Utilizing conservation practices to improve soil health is nothing new for farmers in Nebraska. Many were early adopters of no-till to preserve moisture and protect soils from wind erosion.
Now they’re taking those practices to the next level, according to Neil Dominy, Assistant State Conservationist for Partnerships, Nebraska Natural Resource Conservation Service. He says that includes integrating cover crops. “We’re seeing quite a few producers now that are planting green. So, they’re planting right into our green cover crops and them terminating them at a later date. So, they’re really trying to get the most out of the cover crops as possible,” he says. Plus, the cover crops can provide some forage for livestock producers to take some pressure off their pastures.
Dominy says many producers also use those cover crops for weed control. “Definitely there’s some folks out there that totally believe in the weed suppression potential with rolling some of these taller cover crops like rye and triticale and other things, where they’re able to just lay that flat and it does provide some really nice weed suppression. So, it reduces their cost from chemical controls.”
Farmers are also reducing other input costs as they build carbon and organic matter in the soil through soil health principles. Dominy says, “Once a system has been in a cover cropping, no-till system there are some of the early innovators and early adopters that are seeing the real nutrient benefits of bringing in all of the additional carbon into the soil and crops are doing well with less inputs.”
Dominy says over time these soil health methods sequester carbon and improve the microclimate of the land. He says, “So if we can promote no-tillage, so there’s no loss of carbon during the tillage events. If we can promote continuous living roots in the system we’re going to continually be processing, putting photosynthesis in place, putting carbon back in the ground, nutrient exchange. All that is always better.”
He says farmers won’t see results overnight, it may take three to five years to achieve higher yields and reap big economic returns from these soil health practices, but the longer-term benefits are worth it.
