7 Sustainable Farming Practices to Improve Soil Health and Profitability

Becoming sustainable doesn’t mean you have to overhaul the whole farm. Simple, incremental changes made year after year go a long way to sustaining your farm for future generations, making it more profitable and protecting the environment.

1) Test the Soil

A soil rich in organic matter is one viable crop-growing resource. It reduces reliance on pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers.

“It can significantly increase your productivity and reduce your reliance on secondary amendments which makes everything less costly and more sustainable,” says Microbial Ecologist Jack Gilbert.

Leveraging organic matter inputs in the soil is key—but do you know what nutrients your soil really needs? Not unless you test it first.

“I can open up that soil test and read what my dirt’s doing for me,” says Doug Ruth, a northeast Missouri farmer. “We’re very adamant about what we put on the soil and what kind of moisture the ground has in or on it. You can damage dirt if you’re not careful.”

2) Reduce Tillage

Minimum till or no-till practices help hold the soil in place. Limiting tillage reduces erosion and helps the soil retain both water and nutrients.

“We do a lot of conservation work with terraces, dry wall structures to protect draws, seeded draws,” Ruth says. Increasing the connectivity of the soil allows more nutrients to become available to plants and improves moisture uptake. “If you don’t till, you don’t destroy that biology which stops the glue from forming,” Gilbert says.

3) Manage Soil Nutrients

Practice the 4R concept of nutrient management:

• Right source
• Right rate
• Right time
• Right place

Nutrient stewardship using the 4Rs helps improve productivity while minimizing environmental impact.

Soil amendments such as compost and animal waste add diversity to the soil, helping keep microbes healthy.

For Ruth, being a crop and livestock farmer works hand in hand. Using animal waste from cattle and hogs helps reduce fertilizer costs while building soil biology. “We’re putting everything back on the ground that we’re taking off, and it is very minimal cost to do it that way,” Ruth says. “That helps with the bottom line.”

Precision agriculture techniques like grid sampling help identify areas of a field that need nutrients and inputs.

“It’s important to keep track of what you’re doing, and a grid sample is part of that,” Ruth explains. “Knowing what you have, when you have it in front of you and can see it, it’s a lot easier that way.”

4) Plant Cover Crops

Incorporating cover crops into your management plan enhances soil water and nutrient holding capacity while reducing erosion.

Rye and wheat are key cover crops for Ruth, along with radishes. “Wheat as a cover crop really helps hold the ground, plus it gives us better organic matter and that helps use the fertilizer that is already there. The radishes help with that, too,” he says.

Dan Davidson, an agronomist and Nebraska farmer, adds that cover crops can also reduce dependence on commercial fertilizers and crop protection chemicals.

“You want to build your soil resource (with cover crops) so you can begin to do things differently with your fertility program,” Davidson says.

5) Rotate Crops

Crop rotation helps manage nutrients, improve soil health and support pest, disease and weed control.

Well-planned rotations, combined with organic amendments such as compost and manure, help build soil organic matter and improve overall productivity.

6) Use Water Efficiently

Most productive farmland depends on effective water management. Drainage systems can help address excess water, extend the growing season and reduce soil compaction.

They also help reduce chemical losses to water resources.

Water probes and irrigation monitoring tools can improve efficiency and reduce runoff. Buffer strips can also help minimize runoff and protect soil health.

7) Consider a Pollinator Habitat

Pollinators like bumble bees, honey bees and butterflies thrive in cropland and play a critical role in agriculture.

Their habitat can improve water quality, reduce soil erosion and support biodiversity.

According to General Mills, nearly 30 percent of all ingredients grown for the company’s food rely on pollination.

This content originally was printed in “SustainABILITY – Big Impact Starts with Small Steps” in Farm Journal Publications, March 2019.