It was once believed the best way to keep soil healthy was to till it. Unfortunately, tilling soil is one of the biggest contributors to its degradation. Today, only half of the topsoil and organic matter early pioneers found when they broke the sod in the mid-1800s remains. The earth continues to lose roughly 23 billion tons of fertile soil every year. At this rate, all fertile soil will be gone within 150 years, unless farmers convert to practices that restore and build soil organic matter, an essential component of soil fertility. 

Soil is teaming with billions of bacteria, fungi, and other microbes that form an ecosystem that provide nutrients for plant growth, absorb and hold rainwater for use during dryer periods, filter and buffer potential pollutants from leaving our fields and support crop growth. Healthy soil allows a cropping system to run smoothly. In contrast, unhealthy soil has an ecosystem that is out of balance and lacks key organisms or the food these organisms need. This results in problems such as low crop yield, increased runoff, soil moisture deficits, pest and disease problems, and nutrient deficiencies.  Improving Soil Health in Field and Forage Crop Production is crucial to long-term agricultural productivity.

There are a number of Soil Health Practices that can help rebuild and reinvigorate soil, help reduce soil erosion, improve water quality and provide other natural resource benefits.  In recent years, farmers are applying new methods like No-till farming to counteract the decades of damage. No-till is an agricultural technique for growing crops or pasture without disturbing the soil through tillage.

Cover crop use has also expanded exponentially in recent years. In agriculture, cover crops are plants that are planted to cover the soil rather than for the purpose of being harvested - typically in the fall.

Cover crops manage soil erosion, soil fertility, soil quality, water, weeds, pests, diseases, biodiversity and wildlife in an agroecosystem. Cereal rye is a popular choice after corn grain because it can be planted as late as early November most years. Another common choice is oats which needs to be planted by the end of September. Oats have a good quick growth in the fall but then die after some hard frosts. The newest trend in cover crops is to plant more than one type of seed. This increases diversity and takes advantage of the unique properties of different plants. General information for cover crops can be found on both the Natural Resource Conservation Service  and the Penn State Extension webpage.

For a look at how one Clinton County farm that his operated since the 1700s is realizing the benefits of soil health, check out our "Feature Story" below.

Conservation District Board member, Jim Harbach, has been a leading advocate for improving soil health           through the use of cover crops  and the application of no-till principles.

Harbach's 9th generation farm traces its Clinton County roots back to the 1700s.  In addition to being on             the leading edge of soil health practices, Schrack Farms also utilizes a methane biodigester to generate their own electricity and reduce emissions. For its efforts, the International Dairy Foods Association and Dairy Herd Management magazine named Schrack Farms Innovative Dairy Farmer of the Year in 2018.

Click here to learn more about what Conservation District Board member and Clinton County farmer Jim Harbach refers to as regenerative farming.