Under Cover Farmers

1
Under Cover Farmers
National Conference on Cover Crops Soil Health
Soil health is a new initiative of USDA Natural
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) February
18, 2014 kicks off this major effort Forum on
Cover Crops and Soil Health Harvesting the
Potential webinar broadcast live from Omaha 200
free meetings and soil health demonstrations Howar
d Buffett IL farmer, conservationist,
philanthropist Tom Vilsack USDA Secretary of
Agriculture The Big Picture Conservation, Cover
Crops Soil Health Four Midwest cash crop
farmers Dan DeSutter, IN - Dave Brandt,
OH Clay Mitchell, IA - Gabe Brown, ND noted
for focus on soil health, cover crops
conservation tillage, and farm
profitability will describe benefits of their
soil management Cover crop use ranges from cereal
rye ryegrass to crimson clover, hairy vetch
oilseed radishes After the webinar local
discussion groups plan Grower Discussion meetings
summer field days Info assistance for soil
health management
Confronting
Carbon-Smart Farming
Cover Crops
Climate Change
Summer
industrial-scale agriculture
continuous ground cover minimum tillage
Four Practices set Brandt apart from other farmers
Identical to farms from Ohio to Nebraska vast
fields of corn soybeans
First dedication to off-season cover
crops Currently used on 1 of US farmland yearly
Winter
no-till, cover crop agriculture
Neighbors fields lie fallow bare
brown Brandts fields are green with cover
crops Fall plantings with up to 14 plant species
blanket soil in winter protect soil from
extreme weather feed sugar to soil microbes
support biological diversity complexity rot
in place in spring
Second hostility to tilling  Sold his tillage
equipment in 1971 Considers tillage a disruptive
practice Disassembles soil food web
infrastructures
Third fondness for earthworms
Fourth adds wheat to corn-soy rotation Corn-soy
favored all over Corn Belt Third crop disrupts
weed pest patterns
28-minute youtube video

• www.youtube.com/watch?vnWXCLVCJWTU

Half Brandts corn soy flourish without
fertilizer, and no herbicides Other half gets
less than consultants recommend
Try to mimic Mother Nature. Cover crops work
together like a community   you have many people
helping instead of one.
2012 Iowa State University study  3rd crop cuts
herbicide agrichemical use
Three farmers in Stanley County, NC on how they
use multi-species cover crops to realize economic
returns on their investment the first year
Promise of no-till, cover-crop Farming
USDA Natural Resources Conservation
Service Advocates Soil Stewardship Trains agents
to teach farmers about cover crops Brandts farm
is a site used to train NRCS agents
Reduce agrichemical use Regenerate soil food web
biology Adapt to extreme weather climate Keep
heartland churning out food 
David Brandt 1,200 acre farm Carroll, central
Ohio (pop. 524)
video produced in partnership by Dr. Robin 'Buz'
Kloot, Earth Sciences Resources Institute
University of South Carolina USDA NRCS East
National Technology Support Center
National Conference on Cover Crops Soil Health