Lloyd Murdock grew up in Oklahoma, earned his PhD in soils at Virginia Tech, and found his way to the University of Kentucky while stationed at nearby Fort Knox. He has spent more than four decades there as Extension Soils Specialist, and is now Professor Emeritus at the UK Research and Education Center in Princeton, Kentucky.
Lloyd helped make no-till wheat standard practice in Kentucky. He also contributed research behind the soil penetrometer and developed an algorithm for variable-rate nitrogen in wheat. For the past decade or more, he has focused on breaking down fragipan soils with annual ryegrass. He still consults with farmers.
In this episode, John and Lloyd discuss:
- Why fragipans leave many eastern U.S. crops growing on just two feet of soil above a concrete-like layer.
- How annual ryegrass roots break down the fragipan at 3/4 of an inch to 2 1/2 inches per year.
- A farmer who broke through more than a foot of fragipan with only four ryegrass crops in seven years.
- How most roots stall above 300 psi of soil resistance, and why annual ryegrass can push through.
- Why subsoiling only pays when more than 30% of a field has significant compaction.
- How Kentucky’s state average wheat yield climbed from the 40s to 70 bushels by doing small things right.
- Why many farmers fear annual ryegrass, and how drones make fall seeding into standing crops easier.
- How chlorophyll sensors and a high-nitrogen reference strip help fine-tune wheat nitrogen rates.
Additional Resources
To read the University of Kentucky’s guide to fragipan remediation with annual ryegrass, please visit: https://publications.mgcafe.uky.edu/agr-250
To learn more about Lloyd’s fragipan research, please visit: https://news.mgcafe.uky.edu/article/researchers-believe-fragipan-breakthrough-horizon
To read about Dave Fischer’s annual ryegrass system at Fischer Farms, please visit: https://www.agproud.com/articles/46700-beef-on-rye-at-fischer-farms
Learn more about AEA: https://www.advancingecoag.com
About John Kempf
John Kempf is the founder of Advancing Eco Agriculture (AEA). A top expert in biological and regenerative farming, John founded AEA in 2006 to help fellow farmers by providing the education, tools, and strategies that will have a global effect on the food supply and those who grow it.
Through intense study and the knowledge gleaned from many industry leaders, John is building a comprehensive systems-based approach to plant nutrition – a system solidly based on the sciences of plant physiology, mineral nutrition, and soil microbiology.
Support For This Show & Helping You Grow
Since 2006, AEA has been on a mission to help growers become more resilient, efficient, and profitable with regenerative agriculture. AEA works directly with growers to apply its unique line of liquid mineral crop nutrition products and biological inoculants. Informed by cutting-edge plant and soil data-gathering techniques, AEA’s science-based programs empower farm operations to meet the crop quality markers that matter the most.
AEA has created real and lasting change on millions of acres with its products and data-driven services by working hand-in-hand with growers to produce healthier soil, stronger crops, and higher profits.
Beyond working on the ground with growers, AEA leads in regenerative agriculture media and education, producing and distributing the popular and highly-regarded Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, inspiring webinars, and other educational content that serve as go-to resources for growers worldwide.
Learn more about AEA’s regenerative programs and products: https://www.advancingecoag.com