Tech Talk Replay from August 10, 2020. Liz Stahl, UMN Extension, reviews the latest research and information regarding the impacts of weed management decisions on the potential for successful establishment of cover crops, cover crop end uses, and the tradeoffs we can expect in our weed management program. Following the presentation is a facilitated discussion with crop advisors.
Review materials for the interactive training program for producers that presents the fundamentals for maximizing economic return on nitrogen investments while minimizing nitrogen losses.
Tech Talk Replay from August 3, 2020. Karin Jokela, Xerces Society, reviews the monarch habitat evaluation guide (WHEG). She demonstrates how to assess various herbaceous plant communities to determine insecticide risks, weed management risks, milkweed stem density, forb cover, and forb richness. Karin also provides tips on plant ID and support tools.
Tech Talk Replay from July 27, 2020. Join George Schwint, MPCA, covers nutrient management planning with manure. George will reviews County and State permitting, manure testing, credits, current impairments, loss pathways, feedlot and land application rules, and practices to reduce movement.
This short course looks at application equipment you may see in corn and soybean producing areas.
The Sustainable Farming Association Hosted a webinar series focused on Silvopasture in April 2020. The series can be found at the link. Topics include, Silvopasture in the Midwest, Silvopasture in Minnesota, Minnesota Silvopasture Resources
This webinar goes into the details of the five soil disturbing processes modeled in RUSLE2 (inversion, mixing, mixing with some inversion, lifting/fracturing, and compression). A video of a tillage implement in action for each of the processes is shown and discussed. The effects of the tillage types are demonstrated and discussed in a comparison between a conventional, reduced-till, and no-till corn/soybean rotation.
Cover Crop Strategies offers a series of Podcasts related to Cover Crops and Soil Health. Topics include Cover Crop Management Tips, Choosing Cover Crop Goals First, Grazing Systems Need Soil Health Improvement Too, Combining Cover Crops and Not-Till Organic among other topics. Check it out!
Blue Thumb has a three part video series posted on their website called "Watersmart Landscaping: Raingardens". In addition, there is a video for "How to Install a Raingarden" and several other available resource materials available for download.
The Division of Forestry has developed silviculture strategies to inform sustainable forest management in Minnesota. These documents include information on the following key elements for each native plant community (NPC) class:
Vegetation, structure, and composition
Landscape setting and soils
Tree suitability
Tree response to climate change
Tree establishment and recruitment
Stand dynamics and growth stages
2-page silvicultural strategies for each major natural disturbance agent