Soil Health
Practices
As a landowner or farm operator, you face many decisions when managing your natural resources. When it comes to improving soil health, consider installing the appropriate conservation practices.
​
A few basic principles will help improve the health of your soil: ​
-
minimally disturb the soil
-
keep a living cover throughout the year to feed the soil
-
diversify as much as possible using crop rotations and cover crops
​
The Steele SWCD has knowledgeable staff that would be happy to help!
Cover Crops
Simply put cover crops are a crop grown for the protection and enrichment of the soil. They often consist of a combination of grasses, legumes, and forbes.
Cover crops provide many benefits including:
• Reduces soil erosion. • Improves soil biology. • Improves water infiltration.
• Traps, sequesters nutrients. • Reduces weed competition.
• Provides livestock grazing. • Increases soil organic matter
​
The Steele SWCD offers a cost-share opportunity for those wishing to try cover crops. Details on this program can be received by contacting the office.
No-Till/Strip-Till
Strip-till is tilling the row where the seed and/or fertilizer will be placed, keeping the residue between the rows undisturbed.
​
Strip-till provides many benefits including:
-
Reduces erosion
-
Warmer soil in the spring
-
More precise application of fertilizer
-
Reduces soil compaction
-
Improves soil health
-
Better adoption of cover crops
​
No-till means the soil is left undisturbed by tillage and the residue is left on the soil surface. It is the most effective soil conservation system.
​
The benefits of no-till are similar to those offered by a strip-till system. They include:
-
Reduced Erosion
-
Save Time
-
Reduced Costs
-
Reduced Soil Compaction
-
Reduced Soil Moisture Loss
-
Improved Soil Health
Steele SWCD offers an incentive program for those interested in strip-till or no-till. Please contact the office for details.
