canary in the coal mine,” she states. “The problems with water indicate problems with soil health – and if our soil is being depleted, then not only are we going to have dirty water, but we're also going to have crop failures."





get more stories like this via email

more stories
Sun Bear Industries coordinates and manages renewable energy projects, connecting tribal governments with contractors specializing in renewable energy. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

By Robert Chappell for Madison 365.Broadcast version by Judith Ruiz-Branch for Wisconsin News Connection reporting for the Madison 365-Public News Ser…


Environment

play sound

For generations, small family farms have worked to feed Mississippi communities but small-scale operations, particularly those run by Black farmers…

play sound

President Donald Trump has issued a flurry of executive orders meant to jump-start his mass deportation policy but the policy may negatively affect mi…


Cryptocurrency kiosks can pop up in common spaces such as gas stations but fraud experts said because the industry is largely unregulated, it is hard for the victim of a scam to get their money back after it is deposited. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

FBI data show North Dakotans lost nearly $6 million to cryptocurrency scams in 2023 and a bill advancing in the Legislature would try to limit those l…

Health and Wellness

play sound

The GLP-1 medication trend has taken the health and wellness world by storm, largely hailed as a game-changer for weight loss. Now, new research …

Each year, visitors flock to Monte Vista in Colorado's San Luis Valley for a chance to see Greater Sandhill Cranes. (Adobe Stock)

play sound

By Ilana Newman for The Daily Yonder.Broadcast version by Eric Galatas for Colorado News Connection for the Public News Service/Daily Yonder Collabora…

play sound

New legislation that would ensure every Oregon public school student has access to free breakfast and lunch has widespread, bipartisan support…

Environment

play sound

Energy costs in Maryland are higher than the national average and one proposal to address the issue is facing backlash from environmentalists…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021