Erosion concerns in Iowa? Rye’s got it covered

QUASQUETON - In a sea of bare soil and drab crop residue, Mike Fangman's rye-covered fields stand out like emerald islands.

Fangman, a self-described 'fanatic about erosion,” has not tilled his soil since 1989 and has gradually increased his cover crop plantings to 1,000 acres last fall.

Not only does the rye protect his soil from erosion - a special benefit during the wet spring of 2013 when his fields survived a 6-inch deluge largely intact - but it also improves his soil's structure, biological activity and organic matter, contributing to increased yields.

'It's all about all those live roots in the ground. It's like no-till on steroids,” he said.

All those roots in the ground also fix nitrates in the soil, limiting their loss to surface water and making them available to the next year's cash crop.

Although state and federal programs last year provided cost-share assistance to Iowa farmers for the planting of about 500,000 acres of cover crops - a key component of the state's nutrient reduction strategy - Fangman said cover crops pay their own way on his farms.

'I believe in the system. We're committed to it,” he said.

Documented increases in his soil's organic matter increase its resilience to excess rain or drought, he said.

Fangman said he practices straight no-till techniques for planting soybeans and strip-till techniques for planting corn.

By disturbing bands of soil just wide enough for the seed rows, strip-till maintains soil protection while permitting drying and warming of the actual seed bed.

Fangman said his time and expense in planting cover crops in the fall and killing them with herbicide in the spring planting season is no more than he would spend doing fall tillage under less protective cultivation methods.

'Keeping living roots in the ground really helps reduce erosion impacts” during heavy spring rains when soil is most vulnerable, said Barb Stewart, state agronomist with USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Washington County farmer Steve Berger, another longtime no-till practitioner, said he saw a noticeable difference in erosion control on hillsides once he started using cover crops.

'The root system in the cereal rye really holds the soil in place,” Berger said.

In addition to the short-term benefit of erosion control, cover crops over the long term improve soil health and productivity, he said.

Kurt Simon, state conservationist for NRCS in Iowa, recommends farmers develop a comprehensive conservation plan to help them protect their resources.

During heavy storms, the best overall erosion protection, Simon said, is provided by a suite of conservation measures such as cover crops, residue management with no-till or strip-till and traditional erosion control practices like contour farming, buffer strips, terraces and grassed waterways.