Farms in the Vallley

Farming practices draw a fair amount of attention, and not without reason; they affect large tracts of land – often hundreds of acres – and they involve surprisingly large quantities of manure, fertilizers, and other materials. The potential exists to have a significant impact on soil and water resources if they’re mismanaged. At times, however, such scrutiny misses how much effort farms put into taking care of the land. Farms are well aware of the risks that erosion, nutrient loss, or susceptibility to drought or flooding pose to their livelihood, and none of them want to see the landscape degrading before their eyes. In response, they’re rising to the challenge to come up with ways to manage their crops with an eye towards healthier soils and a lighter footprint.

Drive past the farms along the Connecticut River this spring and you’ll see a lot greener fields than you would have five or ten years ago. That’s because more – most, even – farms are sowing them to a variety of fast-growing and winterhardy species to protect the soil after they’ve harvested their corn. These cover crops hold the soil in place as they take root, and they provide a mat of vegetation that shields the surface from potential erosion, from wind, rain, and snowmelt. In addition, those scavenge nutrients lingering around in the soil at the end of the growing season that would otherwise leach away. Not only does the practice prevent those nutrients from entering surface and ground waters; by staying in the field, they become available for another crop and save on the farm’s fertilizer bill. According to USDA’s 2017 Census of Agriculture (the most recent one currently available), 13,080 acres were sown to cover crops in the counties of Vermont and New Hampshire bordering the Connecticut River – more than double the 6,220 acres reported in 2012. The next Census will be coming out this year, and it’s likely to report even more acres.

Spring planting also looks increasingly different from how it used to. It used to be that farms spent considerable time prepping their fields for planting: plowing to turn the soil over, discing with a harrow several times to break up clods and make a mellow seedbed, then finally making one last trip over the field with the planter. Whatever benefits this may have provided in the short term, we’ve come to recognize that over time all that traffic with large tractors dragging heavy equipment degrades structure and compacts the soil, forming a dense layer that doesn’t allow plants to take root easily, or a surface that’s too crusted on the surface to let rainfall penetrate and too dense to let it percolate through.

These days, an increasing number of farms are keeping their plows and harrows parked and skipping tillage altogether. Instead, they use modified planters that get the seed in the ground in a single pass. The minimal disturbance allows organic matter to accumulate and soil to regain some structure, forming crumbly aggregates that let roots and water penetrate deeper into the profile. It also preserves plant residues – including those from those fall-sown cover crops – to form a sort of mulch that continues to protect the soil surface from both heavy rainfall and hot summer sun. The result is an overall healthier soil: better able to withstand both droughty and heavy rains, a reservoir of plant nutrients released by manures and plant residues, and a welcoming environment for the billions of beneficial bacteria, fungi, earthworms, and other species.

This doesn’t mean agriculture can rest on its laurels; there’s more work to do. For all the acreage managed with cover crops and reduced tillage, there remain farms that have yet to implement these practices, and still others that could stand to implement them more effectively. And there are challenges that have yet to be worked out: cover crops appropriate for the already-short growing season in northern regions, more effective crop rotations for dealing with a changing climate, and better equipment design, to name a few. Fortunately, farms continue to be motivated to make changes, and there are a host of crop advisors, soil conservationists, and Extension professionals available to help figure out how to make them. The Valley’s likely to get greener yet.