For the Krueger family, stewarding their Indiana land is a matter of legacy.
In 1994, Walter Krueger was named 1994 Master Farm Conservationist of the Year and said this in his acceptance speech: “God has made a good Earth, and it’s my responsibility to help protect what God has given us.”
Three generations later, Walter’s great-grandson Aaron continues that legacy. After graduating from Purdue University, Krueger returned to the family farm tired of seeing muddy rainwater and soil erosion. He knew the key to success was investment in his farm’s soil health.
Connecting Legacy to Stewardship
He began by implementing cover crops throughout his operation, which he called a learning curve.
After a lot of trial and error, he believes that he has finally landed on a cover crop mixture that optimizes his potential for success in his cash crops, which include corn, soybeans and cereal rye.
“Wheat is a good starter program for a cover crop, but it likes to put on roots when it flowers, which is problematic,” Krueger says. “My advice is to look beyond just wheat into rye and a mixture.”
Like most growers, Krueger says he experiments with his cover crop mix, but mostly chooses to stay with a grass, legume and brassica trident. His preferred mix ahead of corn includes four total legumes because they are easy to plant into, making it easy to plant into green, which is important for continuous soil cover.
Peas as his main legume, Krueger says, works well because peas produce a lot of biomass that is easily degradable.
Connecting Cover Crops to the Bottom Line
While cover crops are an investment, they also provide ways to save on other farm inputs and management needs. For Krueger, keeping his cover crop going throughout the season provides many benefits, including maintaining soil temperature and reducing inputs.
“Since we’ve started using more peas and vetch in our cover crop mix, we’ve been weaning our nitrogen use back,” he says. “And we aren’t using as many herbicides and fungicides because keeping your soil covered helps to suppress disease.”
Connecting Farm Data to Market Opportunity
Krueger knows that cover crops are paying off because he regularly does soil tests that yield him valuable data. The data from those tests are critical to him making better operational decisions on his farm, but it also can unlock additional market opportunity.
In addition to soil health data, farmers across the U.S. are using precision data to monetize premiums. Through Farm Journal’s Connected Ag Project, farmers like Aaron are connected with the financial and technical assistance needed to make their data work as hard as they do.
“Farmers in all sectors can use data to enhance their operations – consider dairy farmers using wearable cow sensors or automated manure management,” says Andrew Lyon, director of technical assistance at Farm Journal. “This information not only allows farmers to steward their land and resources better, but it creates an opportunity for them to work with their buyers to monetize that information into higher premiums through access to Net Zero initiatives through major dairy cooperatives and retailers.”
“Transparency is a currency that the supply chain is willing to monetize,” he adds. “With the Connected Ag Project, farmers can gain access to the practices and record-keeping needed to capture these opportunities.”
The Connected Ag Project links farmers in any sector to these market opportunities by providing financial and technical assistance to implement practices and gather digital data.
Learn more about Farm Journal’s Connected Ag Project and how it can connect your conservation and data to opportunity by visiting https://www.trustinfood.com/connectedagproject/.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, under agreement number NR233A750004G096
