From the Desk of Gary Zimmer

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Regenerative Agriculture: When do you start and how?

Dear farmers and agriculturalists,
It appears we live in a world with a lot of dissatisfied people. How do we determine what is right and what is wrong? The fun in farming, and in life, is to contribute. Contribute to the goal of healthy, mineralized soil by using the best knowledge, common sense, and observed practices to be stewards of the land and grow feed and food that is nutritional, clean and soil-building – that is the most fun and profitable way to farm.

All these years, MBA has called it “biological farming.” Farming that is focused on soil biology and respectful to the biological system. We want lots of earthworms and high-quality minerals. To get those, we need to feed them and care for the air and water. The new language of today is “regenerative.” I have always liked the term. Although, if everything were going great, why would we need to regenerate it?

Every soil and every farm has limiting factors that need regeneration. Start with a complete soil test – it is the best tool available to find limiting factors and devise an improvement plan. Yes, you still must deal with tillage. For all the talk of no-till, there are lots of brown fields as you drive through the country. Shallow incorporating residues, vertical tillage, strip tillage, deep ripping, and high-speed disc are all options for soil management on a physical level.
Then there is the biology. You must create an ideal home and keep the plant and soil biology well nourished. There is a need for calcium. There is no better way to feed them than with Bio-Cal or OrganiCal. The success of these products are proven by the many years of use and positive responses. Many hay fields this year are still in need, if you haven’t done so already. Then, there is the rest of the mineral program that your MBA consultant can help you with. Summertime is also not a bad time to pull a tissue test as an additional tool to monitor fertility.

So, the fun and profit in farming is figuring this out for your farm. You can find article after article on biologicals, bio-stimulants, cover crops, carbon sequestration, etc., which will be a big part of your farm income in the future. Why not start now? Crop income this year will be favorable so you can invest in taking your farm to the next level.

Midwestern BioAg has the best trained, most experienced consultants that will ever visit your farm. We have the products. So, when do you get started and how? Contact your MBA consultant for a complete soil test and a full corrective program designed for your acres – and have fun doing it, “The BioAg Way”.

GFZ

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From the Desk of Gary Zimmer

Using all, or some, of these practices, will take you a long way in dealing with our extreme weather. Adding Rye to your rotation can certainly do that too. What else can you plant after corn/soybean harvest in the upper Midwest? When adding a practice like rye, you have to learn how to manage it. Change always requires knowledge if you want success.