Wellman, Iowa soybean farmer Steve Berger often wondered years ago why the combine yield monitor would show a dramatic spike — 40-50 bushels per acre in corn — in productivity where a fence used to be. Turns out, there was typically twice the organic matter or more in undisturbed soil.
Berger is on a mission to “build soils back up to that fence row.”
The staunch conservationist recently joined Mike Shuter of Indiana and Travis Wilford of Minnesota on a multi-state farmer panel at the Midwest Cover Crop Conference in West Des Moines, Iowa, where they discussed their perspectives on planting cover crops.
Building organic matter was high on each of their lists.
Berger, winner of the American Soybean Association National Conservation Legacy Award at Commodity Classic, once thought no-till was the gold standard for improving soil health. That is until he found out some of his fields were still losing organic matter or not improving.
Fence rows, or where they used to be in many cases, don’t lie. - See more at: http://unitedsoybean.org/article/off-the-fence-farmers-go-all-in-with-cover-crops/#sthash.S1PMiOJk.dpuf
Fence rows, or where they used to be in many cases, don’t lie. - See more at: http://unitedsoybean.org/article/off-the-fence-farmers-go-all-in-with-cover-crops/#sthash.S1PMiOJk.dpuf
Fence rows, or where they used to be in many cases, don’t lie. - See more at: http://unitedsoybean.org/article/off-the-fence-farmers-go-all-in-with-cover-crops/#sthash.S1PMiOJk.dpuf
Fence rows, or where they used to be in many cases, don’t lie. - See more at: http://unitedsoybean.org/article/off-the-fence-farmers-go-all-in-with-cover-crops/#sthash.S1PMiOJk.dpuf
“That’s what got us into cover crops. It builds microbial activity and organic matter, and that increases yields,” Berger says.
On average, Berger says much of his farmland contains 3 percent organic matter. His fence rows average 6.5 percent.
Building organic matter is a slow process, Berger says, but worth it.
Many farmers say they’ve noticed about a 1 percent, give or take a few tenths of a percent, increase in organic matter after planting cover crops for a decade in conjunction with conservation tillage.
However, there’s little peer-reviewed research available pertaining to average organic-matter creation per acre from cover crops such as cereal rye, annual ryegrass, tillage radishes, oats and others. The Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) is working in conjunction with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the Natural Resources Conservation Service to measure soil quality and health, among other things associated with the conservation practice.
The ISA On-Farm Network® established about 60 cover-crop replicated strip trials statewide in the fall of 2014. Those will be evaluated this year. Some will be multiple-year studies.
Berger and other panelists are convinced the practice improves yields, soil health, nutrient retention and moisture-holding capacity.
“It’s one of the best management decisions we’ve made, right up there with on-farm storage and the sow unit,” Berger says.
Last year Berger says soybean yields averaged about 70 bushels per acre and corn consistently topped 230 bushels per acre. One corn field that hasn’t been tilled in 20 years averaged 261 bushels per acre.
Not every farmer achieves this type of success, though – at least not right away. Some farmers have told Berger they’ve lost 40 bushels per acre on corn after planting cover crops. Initial ISA On-Farm Network cover-crop replicated strip trial results show a mixed bag of yield losses and gains.
“We really focus on soil health. It’s our most valuable resource next to people,” Berger says.
A Michigan study shows that a 1 percent increase in organic matter will increase yields by 12 percent. Other research shows a 1 percent increase in organic matter increases water-holding capacity in soil by 25 percent and nitrogen availability by 30 pounds per acre.
Organic matter is the foundation on which sustainable cropping systems are built.
For those who aren’t convinced, Shuter showed a picture of one of his fields after a nearly 2-inch rain and a neighbor’s field across the road.
No water was standing on Shuter’s no-till ground planted in cover cropfs while water was visible everywhere in the tilled field without cover crops. Panelists say they can usually plant before those who don’t implement the practice.
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