A fact sheet was prepared “LSP’s Root River Initiative: Engaging Farmers & Landowners Around Continuous Living Cover,” based on the presentation noted below. LSP-root_river_fact_sheet
Blog. “Cover Crops”: The Hardest Step is the 1st One. Caroline van Schaik • October 19, 2016 https://landstewardshipproject.org/posts/888
Case study Part A, Podcast: “Ear to the Ground 192: Healthy Soil, Healthy Profits.” Olaf Haugen. A dairy farmer finds more microbes in the soil means more money in the bank. https://landstewardshipproject.org/posts/979
Scenario 2, Podcast: “Ear to the Ground 189: A Farm Flourishes When the Soil Flourishes.” Rick Bieber describes how building soil health saved his farm from financial ruin. https://landstewardshipproject.org/posts/939
Root River area: July 27, 2015. Three farmers in LSP’s southeastern Minnesota Cover Crops Network shared their experiments with cover crops, what didn’t work and what they learned from it. About 40 people attended.
Shakopee Creek: A small walking tour was held in early August 2015. The corn was about head high. There were 6 farmers and 3 ag professionals, and it focused on nitrogen management, bringing up cover crops as a nitrogen scavenging strategy, alongside some soil monitoring techniques. The use of a drone for crop monitoring was also demonstrated.
Root River area: Sept. 28-29, 2016. Participants visited 2 different farms on each of 2 days (4 sites total) to learn first-hand from each host farmer about soil health in action via short season corn, cover crop mixes that work, seeding conditions, the use of double-cropping to make cover crops pay for themselves, cover crops for weed suppression, role of livestock, field goals, fertility measurements and the Haney Soil Health test, and the importance of goals and constant cover for farm and soil stability. The events were designed to be farmer-centric though we also benefited from the able knowledge of NRCS soil scientist Dan Nath and UM Extension forage specialist Jim Paulson. Hosts – all members of LSP’s Haney Soil Health Project and the Cover Crops Network – were well prepared with LSP help, and after several opportunities to speak about their research and observations, their development as leader/spokesmen was evident from the beginning of this grant cycle to its end. How many people attended? 10-20 each day
Cover Crop Network meetings in southeastern Minnesota. We hosted winter cover crop meetings built around research farmer needs first and then open to the public; both were advertised on-line and in area newspapers, including the regional ag press. Some 35 farmers attended the public component of the December 2016 winter Cover Crops Network meeting, when host farmers each spoke about aspects of their research. Several attended December 2015 meeting and it was covered by Agri News.
We advertised for the September 2016 and December events via the press, social media, web sites, and postcard mailings.
Agri-News-cover-July-27-2015-event. Janet Kubat Willette. “Cover Crops: ‘Oops’ leads to learning”. Page B1. Covering Cover Crop Network field day on July 27, 2015. Uploaded as Agri News cover July 27,2015 event.pdf
Agri-News-page-1-Dec-cc-mtg-Dec-10-2015. Janet Kubat Willette. “Cover Crops: We are really learning.” Page B. Covering Cover Crop Network public meeting on December 10, 2015. Uploaded as Agri News page 1 Dec cc mtg Dec 10, 2105.pdf
Agri-News-cover-Sept-29-2016-event Brita Moore. “Soil: A farm’s no 1 investment”. Page B1. Covering Cover Crop Network field days on September 28-29,2016. Uploaded as Agri News cover Sept 29,2016 event.pdf
Sept28-29-earned-press11.17.16-Page-12. Jill Veerkamp. “Land Stewardship Project Field Tour Examines Effects of Cover Crops on Soil Health.” Page 12. Covering Cover Crop Network field days on September 28-29,2016. Uploaded as Sept28-29 earned press 11.17.16 Page 12.pdf
A presentation was given in February 2017 at the Trout Unlimited 2017 Driftless Symposium’s watershed management session. It was called “A System of Engagement: striving for perennial cover by watershed farmers and landowners,” the visuals for that presentation are attached. Uploaded as LSP Driftless System of Engagement Feb 8, 2017.pdf or https://landstewardshipproject.org/stewardshipfood/rootriverwatershed Case-Study-OH-and-workshop-LSL-2017-OH
LSP staff assisted project cooperators through on-farm visits about cover crop seed, Haney soil test sampling and field-day planning.
In the Root River Watershed, biological monitoring results helped the participating farmers along with a wider network learn about soil biology and bigger, deeper reasons for covering the soil for more than 4 months/yr. The three southeast Minnesota farmers were members of LSP’s Cover Crop Network, using the Haney Soil Test.
In the Shakopee, the learning outcome was that the farmer who continued in 2016 and beyond has been motivated to experiment and has gotten excited about the challenge of working with cover crops.
Another farmer did not feel that the annual forage using tillage radishes provided enough benefit, either in yield or diversity of feed, to offset the costs of seed, field time with tillage and planting, and the loss of one year of perennial hay in his rotation. He felt that it was more economically and environmentally sound to increase his hay field rotation to 3 years.
Five of the six farmers in two distinct Minnesota regions field-tested a tillage radish mix as a soil conditioner or forage/ early-season corn to establish a timely tillage radish mix cover crop in the fall.
At least 30 additional farmers and landowners attended field days and thus better understand the critical role of healthy soil on their farm profitability and resilience in the face of climate change.
Farmers in this project have spoken publicly at field days and winter workshops through SARE and other funds to help others consider cover crops as a viable rotation after seeing research sites and local data. A survey of cover crop network participants took place in Year 1 and again in Year 2 in the Root that indicates growing conviction in the value of cover crops and greater interest in pursuing them.
At least four farmers continued to use cover crops in 2016. In the Root, 3 farmers used cover crops for two seasons.
A cover crop network was established is southeastern Minnesota as part of the project. In the Shakopee farmers were invited to participate in a Cover Crops Network in the larger Chippewa River Watershed. Both networks met at least twice each year for soil health education, peer support and network farmer exchanges related to seed, equipment, and practices that incorporate longer rotations into cash crops and livestock operations of a variety of sizes.
Several articles appeared in publications about this project, helping to show that cover crops build soil and farm profitability by changing cultural practices around tillage, livestock grazing, corn seed selection, and soil rest periods. These include earned press, Land Stewardship Letter articles, blogs, and a letter to the editor by one of the Root farmers.
In the Shakopee creek watershed, the impacts included helping one farmer move past his comfort zone. There was no noticeable impact on compaction or drainage, however not only did the radishes establish poorly, but this was a dry fall and spring and there was no moisture pressure. The best impact was that the farmer who is continued in 2016 and beyond has been motivated to experiment and has gotten excited about the challenge.
In the Root River watershed, we saw an evolution among farmers moving from a desire to be told what cover crops to plant and by when, to a more courageous can-do attitude. An end-of-project review reflected a remarkable commitment to the benefits of cover crops, a certain unsureness about the merits of one species versus a mix, plans for next year, and an almost unanimous eagerness to meet again. In contrast, the initial review at the start of the project (and including other farmers participating in cover crop work with separate funds) reflected a mixed understanding of the benefits of cover crops and a general interest in doing something different with them. Participants then were largely unsure about the merits of multi-species planting versus a single cover crop; they were largely eager for additional gatherings. As happened at the December 2015 network meeting, many stayed late after the 2016 meeting to meet farmers they heard speak from across the room, swap cultural practices and hard-earned experiences, and from LSP’s perspective, nurture the thinking community behind a sustained culture of stewardship farming.
Shakopee Creek Watershed: Both participating farmers managed to adapt their systems and rotations to include the cover crops. For the farmer who followed wheat, this meant overcoming many equipment obstacles as he did not have the appropriate equipment to plant or harvest wheat, or to drill in a cover crop, nor was he accustomed to including wheat in his rotation. But he is very interested in reducing fall tillage and he felt it was a good opportunity to push past some of those up-front barriers. The fact that he did manage to get all the steps in was an accomplishment.
For the other farmer with livestock who planted the tillage radish after an annual forage crop, he learned that the radish is not going to compete well with an established crop even if that crop has been grazed very hard. He is still interested in tillage radish, but is now working on trying to adjust his corn planting and harvest to perhaps sequester more nutrients in the future.
Root River Watershed: The cover crops network was built around the power of soil biology and measuring it with the Haney Soil Health test. Members were eased into discussing what they’re doing with each other around the coffee pot, on road trips to other field events, and in LSP workshops last summer and this winter.
Surrounded by a sea of corn and soybeans, 30-80 farmers attended our cover crops events, which feels like the early stages of a small revolution. That work is being carried forward by LSP’s Bridge to Soil Health Initiative.
Multiple stories are included as part of the media uploaded in the Education and Outreach Activities section.
A dairy farmer in southeastern Minnesota said, 70% of our feed is derived from forage. Cover crops, such as annual forage sources, are a key tool to extend the grazing season, even the grazing season out and allow us to rest the pasture. We use MOB grazing in this system and have seen infiltration rates increase dramatically. Building soil health takes time.
“The vetch is like alfalfa,” says a farmer in southeastern Minnesota. “It puts nitrogen back in the soil. The goal of the oats is to fix nitrogen for corn next spring. The radishes pull up deep minerals.”
We appreciate the funding from SARE that includes learning incentives for farmers and resources for them to share their stories with other farmers.