Maximizing living roots, maximizing soil cover, maximizing biodiversity, and minimizing disturbance are the four main principles to managing soil health. Whether you are looking to increase crop durability, improve grazing areas, or develop a wildlife habitat, a custom Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) through the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), can address those resource concerns, informs District Conservationist, serving Knox and Warren Counties, Jennifer Delpierre.
“If you have been doing a conventional tillage system and you are looking to upgrade your system to no-till or add cover crops, we can look at those options to address the resource concerns present in your system.”
Even if your farming operation is already utilizing cover crops or no-till, Delpierre says there could be ways to improve that practice even further.
“If you are already doing no-till or you are already doing a single species cover crop, we may look at improving that and adding a multi-species to address whether you are looking at compaction, nitrogen, or nutrient retention, things you are doing to improve, a majority of what we are looking at right now that the programs really reach out and speak to are the soil health options.”
Delpierre states the Conservation Stewardship Program is a five-year, long-term commitment in looking at what you are doing on your entire operation and what you can do to improve it.
