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Crop Residue Decisions Affect Soil Life

  Crop Residue Decisions Affect Soil Life
By Rachel Schutte
 
In some ways, farming is like cooking. Cooking would be much easier if we could leave the kitchen after eating and not come back until we make the next meal. But someone needs to put away the leftovers, do the dishes, and clean up the table.
 
Similarly, there’s work to do in farm fields after harvest and before planting the next spring.
 
After harvest in the fall, farmers take the harvested crops to market or store them on their farm. They don’t take the whole plant from the field, though.
 
The leftover parts of the plant, like the stalk and leaves from corn, remain in the field. This debris is called crop residue.
 
Using no-till and prescribed fire management are two potential ways to manage crop residue. Both practices help keep organic matter and nitrogen in the soil. However, research was needed to understand how these two practices can affect long-term soil health.
 
Lisa Fultz and her team want to help farmers determine the best way to manage their residue between growing seasons. To do this, her team decided to learn more about how no-till and prescribed fire management affect nutrients and microbes in the soil. Fultz is a researcher at Louisiana State University AgCenter.
 
No-till is a practice where farmers plant directly into the crop debris from the previous year. Prescribed fires are used to purposely burn off the previous crop debris with controlled fire. “Both of these practices have minimal physical disturbance to the soil,” says Fultz.
 
Some farmers leave crop residue in the field after harvest and plant directly into it in the spring. This is called no-till. Credit: Rachel Schutte
 
Both of these practices also come with drawbacks. No-till can cause poor conditions for crop growth like low spring temperatures and increased moisture, which promotes disease. Prescribed fire can leave bare soil vulnerable to erosion.
 
The team focused the research on wheat and soybean rotations and continuous corn production systems. “These are common practices not only in the mid-south, but across many areas of the world,” explains Fultz.
 
“Wheat and corn production leave behind residue,” she says. “Common practices, like conventional tillage, are highly disruptive. The need to identify viable conservation practices is growing in importance.”
 
Crop residue and its degradation by soil microbes is an important part of the carbon cycle. Plants store carbon during the growing season, then microbes use the plant residue for food. The carbon then gets stored in the soil in a chemically stable form.
 
“Fresh, green material in no-till fields is easy to breakdown and provides rich nutrients for soil microbes,” says Fultz. “Ash from burned residue is more chemically stable, but it doesn’t provide a nutrient source for microbes.”
 
The team found that impacts from crop management practices, like crop rotation or fertilization, outweighed the influence of prescribed fire for residue management. Researchers found some decreases in microbial activity after yearly prescribed burns.
 
Controlled burns can be used to remove crop residue from farm fields between growing seasons. Credit: Rachel Schutte
 
Findings show prescribed fire had some possible short-term benefits for soil nutrient availability, but timing is crucial. Prescribed burning of wheat residue provided an increase of nitrogen for about 7 days. These benefits should be weighed against other possible impacts, like carbon dioxide production and crop yield.
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Agricultural Market Update: Grain Prices, Crop Conditions, and Weather Impacts

Welcome back to our channel where we provide comprehensive updates on the latest trends and changes in the agricultural sector. This week, we're looking at significant movements in grain prices, crop conditions, and the effects of weather patterns. Let's dive into the details:

Grain Price Decline Grain prices have fallen to their lowest levels since 2020, with December corn down 4.3% and November soybeans losing 3.1%. This decline is partly due to the beneficial moisture brought by Hurricane Beryl to the Midwest, which has improved crop conditions significantly. The USDA reported that corn and soybean crops are in their best condition in four years, contributing to the downward pressure on prices.

Record Short Positions and Market Sentiment Fund traders have increased their net short positions in the corn market to a record level, with a net short of 347,000 contracts of corn. This reflects a bearish sentiment in the market, further influencing grain price dynamics. Similar selling trends were observed in soybeans and SRW wheat, indicating broad market caution.

Weather Impact and Forecast Hurricane Beryl has brought significant rainfall across Arkansas, Missouri, western Tennessee, western Kentucky, and southern Illinois, with more expected over Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana in the coming days. Despite this, the market is currently more focused on the moisture benefits rather than potential heat risks forecasted in the 6-10 and 8-14 day periods.

US Crop Conditions Corn and soybean conditions have shown slight improvements last week, with corn rated 68% good to excellent and soybeans at 68%. These are among the best ratings for this time of year since 2020, suggesting robust crop health that could continue to influence grain prices.

Winter Wheat Harvest and Spring Wheat Conditions The US winter wheat harvest is progressing well, ahead of schedule with significant portions already harvested in Kansas and Texas. Spring wheat conditions are also favorable, with 75% rated good to excellent, although there have been some declines in states like Idaho, South Dakota, and Washington. Brazil's Corn Harvest and US Exports Brazil's second corn crop harvest is advancing rapidly due to favorable hot and dry conditions, with 63% of the crop already harvested. Meanwhile, US corn shipments saw a substantial increase last week, indicating strong export demand, which contrasts with the recent drop in domestic grain prices.

Ongoing Developments Lastly, the USDA reported a flash sale of corn, with significant quantities sold to unknown destinations, scheduled for delivery over the next two marketing years. This could signal ongoing international demand for US corn despite lower prices.

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