Flip Your Soil: Farmers in Dry Climates use Holistic Approach to Soil Health Including Cover Crops

Many larger farmers or those in strictly corn, soybean rotations are apprehensive about using cover crops to Flip their Soil, and that is especially true for farmers in drier climates.  However, in Nebraska farmers have been successful at using cover crop for years where their most limiting factor is precipitation. 

Adam Heskett farms near Culbertson, Nebraska and uses cover crops as part of a holistic system to promote soil health that also including using no-till and diverse rotations including sorghum.  He says, "The value that it can add to our soils is through really adding residue or crop residue to the soil, so we don't have as much evaporation because that’s big in this dry environment, but also new to me and I guess going forward is the carbon component of grain sorghum and being able to maybe capture some of those benefits as well."

He also uses a variety of cover crop mixes which he says can catch snow in the winter, but even in drought years, helps to retain moisture in the soil.  Heskett says, "The dry years Well, the dry years the benefit that I've seen is through reduced evaporation and transpiration. So, when we have something covering the soil like we see out here, if we have a blanket residue across that we're not going to have the open pan evaporation that we experience from these open soils."

Heskett says cover crops create a habitat for pollinators, and for wildlife, and they decrease wind erosion.   They also capture moisture, especially during heavy rain events, and allow it to better infiltrate the soil to get down deep to the crop roots.  "As far as benefits to the soil, soil health, organic matter. We're out in one or 2% organic matter soils. So, trying to raise those for better soil health, better water penetration when we get a rainfall event." 

Cover crops have also lowered his input costs.  They provide weed suppression to lower herbicide use and the right mix can build specific soil nutrients, decreasing fertilizer use.  Heskett says, "We saw our phosphorus levels increase and part of that is the recycling of nutrients and bringing that nutrient that maybe was tied up into our soils."   He adds that’s good risk management in the current market environment, and it improves his ROI.   "The high yields, yeah they’re there but what I noticed from the fertility side, we’re also seeing the benefits of reduced inputs.  So, it doesn’t always have to be high yields, you can have a better return on investment."

Heskett has integrated livestock onto his cover crops and corn and sorghum stalks in the fall to take advantage of the manure.  He says this holistic approach has made his operation more sustainable than when he began farming 20 years ago and will continue to improve until his son takes over. 

 

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