Managing for Profit

Reasons vary that farmers take up conservation farming

Whether it’s profitable, or whether it’s simply the right thing to do, a growing number of farmers promote soil health by applying conservation practices to the way they farm.

When Brent Bible was invited to join the Soil Health Partnership, the Indiana farmer was on a journey of discovery.

“Soil health and particularly cover crop techniques and cover crop practices were not something that we were very familiar with,” said Bible.  “We saw it as an opportunity to maybe learn in that arena a little bit and understand more about that.”

Theo Bartman joined the Soil Health Partnership after surfing the web for ways to put in a cover crop plot on his Northwest Iowa farm.

“The no-till and the cover crops is going to give you good erosion control,” Bartman told Brownfield Ag News, “so we’re especially looking at doing that for our more sloped ground where we’re seeing more erosion.”

Illinois farmer Jason Lay says conservation farming is the right thing to do, but it’ll take time to determine whether it pays off in profits and public opinion.

“Can we truly move the needle, and is it cost effective?  Can we make this more mainstream,” said Lay, referring to conservation farming.  “Within my operation I know what changes I have to make, but in order for us to really make a big impact across the Corn Belt how do we go about doing that?”

AUDIO: Brent Bible; Theo Bartman; Jason Lay (3 min. MP3)

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