I have been covering cover crops for some time and will try to give a summary. Most of the supporting evidence is either from a group I edit on Daily Kos called Regenerative Agriculture or even more information on my site Urban Homesteading. I will be posting even more information in the near future. But, to summarize:
Most of the soil in the world only has about 1/2% organic humus in the top 6 inches. This is because we raise crops on that soil for around 6 months of the year and then allow the soil to lay fallow for the rest of the year. In addition, most soil microorganisms have been destroyed through soil tilling and/or the application of artificial fertilizers and toxic chemicals. In addition, we remove vegetation and food products without introducing additional humus. The soil becomes nothing more than inert dirt.
Our soil can become an underground storage facility with the capability of storing water equivalent to a small lake. As I stated, what I am about to relate is supported by experiments and actual events. The information is so pertinent, that our government will pay farmers to enable the transformation to better farming methods and one of the USDA spokespeople engages in making movies and information clips available on Youtube. The results may vary, but the principles apply around the world and produce similar results.
By increasing the organic matter in the top 6 inches; “Soil will hold an additional 20,000 gallons of water per acre with an additional 1% organic matter”. By increasing the percent of organic matter by 2 0r 3 percent in the top 6 inches, soil will absorb 6 inches of water per hour. If you increase that percentage to 6% in the top 6 inches, the amount of water can be increased even more. The water will be held there to be released over the space of months and even years.
Most of the cost to the farmers will be covered by the government. The yield of the crops will increase and many times the increase will be realized in the first year. The expenses for planting a crop will be less. Labor and equipment costs will be less. The net profit will increase with less investment capital. Although there is a learning curve, not only the government, but Universities and other agencies have information readily available.
No one can argue with the fact that we are experiencing more drought periods interspersed with deluges of rain. Increasing the organic matter and water-holding ability of the earth can be achieved with the simple addition of Cover Crops during the offseason of raising crops. One percent of organic material can be added each year. The additional benefits are a cooler soil temperature which will help offset are rising heat systems. In addition, the cover crops reduce the evaporation of water. The elimination of runoff, because of cover crops, helps save and restore the soil as well as keep nutrients in the soil available for the monetary crop.
If all the farmland were to increase the organic percent of their soil, think how much water would not be available to flood our cities. Look how much water would be available for crops in drought years. And it all could be done without building dams and irrigation ditches. The extra water absorbed by the soil would percolate downward and restore aquifers naturally purified.
There are many instances of sustainable agriculture working in real life. A Gabe Brown in North Dakota successfully farms during periods of drought while his neighbors have crop failure. He does so with an increase in net profits. In Australia, one farmer has a stream that flows from his land while his neighbors see their land turn brown from drought. In Africa, a cattle farmer has increased his herd size using Regenerative Agriculture. And in China, where hundreds of millions of citizens were displaced when the land they farmed turned to bare dirt, in cooperation with the World Bank, over a period of 8 years, millions now have been raised out of poverty as they farm restored hills.
The knowledge is there. Our government wants to help. Climate disasters continue to mount. Yet less than 10% of farmers utilize Cover Crops. I know they are capable. In the 50’s, they moved from horses to machinery now that is controlled by satellites. Many toy with the futures and stock market. They calculate and apply artificial fertilizers and work with toxic chemicals to increase their yield.
Yet as their profits narrow and even disappear, they are slow to change. Much of their reluctance is lack of knowledge. the readers of this article can help. Spread the word. Repost these articles and websites on your social media accounts. Knowledge is king.
At any rate, we can’t point our fingers at the farmers when millions of acres in and around expanding suburbs of cities have manicured lawns that have destroyed the subsoil of humus through monoculture and excessive chemicals applications. Cities are where most of our population lives and depend on food and with excessive runoff from the lawns, concrete streets and building roofs, they contribute to their own flood problems. Some cities even have laws preventing wildflower gardens. It is rare for the cities to try and capture the storm waters even though Dallas along with government help has made a great contribution to this effort.
One additional factor favoring Cover Crops is that they capture carbon. First of all, less carbon is released with this farming system. In addition, expanding humus captures and store enough carbon that if all farms around the world only increased carbon by one percent, this would capture all the carbon that the industry has emitted in the last 100 years.
This won’t happen overnight. The amount of cover crop seed will have to be increased (business opportunities for farmers). If only we set a goal of one-tenth of the farmers converting each year, at the end of five years, the first farmers would have 5% (times 10 % of the farmers), humus in their soil. The second year farmers would have 4% (times 10 % of the farmers), humus and so on. By 5 years, the half of the farmers that converted would have stored 15% )150% of the goal) which is more than if all farmers would have increased only one percent. It is doable.
There is one more incentive. Even now, industry can pay farmers to convert as they get credit for their part in reducing carbon in our atmosphere. It is already happening. Farmers are already getting money in their pocket. As shareholders, pressure can be put on industry to encourage this practice.
Most of the supporting evidence is either from a group I edit on Daily Kos called Regenerative Agriculture or even more information on my site Urban Homesteading