Wouldn’t it be great if we could accurately predict the change in soil quality based on our past, present, and future farming practices? Farmers could then understand the effects their management changes would have on their soil health. Yeah, that would be nice…but it doesn’t exist. NRCS’s Soil Conditioning Index (SCI) does however, provide farmers with soil health trend analysis. Recently, NRCS’s Mike Kucera (National Soil Quality & Ecosystems Branch) told me that he believes the SCI is still the best available predictive tool for …
Iowa Entrepreneur
I am always excited to share how technology can impact soil and water conservation. So, I am especially thrilled that Iowa Public TV provided me the opportunity to showcase technology to a new and different audience through their Iowa Entrepreneur series. Iowa residents can watch Agren's story on Friday, June 30th at 6:30 pm or Sunday, July 2nd at 10:30 am. If you are outside the state of Iowa, you can stream the video after it airs at Iptv.org/IowaEntrepreneur. …
4R’s not enough to achieve ambitious water quality goals
Mark Dorenkamp of the Brownfield Network spoke with Agren CEO Tom Buman about his recent blog post 4Rs Are Not Enough. Tom explains that the 4Rs are a start, but alone they will not reduce nutrient loss to the level required by the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy. Precision conservation practices need to also be considered and applied. Farmers can’t afford to get this wrong. 4 R’S NOT ENOUGH TO ACHIEVE AMBITIOUS WATER QUALITY GOALS By Mark Dorenkamp The CEO of a conservation-focused precision agriculture software company says the 4R …
The numbers don’t add up
Many people agree that the nitrogen problem is mostly the fault of farmers, especially since current environmental models demonstrate that agriculture is responsible for 70% of the nitrogen and phosphorus load delivered to the Gulf of Mexico. I could easily be convinced to go along with this narrative. But before piling on farmers, I wanted to take a look at the numbers. Let me share with you what I discovered and the story the numbers actually tell. As I was looking into the nitrogen numbers, I formed my own baseline – that upper Midwestern …
Happy Thanksgiving
On Thanksgiving, we give thanks for our abundant soil and water resources. Happy Thanksgiving from the staff! …
Maximizing Conservation Investments
Imagine being on the TV reality show Shark Tank. You are there asking for $5,000,000 of venture capital. Immediately after you make the request, Mark Cuban asks, "How are you going to spend the money?” You respond, “I really don’t know. I will probably keep doing what I have been doing, but only work harder; do more of the same.” It is at that point Mark Cuban’s head explodes and in unison with every other Shark Tank investor, he says “I’m out!” And who could blame them. I don’t know anyone that would invest their money into a business …