Andy Benson has no topsoil to waste.
Ryan Frieders farms some of the best soils in the country.
Both farmers are managing their soil resources with the same long-term objective: keeping their acres productive while getting more benefit out of the inputs they already buy.
U.S. Cropping Farms Are Similar Yet Unique
Benson farms 3,500 to 4,000 acres of corn, soybeans and wheat in west-central Wisconsin on what he describes as glacial till. The ground is gravelly and highly erodible, with limited topsoil.
“We’re not blessed with deep topsoils up here,” Benson says. “We have to really, really watch our natural resource carefully, so we don’t lose what little we have.”
Frieders farms roughly 1,800 acres in DeKalb, DuPage and Kendal counties in Illinois, where deep prairie soils provide an enviable production base. His concern is less about starting with too little and more about maintaining what he has.
“We’ve made it our goal to make sure that long term the soils are in as good a shape or better shape than they are now,” Frieders says.
The two farmers joined AgriTalk Host Chip Flory recently to discuss their respective soil-health work and promote the American Soybean Association Conservation Legacy Awards program. Learn more at SoyGrowers.com
Economics Drive Conservation Decisions
Neither farmer is building a conservation system for the sake of having a conservation label. They say practices have to fit their rotation, equipment, weather and, ultimately, their economic needs.
Benson has made wheat an important part of that equation.
Planting wheat after soybeans gives him time to establish a longer-season cover crop. Rather than simply putting out a cereal grain for fall cover, he mixes in legumes and brassicas.
The additional growth gives him more root mass and ground cover while helping suppress weeds. It also gives him a nitrogen source for the following corn crop.
Benson says he typically gets 60 to 80 pounds of nitrogen from the cover crop.
“Especially this year when you look at the price of N, I mean that’s a big influence on our budget,” he says, noting the number quickly adds up across 3,500 acres.
Benson also strip-tills into living clover, placing fertilizer while leaving the cover crop’s root system largely intact.
He says the system is doing several jobs at once: protecting fragile soil, competing with weeds and reducing the amount of nitrogen needed for corn.
That’s a very different proposition from adding a practice that delivers one conservation benefit and another bill.
Keep Topsoil In The Field
Frieders’ approach begins with keeping soil and nutrients where they belong.
His farm has invested in filter strips around creeks and waterways and in maintaining those waterways so they can handle runoff.
“We’ve been pretty successful at keeping the soil in the fields,” he says.
That’s especially important when heavy rain hits long slopes.
Root systems from previous crops help hold soil together. Waterways give runoff a controlled path off the field. The combination has helped keep topsoil from becoming somebody else’s sediment problem.
Frieders has also been pulling back on conventional tillage.
“We’ve learned over the years that the more we can keep the soil profile intact, and the less we disturb it, the healthier it becomes,” he notes.
He’s seen more biological activity and improved soil structure as tillage has declined.
The payoff shows up when weather conditions turn ugly. Better-structured soil has more opportunity to take in heavy rainfall and also retain moisture when the weather turns dry.
Frieders’ nutrient program also predates the recent surges in fertilizer prices.
His farm has been grid soil testing for about 25 years, starting with 2.5-acre grids and moving toward finer sampling where the added information can improve his decisions.
“Reducing our nutrient runoff and improving our nutrient efficiency is top of mind on every decision we make on the farm,” Frieders says.
The objective isn’t simply to cut synthetic fertilizer use. He’s trying to put nutrients where they will produce the best return.
Genetics and technology have helped keep yields moving, too.
“We’re moving forward on the farm, not backwards,” he says.
No One-Size-Fits-All Program Or Plan
Benson and Frieders say they aren’t offering a recipe for soil management that can be simply applied to other farming operations. Instead, the common thread is how they approach their individual farm’s needs.
“The principles of soil health and the principles of soil conservation work universally,” Benson says.
The practices don’t have to look or be the same.
For Benson, wheat and covers help make that case through nitrogen, weed suppression and soil protection.
For Frieders, grid sampling, reduced tillage, waterways and filter strips are helping him protect productive ground and use inputs more precisely.
Different farms, different tools, same end goal: keep soils productive, inputs working and sufficient ROI that can keep each of them and their families farming long into the future.
Benson and Frieders joined AgriTalk Host Chip Flory recently to discuss the American Soybean Association Conservation Legacy Awards. They want to encourage farmers already doing the work on soil health and conservation to step forward and tell their stories. They believe showcasing real-world practices from different regions not only recognizes those farmers, but also sparks new ideas others can take home to their own operations. Farmers can apply online at SoyGrowers.com.
Hear the complete conversation with Chip Flory on AgriTalk at the link below:
