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![South Dakota agricultural landscape painted with Spring colors and a setting Sun.](/sites/default/files/2020-03/W-00520-00-agriculture-land-crops-livestock-fields-road.jpg)
Cash Flow is Critical
Strong business management skills and systems do not go out of style in times of uncertainty. These skills will help the business work through downturns in commodity prices. Cash flow budget accuracy is critical in developing and controlling the business.
![A man inspecting a field with salty soil.](/sites/default/files/2020-03/W-00521-00-salty-soils-saline-field-marginal-land-eac.jpg)
Perennial Solutions for Alkali Areas
Reclaiming marginal lands, especially those considered saline or sodic can be very challenging and may take many years to accomplish. The key to turning around salt or alkali areas in your fields, begins with getting a living root established in the affected area.
![Gibberella ear rot and Fusarium spp. symptoms on two corn ears.](/sites/default/files/2019-10/W-00429-00-corn-ear-rotsgiberella-fusarium.jpg)
Gibberella and Fusarium Ear Rots Developing in Corn
Corn ear rots are one of the last diseases to scout for in the corn growing season, and sometimes they are ignored or forgotten entirely. Ear rots can cause yield loss in the form of grain quality at harvest, but also cause losses during storage.
![A group of cattle grazing on crop residue.](/sites/default/files/2019-10/W-00430-00-crop-livestock-integration-cattle-corn-grazing.jpg)
Farm Practices That Improve Soil Health: Integrated Crop-Livestock Systems
An integrated crop-livestock system can provide an alternative management strategy that benefits producer’s income, soil health, and the environment—all while increasing production.
![A field with patches of soil exhibiting poor water infiltration.](/sites/default/files/2019-10/W-00431-01-cover-crops-field-water-infiltration.jpg)
Farm Practices That Improve Soil Health: Cover Crops and Crop Residues
Planting cover crops and returning crop residues (stover) to the soil both adds nutrients and improves overall soil quality. These practices are common with producers across South Dakota and have been recently studied by researchers to identify how they impact the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
![A patch of switchgrass growing at the edge of a field.](/sites/default/files/2019-10/W-00432-01-switchgrass-soil-health-field.jpg)
Farm Practices That Improve Soil Health: Planting Switchgrass on Marginal Lands
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) is a tall, native, prairie grass that is often seeded on marginal lands in South Dakota. It has gained growing popularity over the past decade not only as a source of biofuel and feed, but also as a method to improve soil properties.
![A green tractor planting seeds in a no-till field. Courtesy: United Soybean Board [CC BY 2.0] via Flickr](/sites/default/files/2019-10/W-00433-00-no-till-planting-soybeans-field.jpg)
Farm Practices That Improve Soil Health: Crop Rotations and No-Till
Implementing diverse crop rotations and no-till practices are common suggestions to reduce erosion, control pests, and improve yields. These practices can also improve soil health through an increase in soil carbon levels.
![A pair of hands wearing garden gloves holding tomatoes. A white text overlay reads "2018 Farm Bill." This image is courtesy of the USDA Farm Service Agency.](/sites/default/files/2020-01/W-00468-00-2018-farm-bill.jpg)
Time to Sign up for 2018 Farm Bill
This winter it is time to study up on the Farm Bill elections and make an appointment with the local Farm Service Agency (FSA) in order to put the program in place for the farm. The deadline to make the election is March 15, 2020.
![A drop of dew on a green leaf.](/sites/default/files/2020-01/W-00470-00-water-dew-leaf-spraying.jpg)
How to Choose the Right Adjuvant for the Job
With the rise of herbicide-resistant weeds, the use of an adjuvants is also on the rise and may be necessary to help control resistant weeds.
![A field of standing corn covered in snow.](/sites/default/files/2020-02/W-00472-01-corn-standing-winter-snow.jpg)
Standing Corn Considerations
The January 2020 South Dakota Crop Progress Report indicated four percent of S.D. corn acres remain in the field. Given the record rainfall of 2019, current snow pack levels and the 3-to-6-month precipitation forecasts, farmers will likely be dealing with a wet spring in 2020, thus making the removal of those acres important but hard to accomplish.