Helping Southern Idaho Farmers to Adopt Soil Conservation Techniques to Increase Soil Health and Reduce Erosion

Abstract

The south-central Idaho area known as the Magic Valley is a prime agricultural production region. Despite being considered a high-plain desert environment, this region has developed as one of the top ten production areas in the US in dairy production and crops like alfalfa, barley, corn silage, potatoes, sugar beets, and dry beans. This production level has been possible thanks to water delivered from the Snake River through dams and canal systems, and from the Snake River aquifer that lays below the middle Snake River Plain. In this environment, wind and snowmelt erosion are prevalent. Nutrient mobilization through erosion and percolation is another issue agriculture faces in the region. Such nutrient and sediment mobilization have resulted in impaired water bodies, especially the Snake River, and increased nitrate content in the aquifer. By applying diverse Best Management Practices (BMPs), the agricultural sector has been able to reduce the impact of sediments and nutrients, especially phosphorus, in the watershed, but erosion and mobilization of nutrients beyond the cultivation area keep impacting the environment and remain a concern. The wide adoption of practices that reduce erosion and promote soil health is lacking. Even when more producers incorporate such techniques, the effort is still in the innovator or first adopters‘ phase. For several years, the Gooding Soil Conservation District (GSCD) has been working with the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the University of Idaho Extension Service to promote soil and water conservation techniques and soil health. One of their main projects in the last four years was the acquisition of a no-till drill to assist crop producers in increasing the acreage of no-till or low tillage farming as a way to improve soil health and promote cover crops‘ usage. Reduced erosion, both by wind and as run-off events, and better nutrient retention and management within the field, are some of the benefits of using no-till or reduced tillage techniques. This presentation describes how the GSCD teamed with other institutions to purchase, operate, and promote the use of the no-till drill, cover crops, soil health concepts, and erosion reduction techniques. A survey and renting records collected data on usage by farmers, the type of crops planted, and their opinion of the usefulness and ease of operation. A case study showcases data collected on a farm that used the drill to plant cover crops for grazing beef cattle and its impact on their crop and cattle production and economics. This type of case study, the GSCD‘s efforts to purchase and operate the no-till drill, and farmers‘ acceptance and use can be an example to be replicated by others to increase the use of farming techniques that improve soil health and reduce erosion.