Healthy soil = strong agricultural lands
There is a growing recognition for the need to regenerate and revitalize farmland soil.
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Healthy soils produce high quality, nutrient dense produce. Furthermore, soils filled with strong rooted, organic matter are able to hold larger capacities of moisture. Moisture retention is not only better for crops, but also means less erosion. When the land retains water, it acts as a giant sponge, filtering and absorbing nutrients and contaminants that would otherwise enter water sources. Thriving soils, with abundant organic matter, stack benefits for farmers and their neighbors.
Look to the soil
Exhaustion of organic soil matter, and a depletion of a diverse population of soil organisms is often the source of agricultural difficulties. Your local SWCD focuses on general soil health management and the strength of natural biological systems, which go a long way to preventing many agricultural issues.
Proactive farming, long-term thinking
You'r local SWCD advocates for farming and grazing practices that rebuild organic topsoil matter and restore degraded soil biodiversity. Our goal is to see robust soils, improved water quality, and productive farmlands.
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Savvy agricultural professionals understand the significance of organic matter, including living organisms in the soil. Age old management practices like conservation tillage, cover crops, crop rotation, composting, and rotational grazing have come back into practice.
Intercept stormwater runoff and minimize soil erosion with vegetative buffer strips.
Buffers of grasses, hedges, and trees are an effective soil conservation tool that can be used to improve water quality. They minimize soil erosion by reducing surface runoff.
Conservation buffer strips limit the movement of soil sediment, nutrients, pesticides, and pathogens through the soil from the field. Furthermore, they improve wildlife habitat and air quality by reducing chemical emissions.
These buffers have even proven to be effective at degrading pesticides and in lessening pesticide concentrations in subsurface water flow.
