It’s no secret that farmland is a valuable asset. Farmland carries value because of its potential to produce, whether as cropland or as land for raising livestock. But that land can only carry its value forward to future generations or future owners if it is used in a sustainable way.
That’s where conservation farming comes into play. Another term that applies is land stewardship. As farmers, landowners and even farm managers, it’s our responsibility to make sure that great care is taken to keep land in good condition so that yields can continue to produce year after year without threatening future production.
How is this accomplished? Through techniques that can reduce or slow soil and nutrient runoff, maximize water storage and to reduce soil erosion. Let’s take a closer look at some of these techniques, what they accomplish and how they could provide a great benefit not only to your farm’s current operations, but also ensure that future operations can achieve optimal success and return.
Why Conservation Farming?
Perhaps the most important questions to answer here are not what is conservation farming or how farmers implement conservation farming, but rather why you should consider conservation farming practices.
In short, it’s to preserve our most valuable resource: the land. Dig a little deeper, literally, and the answer is to preserve that black earth that this area of the Midwest is so strongly blessed with. The soil structure of Northwest Iowa and areas in surrounding areas and even into our neighboring states is incredibly valuable – and that shows in our region’s strong yields year after year for farmers and livestock producers.
Conservation farming protects that value. It can’t be put more plainly than that. So, let’s go further into the details of how to conserve our farmland.
The 3 Principles of Conservation Agriculture
Conservation farming goes by another name in some circles – conservation agriculture. By definition, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, conservation agriculture “is a farming system that promotes minimum soil disturbance (i.e. no tillage), maintenance of a permanent soil cover, and diversification of plant species.”
Conservation farming has many benefits, including enhancing biodiversity and biological processes that contribute to more water and nutrient use efficiency. These two benefits then can lead to better and more well-sustained crop production.
Now, according to the UN, there are three main principles of conservation agriculture:
- Minimum soil disturbance through direct seed and fertilization
- Permanent soil organic cover, of at least 30 percent, with cover crops or crop residue
- Diversification of crop species through various crop sequences, often having three separate crop types
Of course, those are just guidelines and may not fit your specific situation, but they are a good place to start in order to understand the basics of conservation agriculture.
What does Conservation Agriculture/Farming Accomplish?
It is important to not only understand those guidelines for conservation agriculture/farming, but also to realize why the practice is necessary.
For starters, conservation agriculture promotes beneficial agronomic practices, production technology, improves land management for rain and irrigation and it also improves crop production.
Practically speaking, conservation farming takes shape in the form of crop rotation, cover crops, cross-slope farming, buffer strips and conservation tillage. These practices together provide the following advantages:
- Crop residue left as cover
- Less soil tillage
- Less soil disturbance
- Crop rotation for restored and replenished nutrients
- Increased use of organic matter found within the soil
- Integrated pest management techniques
- Less fossil fuel usage
Each of those benefits has a direct impact on the future health of farmland and can help landowners ensure yields remain strong in years to come.
The Economic and Environmental Benefits of Conservation Farming
While the benefits of conservation farming are clear for the land itself, some may be concerned about risking economic outcomes. This is understandable, as oftentimes economic and environmental interests are at odds with each other.
But that’s not the case with conservation farming. It comes with both economic and environmental benefits that lead toward sustainability.
On the economic side, these practices can reduce labor, machinery and fuel costs in the long run and can lead to even more efficiency with lower input but higher output.
Environmentally, the benefits include:
- Less soil erosion
- Improved water quality
- Improved air quality
- More soil biodiversity
- Restored soil carbon content
An Easy Decision for Farmers
Conservation farming is a beneficial practice for farmers because it provides for both short and long-term results. While current practices may need to be adjusted, the work needed to implement those changes quickly pays off.
At the end of the day, these practices can provide better results both now and later. Sure, that may seem hard to believe, but all it takes is an expert to consult or guide you along your way to making sure you have a successful farming operation now and in the future when you are looking to either sell or pass on the farm to a future generation of ownership.
All it takes is some innovation and potentially some investment now. But that investment will certainly pay off in the long run.
How Stalcup Ag Implements Conservation Farming
Stalcup AgService strives to meet the needs of your farm. As that pertains to land, every situation is unique. This can involve some of the more traditional conservation practices, including terraces, grassed waterways and tile, which are effective when properly implemented.
However, modern equipment and the many changes it has brought along require shifts in our strategies to conserve land as effectively as possible to protect your investment in the future. As your farm manager, we will continually evaluate the effectiveness of these programs.
At Stalcup, we utilize modern technology and chemical weed control to conserve valuable soil. On our managed farms, we also work hard to protect against soil loss and improve soil structure in every way possible. Some of these techniques include contour farming, conservation tillage, no-till and strip till.
We look forward to speaking with you about how we can help you reach your farming conservation and sustainability goals. Reach out and contact us today.
