Crop research

It s not a popular crop in our area yet but it could be soon At the USDA s Research Conference in Mandan producers are learning more about growing biofuel crops Research Agronomist Quingwu Xue says biofuels have alot to offer but also some challenges Like how to achieve high yields finding other species besides switchgrass to grow and how to grow them Plus biofuels have to compete for acres against popular food crops and livestock forages But it might all be worth it in the long run if we can decrease our dependence on foreign oils Quingwu Xue Research Agronomist andamp quot We don t want our atmosphere with carbon dioxide incrase to rapidly by using the fossill fuels so we have to use renewable fuels ot stabilize our carbon dioxie emissions andamp quot As more and more producers switch to no-till there is more and more crop residue on our fields But can we use that crop residue or remove any of it and still maintain soil productivity The USDA is starting a new study to try and answer some questions Dave Archer USDA Ag Economist andamp quot Those are the questions that we are interested in Really how much can you remove and what can it be used for and what does it cost You are removing residues there are nutrients going off what does it cost to replace those how does it fit into your overall cropping system andamp quot This is the conference s 25th year