Producer Resources
There are numerous resources available to producers to learn about soil health, ecosystem health, farm profitability, grazing management, etc. Here are a few resources that you may find helpful. Check back often as resources will be added regularly.
Bow Creek Recordings
- New! Rainfall Simulator conducted by Aaron Hird, NRCS Soil Health Specialist in Nebraska at the Bow Creek Field Day on June 25, 2021. Aaron demonstrates what happens when rain falls on bare soil compared to soil protected by residue. Dramatic benefits of a long-term no-till system on infiltration are highlighted.
- New! Growing Nitrogen with Cover Crops - Dale Strickler breaks down how much nitrogen you can expect a cover crop to produce, when it is available to the next crop, and gives examples of rotations that create windows for growing cover crops to improved farm profits.
- New! Ecosystem Process, Soil Health, and Nutrient Management - Becky Ravenkamp, Bow Creek Watershed Coordinator, discusses nutrient management in the context of the ecosystem and soil health principles.
Soil Health
- Menoken Farm Article introducing the five soil health principles and how those principles impact soil function.
- Rainfall Simulator Video at SD Soil Health Field Day. This video illustrates what happens during a rainstorm in various soil management systems.
- Soil Health Principles Video Featuring Jay Fuhrer - Jay Fuhrer explains the soil health principles and how we can increase soil health using these principles.
- Weed Population Dynamics - Randy Anderson, formally with ARS, explains weed population dynamics in the Great Plains. Although the predominant system is different than in the Bow Creek watershed, the findings still hold information that can be applied here. The main point that readers should come away with is the "rotation effect" on weed populations.
Land Restoration with Grazing
- Dr. Allen Williams - Growing Soil the Southern Way - In this video, from The Grassfed Exchange, Dr. Williams chronicles how he regenerated grazing lands using livestock, without tillage or reseeding.
- Four Steps to Rotational Grazing - Penn State Extension outlines the basic steps to calculate how many paddocks to subdivide pastures into.
Economics
- Economics of Small Grains - Practical Farmers of Iowa
- UNL Crop Budgets - Download the 2022 all crops budget
- UNL Crop Budget, instructions and demonstration
- Crop Budgets Reference
- Fieldprint Platform - Field to Market
Producer Success Stories
- Ed and Leta Olson - Leopold Conservation Award Winner, Burt County NE
- Scott and Pam Heinemann - Winside, NE
- Scott Gonnerman - Waco, NE
Reading Resources
- A Soil Owner's Manual: How to Restore and Maintain Soil Health by Jon Stika
- Management-intensive Grazing: The Grassroots of Grass Farming by Jim Gerrish
- Green Cover Seed Resources Page: Search by topic in the extensive library of articles