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Conservation is a topic we take very seriously at Stalcup Agriculture. Proper land stewardship ensures that your farm remains profitable not only now, but also well into the future.

Without conservation farming and sustainability-focused practices, there is no guarantee that a farm will be able to maintain strong yields in the years to come. We work with a wide variety of clients to help them better operate a more sustainable farm and protect their livelihood at the same time.

Here are some of our favorite tips and strategies for putting sustainability and conservation back at the forefront of your farming operation.

It’s all about the soil

Soil quality is a top concern for farmers – as it should be. Without the nutrient-rich soil that we have here in Northwest Iowa and neighboring regions of the Midwest, our agricultural practices would look much different and yields would not be nearly as strong.

That’s why sustainability practices are so beneficial. These methods protect soil health can help lower your production costs and improve yields, all while allowing the land to capture more carbon, store more water and improve habitats for wildlife and pollinators.

The following practices will help you keep your farm’s soil healthy and producing at high levels.

Don’t disturb the dirt

Tilling is one of the worst things any farmer can do to the organisms found within the soil that help promote healthy crops and bountiful yields. In the same way, adding too much inputs, including fertilizers, pesticides and crop nutrients, can also harm the organisms in the soil.

All of this only disturbs the soil and harming the complex and often fragile balance of how these organisms interact with each other and plants.

The best way to prevent these problems from occurring? Incorporate no-till farming and use fewer nutrient inputs. This allows the soil to go through its natural nutrient cycles and remain more beneficial for crops.

Consider converting cropland to pasture

Have you ever considered converting cropland into pasture and using it for rotational grazing? You may want to.

Though livestock operations often need to grow crops to feed their animals, they can in fact improve the soil health of this land by using it as pasture. This will create a permanent cover layer of vegetation. The result is higher amounts of trapped soil, water, nutrients and carbon.

Another related method of improving soil health on land used to raise livestock is to incorporate rotational grazing. This is the practice of frequently moving livestock between small grass pastures instead of keeping the animals all in one place. This allows plants time to regenerate, eliminating bare ground.

Rotational grazing keeps pastures healthier – and spreads out manure rather than it all collecting in one place and damaging the soil.

Plant cover crops

Along the same lines of allowing pasture land to regenerate, you can also do your cropland a world of favors by planting cover crops. This also helps ground from remaining bare.

Cover crops improve soil quality, reduce erosion, retain soil nutrients, breaks up compaction – the list of benefits goes on and on.

But the benefits aren’t just about promoting better soil quality and health. Planting cover crops has also resulted in higher profitability for many farmers thanks to higher yields, lower fertilizer costs and lower weed management costs.

Be sure to plant cover crops early in the fall so that the plants can germinate and grow before the first frost sets in. Come spring, you can allow livestock to graze in these fields or try haying to make way for the cash crop.

Rotate crops

Sticking with cropland, extended crop rotation is another method that has proven to be beneficial for farmers looking to promote sustainability.

Extended crop rotation is the practice of planting different crops in a cycle. This can include grasses, small grains, corn and soybeans, just to name a few.

The rotation of crops helps improve soil health, while also easing pressure from insects and diseases. And that’s not all. The more the soil has plants actively growing in it, the more that water and soil quality both benefit.

Look into USDA conservation programs

The USDA also sees the value in sustainable agriculture and conservation, which is why they have a number of conservation programs established to help farmers protect the environment.

Specifically, these programs exist to help producers and farmers improve soil health, water quality, air quality, wildlife habitat and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Some of the programs, such as the Conservation Reserve Program and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, actually offer financial assistance or provide contracts to incentivize conservation efforts. These are known as working land programs and have proven to be effective programs for promoting conservation among farmers.

You can find more information about these programs on the USDA website.

Why Stalcup Agriculture focuses on conservation agriculture

These sustainability-focused farming practices are vital to ensuring a farm is profitable and successful in the long run.

But Stalcup is also laser focused on land stewardship, and more specifically what is known as conservation agriculture. By definition, conservation agriculture is a farming system that focuses on:

1. Minimum soil disturbance, such as no till farming
2. Permanent soil organic cover with crop residues or cover crops
3. Crop rotations and diversification

Conservation farming works to reduce runoff, increase the water storage capacity of the soil and reduce overall soil erosion. With modern equipment and chemical weed control, conserving valuable soil has never been easier.

Stalcup helps clients prioritize sustainability

Stalcup Agriculture works with all of our clients to determine which conservation methods are best for their operation. Whether that’s through contour farming, conservation tillage, no till or strip till, we are constantly implementing these and other sustainability practices.

If you would like to learn more about any of these methods or the sustainable farming practices discussed above, then reach out to us using the form at the bottom of this page.

Stalcup is proud to be leading conservation efforts for many of our clients’ farming operations – and we look forward to helping you do the same.