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Farming Systems Study for Greenhouse gas Reduction through Agricultural Carbon Enhancement network in Morris, Minnesota

    Tillage is decreasing globally due to recognized benefits of fuel savings and improved soil health in the absence of disturbance. However, a perceived inability to control weeds effectively and economically hinders no-till adoption in organic production systems in the Upper Midwest, USA. A strip-tillage (ST) strategy was explored as an intermediate approach to reducing fuel use and soil disturbance, and still controlling weeds. An 8-year comparison was made between two tillage approaches, one primarily using ST the other using a combination of conventional plow, disk and chisel tillage [conventional tillage (CT)].

    Swan Lake Research Farm Weather Station LTAR UMRB-Morris Minnesota

      The United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) North Central Soil Conservation Research Laboratory - Soil Management Unit established a weather data collection system at the Swan Lake Research Farm in 1997. Weather data collected include wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, relative humidity, air temperature, soil temperatures, soil heat flux, solar radiation, photosynthetic active radiation, and precipitation. In 2015 the site became part of the Long Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) project. The Swan Lake Research Farm is located in Stevens County Minnesota, in the Upper Mississippi River Basin (UMRB) watershed.

      Carbon Crops Study for Greenhouse gas Reduction through Agricultural Carbon Enhancement network and Resilient Economic Agricultural Practices in Morris, Minnesota

        The overall goal of the Carbon Crop study, established in 2000, was to assess strategies for increasing soil C sequestration including converting to no till systems and including perennial grasses (e.g., switchgrass and big bluestem) Overall, the goal of the study has remained constant, although individual treatments were changed after an incremental soil sampling, in response to new hypotheses and questions.

        On-Farm Residue Removal Study for Resilient Economic Agricultural Practices in Morris, Minnesota

          Interest in harvesting crop residues for energy has waxed and waned since the oil embargo of 1973. Since the at least the late 1990’s interest has been renewed due to concern of peak oil, highly volatile natural gas prices, replacing fossil fuel with renewable sources and a push for energy independence. The studies conducted on harvesting crop residues during the 1970’s and1980’s focused primarily on erosion risk and nutrient removal as a result early estimates of residue availability focused on erosion control.

          Alternative Biomass Production Study for Resilient Economic Agricultural Practices in Morris, Minnesota

            The Tillage Study was established in 1997 to assess the effect of a variety of tillage intensities on soil C. The initial eight treatments included no-tillage, moldboard + disk tillage, chisel tillage, and fall and spring residue management, with or without strip-tillage and strip-tillage + subsoiling (Archer and Reicosky, 2009). In 2004, treatments were reduced to no-tillage, moldboard tillage, and fall and spring residue management without strip-tillage, but all had an early or late planting date. The last comprehensive set of soil samples were collected in 2006.

            Transforming Drainage Research Data (USDA-NIFA Award No. 2015-68007-23193)

              This dataset contains research data compiled by the “Managing Water for Increased Resiliency of Drained Agricultural Landscapes” project a.k.a. Transforming Drainage (https://transformingdrainage.org). These data began in 1996 and include plot- and field-level measurements for 39 experiments across the Midwest and North Carolina. Practices studied include controlled drainage, drainage water recycling, and saturated buffers. In total, 219 variables are reported and span 207 site-years for tile drainage, 154 for nitrate-N load, 181 for water quality, 92 for water table, and 201 for crop yield.

              Agricultural land use by field: Minnesota 2010-2019

                This database is structured around individual farm fields as the unit of record, providing a framework that enables land use to be assessed at the same scale that agricultural land uses shift, at an annual time step, and at the scale at which conservation practices are implemented. It is beneficial to document agricultural land cover and its rates of change to understand responses of watershed, landscape, and agroecosystem processes to changes in land use and to identify viable approaches that can be customized for local adoption and mitigate environmental impacts from agricultural production.