Browse General Agriculture Stories - Page 34

University of Georgia Extension water resource specialist Gary Hawkins is a devoted advocate of conservation tillage, but not for the typical reason. He appreciates its soil-building qualities, but what won his support is the water resources it saves.

Adding nitrogen to fertilize their crop is a substantial expense corn farmers have to consider when calculating their bottom line. A University of Georgia scientist hopes to help lower that cost by planting clover and corn together.

Hulking above their neighbors in the Chattahoochee National Forest, Georgia’s century-old hemlocks are giants. But the relatively scarce, trees are quickly being felled by the tiniest of insects — the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid.

Learn the basics of composting on April 19 at Rock Eagle 4-H Center’s Saturday at the Rock event.

Looking back, it's easy to see where farmers in the 1800s went wrong. Attempting to grow profits from a lush environment, landowners cleared entire forests in the South to make room for agricultural farmland. But primitive agricultural techniques scarred the landscape, and when the profits dried up, they abandoned the barren land. Now University of Georgia researchers want to understand the ongoing repercussions of a bygone era.

Wayne County farmer Jonny Harris noticed long ago that feeding winter cover crops to his cattle improves their diet, his fields and his bottom line. He wanted to show other southeastern Georgia farmers they can reap the same benefits, but he knew he needed more evidence than decades of personal experience.

U.S. Farm Bill education will be the focus of an upcoming series of meetings coordinated by University of Georgia agricultural economists.

Using animal manure to amend garden and landscaping soil was common practice 20 years ago. Today, University of Georgia Extension agents, discourage it.

To place the certified organic seal on their produce, farmers must follow a strict list of rules. Home gardeners who want to use organic practices can take the first steps by using methods one University of Georgia expert calls “modified organics.”

Container gardening is great for beginning gardeners. But remember, all plants need good soil and nutrients, whether they grow in a container or in the ground.