The Midwest has lost 57 billion metric tons of topsoil over the last 160 years, new study finds
Farmers till their land to prepare soil for planting, but a new study published in the journal “Earth’s Future” found topsoil in the Midwest is eroding on average nearly 2 millimeters per year. A few years ago, Isaac Larsen attended a wedding at a pioneer church in Minnesota. After the ceremony, he wandered around a […]
For Farmland Conservation, It Comes Down To Who Owns It
TOLONO — Lin Warfel puts farmland owners in central Illinois into two categories: Those with a deep connection and desire to preserve their land, and those obsessed with short-term money. The 80-year-old still owns the land that’s been in his family since his great-grandfather arrived in Champaign County in the 1800’s. After farming it […]
Study: In Becoming The Bread Basket, Midwest Contributed To Climate Change. But There’s A Solution
New research suggests that no-till farming could help mitigate climate change. A study from Iowa State University, released Monday, examined Midwest land use between 1850 to 2015. As agriculture and the practice of tilling spread, less carbon was being stored in the ground and more was going into the atmosphere. That added to the carbon […]