Soil Health Practices

CONSERVATION CHOICES Soil Health Practices

Conservation practices that help improve soil health, reduce soil erosion, improve water quality, and provide other natural resource benefits.

Natural Resources Conservation Service www.ia.nrcs.usda.gov Des Moines, Iowa @IowaNRCS

As a landowner or farm operator, you face many practices, such as no-till and cover crops, also support decisions when managing your natural resources. When Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy to reduce nutrients it comes to improving soil health, consider installing the flowing into Iowa waters and eventually to the Gulf of appropriate conservation practices listed in this handout Mexico. to make the most direct impact. To learn more about improving soil health, visit the The following basic principles will help improve the staff at your local NRCS office to discuss a long-term health of your soil: keep the soil covered; minimally plan to address this important resource. A conservation disturb the soil; keep a living cover throughout the year plan can be developed to improve management for all to feed the soil; diversify as much as possible using crop resource concerns. NRCS staff and your local soil and rotations and cover crops; and incorporate livestock into water conservation district (SWCD) are available to help your system. you make the right choices to protect your operation and resources. This brochure details 12 conservation practices that will help improve the health of your soil. Several of these USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. Soil Health Practices

Conservation Practice Description How it helps Comments

Conservation Cover

Establishing and • Reduces soil erosion. maintaining permanent • Improves water and air cover of either introduced quality. or native grasses, legumes • Enhances plant diversity. and forbs for nesting cover, • Increases soil organic winter cover, brood cover, matter & overall soil health. pollinator habitat, and food • Manages plant pests. for wildlife.

Contour Buffer Strips

Strips of grass or a mixture • Reduces soil erosion, of grasses and legumes that removing sediment, run along the contour of a nutrients, and pesticides as farmed field. They alternate they pass through. down the slope of a field • Buffer strips using native with wider cropped strips. plants and grasses improves Consider native grass and soil health in those areas. forbs for pollinators and • Pollinators & beneficial Photo by Anna McDonald beneficial insects. insects

Cover Crops

Crops, including grasses, • Reduces soil erosion. legumes and forbs, for • Improves soil biology. seasonal cover and other • Improves water infiltration. conservation benefits to • Traps, sequesters nutrients. the soil. They are planted • Reduces weed competition. prior to grain crop harvest • Provides livestock grazing. • Increases soil organic or immediately after matter. harvest.

Crop Rotation

Growing different crops on • Reduces soil erosion. the same piece of land year • Rotating with alfalfa and after year in a planned, other legumes reduces recurring sequence. This fertilizer needs. could involve a rotation • Reduces pesticide costs. to a small grain or a grass • Adds biological diversity to legume meadow. the soil. • Improves water quality. Conservation Practice Description How it helps Comments

Forage and Biomass Planting

Planting grass and legumes • Improves or maintains suitable for pasture, hay, or livestock nutrition and biomass production. health. • Provides forage supplies This does not apply to the during periods of low forage establishment of annually production. planted and harvested • Reduces soil erosion. food, fiber, or other crops. • Provides cover and habitat for wildlife.

Manure Management

Manage manure runoff • Manure is an excellent by storing and containing resource to enhance soil it until conditions are biology. appropriate for field • Protects water quality by application. See nutrient preventing runoff from management for more livestock operations. information about applying • Cuts fertilizer costs and manure. reduces nutrient loss.

No-till/Strip-till

Performing no full-width • Reduces soil erosion. tillage, regardless of the • Protects water quality. depth or timing of tillage • Increases water infiltration operation. Long-term no- & plant-available moisture. till is needed to attain the • Adds organic matter to the full benefit. Most experts soil as it decomposes. consider true no-till to be • Reduces soil compaction. at least five years without tilling the soil. • Fewer inputs saves money.

Nutrient Management

Managing the amount, • Improves crop production. source, placement, and • Reduces input costs. timing of plant nutrients • Protects water quality. and soil amendments, • Properly utilizes manure, which reduces the biosolids, and other organic potential for nutrients to by-products as plant go unused and washing or nutrient sources. infiltrating water supplies. • Improves soil conditions. Soil Health Practices

Conservation Practice Description How it helps Comments

Pest Management

Follow integrated pest • Scouting and spot management practices treatment for threatening to reduce crop and pests can save money. environmental damages • Improves water quality from insects, weeds and when precautions are taken diseases. Continuous use to keep chemicals from of the same pesticide can leaving the field. encourage resistance in • Reduces over-application. ISU Extension & Outreach pest populations.

Prescribed Burning

Fire applied to managed • Controls undesirable grassland, forestland, vegetation. pasture land, wildlife • Controls plant disease. areas, or hayland within • Improves plant production. a prescribed set of • Removes debris. conditions, dates, and • Enhances seed production. with appropriate safety • Manages native plant precautions to achieve a diversity and composition. specific purpose.

Prescribed Grazing

Managing the harvest of Improves or maintains: vegetation using grazing • species composition and animals. This is often vigor of plant communities; achieved through a • quantity and quality of rotational grazing system forage for grazing animal where pastures are divided health and productivity; (with fencing) into four or • water quality and quantity. more paddocks.

Tree/Shrub Establishment

Establishing woody plants • Reduces soil erosion. in non-forested areas • Produces woody biomass by planting seedlings, for energy. container/potted plants, • Improves air and water cuttings or by direct quality. seeding. • Provides wildlife habitat. • Stores carbon in biomass. • Controls snow drifting.

April 2017