To view the offerings, go to http://www.snapplus.net/ and click on the “Training Opportunities” tab on the left side of the SNAP-Plus homepage. Be sure to check this website often as additional NM training workshops will be added throughout the upcoming months.

39^th North Central Extension-Industry Soil Fertility Conference Slated for November 18 and 19 in Des Moines, Iowa.

Through this volunteer program, farmers must agree to maintain existing conservation practices and to do more conservation practices during the five years of the contract. Certain improvements to nutrient management practices related to nitrogen and phosphorus applications are valued under this system.

Over the past week I’ve received a few inquiries regarding the validity of the pre-sidedress nitrate test (PSNT) for corn this year considering the cool weather this spring. This is a very valid question for many in Wisconsin. To answer it, we’ll look at research results and weather summaries.

The large amount of rain some portions of the state have received in the spring of 2009 may have some corn growers wondering about the nitrogen (N) status of their fields. Is the N from earlier fertilizer applications still there? Are the manure-N or legume-N credits really available to this year’s corn crop?  

Producers are concerned that compaction from heavy equipment will negatively affect soil quality factors such as bulk density, porosity, aggregation, and drainage; causing yield reduction that may persist for several years.

Many growers are now faced with the decision of tillage or no-tillage; or if tillage will be done how much will be needed. This decision is likely very specific to a particular farming operation and factors such as whether manure has or will be applied, crop rotation, soil type, and if the planter can function in high residue will need to be considered.

The publication’s objective is to help farmers evaluate the economic potential of using red clover as a green manure cover crop, providing biologically fixed nitrogen to the following year’s corn crop. This is in addition to the soil quality, soil conservation and weed suppression benefits likely to accrue. Direct link to file >>  Frost Seeding Red Clover file 

If you missed the 2009 Wisconsin Crop Management Conference (WCMC) this year, or couldn't attend all the presentations that you wanted to, the online proceedings and presentations are your chance to catch up. Proceedings and presentations from the 2009 WCMC are now available online at: http://www.soils.wisc.edu/extension/wcmc/ 

The Department of Soil Science, with cooperation from UW-Extension, UWEX-Nutrient Management Team, and UWEX-Nutrient & Pest Management Program, is hosting the workshop “Managing Nutrients on Wisconsin Soils” on March 11^th and 12^th, 2009. 

The feature presentations at this conference include: Impact of biofuel crops on U.S. agriculture; Biomass removal: Effects on soil nutrients and productivity; World fertilizer supply/demand situation; Strategies for development and management of nutrient use efficient crops; Protocols/programs for conducting on-farm research/discovery; and Biochars and soil productivity.

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What happens when a soil is completely flooded for periods of a week or more? There are a few simple guidelines that we would recommend that you follow to determine if the fields should be retested following flooding.

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The high price of nitrogen fertilizer has increased interest in planting a legume crop after wheat or canning crop harvest as a green manure to provide some nitrogen credits for next year’s crop. This practice can provide some nitrogen and organic matter as well as increase ground cover to reduce erosion from fields.

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