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Making holiday travel manageable for those with a chronic health issue; University presidents testify on the rise of anti-semitism on college campuses; Tommy Tuberville's blockade on military promotions is mostly over.

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Sen. Tommy Tuberville ends his hold on military promotions, the Senate's leadership is divided on a House Border Bill and college presidents testify about anti-semitism on campus.

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Texas welcomes more visitors near Big Bend but locals worry the water won't last, those dependent on Colorado's Dolores River fear the same but have found common ground solutions, and a new film highlights historical healthcare challenges in rural Appalachia.

Old Idea in Farming Made New to Reduce Pesticides, Chemical Fertilizers

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Monday, June 13, 2016   

POLK CITY, Iowa - Because pests like fields where the same thing grows year after year, growing oats and other small grains while the main crop takes some time off can keep pests from coming back.

The practice of small-grain crop rotation has been reintroduced by a few organic growers in Iowa, such as Lehman Farms Limited in Polk County.

Farmer Aaron Lehman says it's an old idea farmers got away from, but its time has returned.

"As we got better and better at growing corn and soybeans with industrial inputs like anhydrous ammonia fertilizer and sprays for weed control," he says. "We kind of got away from using oats."

Lehman says the key is to grow the other crops, usually oats and clover, for a full year to make sure pests don't have a place to return to. It's also good for crops, and the land, in other ways.

"So by breaking it up and having this longer rotation, hopefully we can control weeds," he says. "We can control pests, and we can control diseases without using the chemical methods."

Lehman also says this idea isn't just for organic agriculture and it can work at home.

"These are things that we ought to be using all the way down to the garden level," Lehman says. "That we'll see the results in the garden by having a longer rotation, by moving those crops around. So I think it can work at all levels."

Lehman's demonstrating small grain crop rotation techniques for organic farmers and gardeners at his farm next Monday in Polk County.

It's part of Practical Farmers of Iowa's series of "Field Day" events for anyone with an interest in low-impact farming.




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