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1. Is Cover Crop Species Mixture and Diversity More Important at Building Soil Health than Shoot Biomass in a Semi-arid Region?Cover crop mixtures (CCMs) as partial fallow replacements have the potential to increase soil health, yet long-term studies on CCMs, especially in semi-arid environments are relatively rare. An eight-year study at two locations in semi-arid Montana sought to evaluate the effect of functional group (N fixer, tap roots, fibrous roots, brassicacae) and species richness (2, 6, and 8 species in a mix) on a range of biological, physical and chemical soil parameters. Although several soil health... P. Miller, C. Jones, C. Zabinski, K. D'agati, M. Housman, S. Tallman |
2. Cover Crop Suitability for High Altitude Specialty Crop Organic Food ProductionThere is a growing interest in certified organic, specialty crop food production. With a larger population demanding organic products and organic products offering a higher premium for the producer, farmers are exploring the transition to organic farming. Organic producers in southeatstern Wyoming face multiple challenges in environments with high elevation, low precipitation, and have a short growing season. These challenges include management of persistent weeds, maintaining biodiversity, and... E. Moore, U. Norton |
3. Dryland Organic Winter Wheat Improvement by the Inclusion of Composted Cattle Manure and Cover CropsOrganic agriculture in semi-arid environments can face several challenges in order to produce a successful crop. These include nitrogen and phosphorus deficiencies, moisture limitations, and high weed competition. Organic winter wheat (Triticum aestivum, L.)-fallow systems can be amended with composted cattle manure and with green manure from cover crops grown in the fallow phase to help increase wheat yields and quality. Cattle manure can improve soil health with the... C. Helseth, U. Norton |
4. Cover Cropping in the Semi-arid West: Effects of Termination Timing, Species, and Mixtures on Nitrogen Uptake, Yield, Soil Quality, and Economic ReturnSummer fallow still dominates some areas of the northern Great Plains (NGP), providing an opportunity to grow a partial season cover crop for increased soil health or nutrient availability. Over 12 years of research on single species cover crops in semi-arid Montana have revealed the benefits of early termination and multiple cover crop cycles on N availability, subsequent crop yield, soil health, and economic return. Due to high N fixation, pea cover crops have fairly consistently increased subsequent... C. Jones, P. Miller, S. Tallman, M. Housman, C. Zabinski, M. Burgess, J. O'dea, A. Bekkerman |
5. Effect of Nitrogen Rate and Cropping System on Soil Nutrient Levels in a Long-term StudyDiversified continuous cropping systems in semi-arid regions of the northern Great Plains may enhance sustainability. A study initiated in 2000 in southwest Montana was designed to evaluate crop productivity and economic returns for no- till and organic rotations that included small grains, pulses, and oilseeds. Our specific objective presented here was to compare soil nutrient differences from 2004 to 2012, to learn if economically superior rotations were building or depleting soil nutrients.... C. Jones, P. Miller, T. Rick, A. Mccauley |
6. Measured and Predicted Temporal Changes in Soil Nitrate-n Levels from Late Summer to Early Spring in MontanaMost soil sampling is conducted from August to November in Montana because of better soil sampling conditions and because it provides more time for growers to make fertilizer decisions prior to application. Fertilizer guidelines in Montana are based on spring nitrate-N levels in the upper 2 ft because they are more indicative of growing season available N than fall nitrate-N levels. It is not known how much nitrate-N levels change between late summer and spring, nor is it known what factors affect... C. Jones, A. Lenssen, C. Chen, K. Mcvay, B. Stougaard, M. Westcott, J. Eckhoff, J. Weeding, M. Greenwood |
7. Phosphorus Dynamics in Organic Matter-amended SoilsGenerally, phosphorus (P) is considered immobile in calcareous soils. Yet, numerous studies have found that the addition of organic wastes (e.g. manures) can enhance P mobility in these soils. We believe that the soluble organic matter present in these wastes increases P solubility by inhibiting the sorption of inorganic P on soil colloidal surfaces and subsequently preventing the formation of insoluble calcium phosphates. This results in increased P bioavailability. Likewise, tests used to assess... P. Grossl, R. Koenig, C. Jones, S. Trolove |
8. Economic Model to Determine Optimum Nitrogen Rates for Small GrainsNitrogen (N) fertilizer is generally the highest input cost for Montana grain growers; therefore, it has become imperative that a tool be developed to assist crop advisers and farmers in determining economically optimum N rates (EONR). Data from all available MSU-conducted N fertility trials were gathered for spring wheat, winter wheat, and barley. Only the data sets for dryland fields following fallow were deemed large enough to have confidence in any resulting models, and all other data were... C. Jones, D. Griffith, G. Jackson |
9. Tillage Effects on Phosphorus AvailabilityVertical stratification of phosphorus (P) has been documented in both no-till and reduced tillage systems, yet very few studies have determined if this stratification has affected P uptake, and none of these studies have been conducted in Montana. Stratification of P was compared in 1.2 in layers in a small plot study composed of four tillage systems: long-term conventional (sweep) till (CT), 10-yr no-till (NT), 1-yr NT and 1-yr CT. Olsen P was measured in the upper 12 in., and a sequential extraction... C. Jones, K. Neill, C. Chen, E. Allison |
10. Flushed Liquid Dairy Manure Solid Particle and Nutrient DistributionsLarge dairies often use liquid manure handling systems because of their ease of mechanization and low labor requirements. Some of Idaho Magic Valley dairies use flushing systems that result in large amounts of liquid dairy manure that are applied via irrigation systems to adjacent cropland during the growing season. Solids and nutrients found in liquid dairy manure pose challenges to manure handling processes and cause environmental concerns. Separating solids and nutrients from liquid dairy manure... L. Chen, K. Kruger |
11. Evaluation of Soil Sulfur Tests for MontanaThere are no sulfur (S) fertilizer rate guidelines in Montana due to inconsistent yield responses, high S soil levels in many regions, a minimal number of S fertility trials in the state, and the lack of Montana and regional data that identify the best soil S tests to use. A study was initiated in 2023 to fill this research void. Three crops (spring canola, pea, and wheat) were grown at three sites, and fertilized with 0, 7.5, 15, and 30 lb S/ac using two S sources (potassium sulfate, gypsum)... C. Jones, P. Miller, P. Carr, S. Koeshall, S. Fordyce, J. Souza, J. Vetch |
12. Ammonia Recovery from Anaerobically Digested Dairy Wastewater Facilitated by In-situ Acid and Base Generation in a Transmembrane Electro-chemisorption SystemNitrogen (N) is essential for living organisms and is a critical element in agricultural production. Ammonia (NH₃), a vital component in the nitrogen cycle, can be produced naturally by nitrogen-fixing bacteria or artificially through the energy-intensive Haber-Bosch process. Anaerobically digested dairy wastewater (ADDW) could contain high concentrations of ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) due to the conversion of organic N into NH3-N during the anaerobic digestion process. Ammonia... A.K. Das, L. Chen |
13. Hydrothermal Carbonization of Dairy Manure for Phosphorus Recovery and Runoff Risk Mitigation: Effect of Temperature and CaO AdditionDairy manure contains a significant amount of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N), which are essential for soil fertility and crop productivity, but are currently underutilized due to ammonia emissions, P runoff and leaching, and manure N to P ratios do not match crop nutrient needs. Meanwhile, there is a growing concern about P depletion as a non-renewable resource. To address both the excessive use of synthetic P fertilizers and inefficiently direct use of dairy manure, a logical strategy is to... M. Islam, B. He, L. Chen |