For Immediate Release
April 25, 2018
Contact: Becky Fletcher, State Public Affairs Officer
Phone: 317-295-5825
Email: rebecca.fletcher@in.usda.gov
INDIANAPOLIS (April 25, 2018) –
Indiana farmers planted 970,000 acres of cover crops in 2017, according to a
recent survey.
Cover crops are now the third-most planted crop in the state, next to corn and
soybeans.
“With the late harvest and heavy
rains farmers experienced last fall, seeing close to one million acres of cover
crops growing is no small accomplishment and worth celebrating,” said Jill
Reinhart, acting state conservationist for Indiana’s Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS).
“This year’s data shows that Indiana once again sets the bar, nationally, when
it comes to incorporating conservation on the farm.”
According to NRCS, cover cropping
has many benefits including increased organic matter, improved soil biology, as
well as better water infiltration and water-holding capacity. This practice
also prevents nutrients and sediment from running off the farm, keeping them
out of nearby waterbodies and streams.
As a result of the cover crops
planted last fall, more than 2.9 million pounds of nitrogen, 1.4 million pounds
of phosphorus and 1.2 million tons of sediment were prevented from entering
Indiana’s waterways. That’s enough sediment to fill 12,000 train cars
stretching 113 miles long, the survey claims.
“Farmers continue to recognize
the importance and are finding value in planting cover crops,” said Bruce
Kettler, director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA).
“Keeping more nutrients on the land, not only improves soil health and water
quality, but also a farmer’s bottom line.”
Dan Sutton, of Sutton Farms in
Lowell, Ind., first planted cover crops in 2008 and started seeing results the
following year.
“We found in 2009 a pretty good
yield increase on those cover cropped acres,” Sutton said. “That turned a light
bulb on, and we said, ‘Hey, let’s look into this more and see what we can do
with it.’”
For the past several years,
Sutton has tried to plant cover crops on 100 percent of his 1,300 acre farm.
Although he’s encountered challenges along the way, he believes that the
benefits to his soil and the environment outweigh the risks.
In addition to cover crops, the
survey also measures trends related to crop residue, which is the organic
material left in the field after harvest. Crop residue further reduces sediment
and nutrient runoff by protecting the soil from fall, winter and spring rain
events. A no-till system leaves the most residue.
The survey shows that Indiana
farmers left their crop residues undisturbed on: 67 percent of soybean acres,
63 percent of corn acres, 46 percent of small grain acres and 20 percent of
specialty crop acres.
The cover crop transect survey is
a collaborative effort between NRCS, ISDA, Indiana’s 92 Soil and Water
Conservation Districts, Earth Team volunteers and other members of the Indiana
Conservation Partnership, who team up to conduct a visual assessment of
cropland county by county. The goal of the survey is to help document a more
complete story of Indiana's conservation efforts.
To learn more about the survey,
visit www.in.gov/isda/2383.htm,
or to find transect data for your county, visit your local Soil and Water
Conservation District office at www.in.gov/isda/2370.htm.
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