Improving Field Biology through Cover Crops, Mulching, & Farm Animals
“Cover crops are an essential element of any organic farmer’s crop rotation system. Cover crops increase soil organic matter, keep the ground covered to slow erosion from water and wind, suppress soil diseases and pests, enhance water availability, smother weeds, and provide significant contributions to a farmer’s biodiversity
— NCRS—Growing Organic, USDA publication.
Cover crops build organic soil matter and manage erosion. Repeated testing of cover crop use in North Dakota from 2017 until now shows at least a 5–8% increase in crop growth. Cover crops allow nutrients to become more available and increase soil carbon and organic matter.
Changing cover crops: It is best to rotate cover crops at least every few years so that a wider variety of nutrients from the different types provide diversity in the field. Cover crops can be cut down or left to decompose. Decaying cover crops provide nutrients and their leaf and stem exudates provide additional carbon residue for future mulching. Cover cropping is very low-cost. ROI is exponential.
Legumes & Broadleaf Beans contain pods with seeds inside. Legumes help fix nitrogen in the plant nodes. Plant exudates fold into soil as it breaks down. Lentils, clover, Pinto beans, soy, canola, camelina, cow peas, vetch, and buckwheat get available phosphorous from the soil while improving soil health. All these nutrient-heavy crops are ready for livestock to utilize quickly. Moreover, they form a blanket to keep certain weed pressures at bay, often helping the rye, wheat, triticale, millet, corn, sorghum and taller plants gain a good biological start for their growing season. Cover crop synergy provides a wider nutrient pool.
The deeper-rooted crops such as radishes, turnips, and alfalfa build aggregates and improve infiltration to create more aeration. These can open channels to support earthworms and other organisms in the porous spaces they create. This mimics biochar and carbon–humate channels as well allowing deeper root penetration to form a “home” within the soil structure.
Mulch: Holds moisture, especially during drought conditions. Mulch helps maintain moisture and slows nutrient release. Of course, good compost practices are fundamental. to the whole nutrient process, but this is a separate discussion. Each farm/garden can develop their own compost amendments and their integration into the soil.
Farmers can see the low-cost benefits of all these practices. Mulching could be used to allow more gradual nutrient percolation while slowing down high rain impact. Studies have illustrated these practices in organic and regenerative practices. Many states have cost-sharing benefits for cover crops. Considering the benefits, these practices are inexpensive. Cover crops act as a mulch or work with existing mulch towards soil improvement. Keeping the plants protected and nourished are literally bedrock principles.
Bio nutrient Stimulants like PRESTORATIVE™ in solution could speed up the cover crop processes. PRESTORATIVE™ can be stored and applied as liquid 5-gallon mixture, in fertigation tanks, or the solution can be applied as a foliar application. The cost is very low—about ½ of the cover crop cost. One application of both (same as for seeds) is about $20 per acre. Together they create a nutrient feedback loop with more organic matter which helps assure fast and healthy growth.
Farm Animals: Chickens and ducks provide insect control while adding manure. Aeration through pecking allows some moisture to pass into the soil. Chicken and ducks are especially good for fruit trees. They can work in conjunction with cover crops to increase aeration and nutrient percolation.These mini tractors can peck around drip lines to aerate the soil micropores to allow additional moisture. Large cows & bison create a deep hoof impact opening more moisture channels in prairies and pastures. Goats eat a lot of brush while providing nutrients to nourish the soil.
Cover Crop financial incentives: Practical Farmer Magazine, Autumn 2021, Under Cover Crop Conversations followed five farmers in per acre savings. It showed a $37 to $130 savings per acre. Moreover, there were less hay costs as well. Long term effects include improved biology, cleaner water, better water holding capacity and, of course, less runoff into lakes, ponds, streams and rivers. Soil captures carbon, which improves air quality. The benefits to soil have been expressed thousands of times throughout this website. This translates into healthier soil flora embracing earthworms, better microbial balance, higher mineral content, more robust plant health in the present year and following years, higher Brix, higher nutrient density, improved pasture lands and animal health leading to improved human health.
We can leave these computations to labs, universities and to those that tabulate data, which is becoming a farm reality. Field sensor technology can illustrate all these metrics and measure it in real time. We can prove this with a USDA Field Trial whenever that opportunity is provided. Cover crops are one important part of this big picture. I hope for all our sake that we can bring this into focus in the future.