Many methods and products available
By Diego Flammini, Farms.com
The spring thaw is just about to start.
Sunshine covers your crop fields as the last reminders of winter are slowly removed to expose the soil that’s been in hibernation.
As the snow melts and snakes its way through the fields, it picks up sediments of soil, pesticides and other things on the soil’s surface and runs off – sometimes into a sewer drain and possibly into the city’s water supply.
The United States National Library of Medicine suggests a federal report said “polluted agricultural runoff is the leading source of water pollution in rivers and lakes.”
There are many practices and products available for farmers to consider in the hopes of minimizing the amount of runoff and also keeping those usable nutrients on the fields.
Some ways to manage runoff include using cover crops, practice strip cropping, using better irrigation techniques, furrow management, install grass waterways and practice contour farming.
Contour farming, as described by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture is growing crops “across or perpendicular to a slope rather than up and down the slope.”
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations suggests soil conditioners could help with runoff because soil conditioners can develop a chemical bond with materials in the soil.
Farmers can also search the Environmental Protection Agency’s website for grants and loans to be used for watershed protection.
Join the conversation and tell us the kinds of measures you take to protect water from any runoff and how farmers might be able to improve them in the future.