Optimizing agronomic management for soil health, water quality, crop production and profitability in the Texas Blackland Prairie

Abstract

Agronomic management is known to affect critical ecosystem services such as soil health, the quality of runoff water and crop production. However, few studies have been able to evaluate all the ecosystem services at the small catchment scale (1-10 ha) through long-term studies. As a part of the Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) Network in the US, work at the Riesel Watersheds in Texas has been able to evaluate the role of managing fields with a focus on soil health practices (e.g., no-tillage, cover crops, reduced fertilizer inputs) compared to traditional practices. This presentation will provide the results of five years of study on the management practices related to soil health, water quality, and crop production. In the US, many producers make decision based on economics, so profitability of the practices will also be presented. In brief, reduced fertility inputs coupled with no-tillage and cover crops resulted in gross losses for most years; however, in the fifth year of study these practices resulted in a gross profit of $836 USD/ha, despite a severe drought and high variable costs associate with production. Further, event mean concentrations for dissolved reactive phosphorus were roughly half (0.06 vs 0.13 mg/L) for the field managed for soil health compared to the traditionally managed field. In light of expected high input costs and climate variability, agronomic management to promote soil health and water quality may provide additional benefits to producers.