Progress report for GNC21-321
Project Information
Kansas State University, Bayer Crop Science, USDA-NRCS, Guetterman Brothers Family Farms, and The Save Farm will form a team to provide integrated research, extension, and education efforts to farmers and future agriculture players on understanding of soil health and sustainable agricultural practices. Soil health has wide-ranging benefits and is of increasing interest to farmers and agricultural stakeholders. While no-till is widely adopted, the implementation of other conservational practices such as cover crops is still relatively low. One possible reason for the low adoption of soil health improving practices is the long-term returns and the lack of science- and data-driven based evaluations. This project builds upon the Kansas Soil Health Partnership and intends to extend for 2 years the on-farm soil health research conducted at Guetterman Brothers Family Farms (Bucyrus, KS) since 2018 for a total of 7 years. The goals of this project are to (1) evaluate the effect of winter cover crops on soil health and soybean and corn yields; (2) assess the effect of cover crops on soil health indicators (soil organic carbon, microbial community composition, and enzyme activity); (3) quantify the impact of soil health indicators on crop yield; and (4) determine the economic benefits of a long-term (after 7 years) on-farm cover crop adoption. We believe that the involvement of farmers via field days and educational approaches such as cover crop gardens will substantially impact the adoption of sustainable practices, increase soil organic carbon, soil biodiversity, water infiltration, and reduce soil erosion. Involvement of pre-college students via field days will impact the long-term adoption of sustainable practices, building a legacy for future generations. The long-term goal for this project is to sustainably increase the productivity of our current (and less diversified) agricultural systems by increasing soil health, removing yield-limiting factors, educating, advocating, and supporting the dissemination and use of cover crops. At the end of this project, farmers will: (1) improve and diversify their production systems through data-driven recommendations; (2) identify circumstances where adopting cover crops will not be only a viable option but will demonstrate improvements on soil health and sustainability of their farms; and (3) improve farmers economic well-being, quality of life, and professional inquiry of issues related to environmental stewardship and long-term sustainability. These outcomes represent critical steps toward agricultural systems sustainability and will lead to positive improvements in agricultural productivity and soil health.
Learning outcomes: (1) provide integrated Extension and Education efforts benefitting both farmers and students and their understanding of sustainable agricultural practices; (2) empower farmers with knowledge and applied skills for sustaining and improving soil health on their farms; (3) support networking and technical assistance to help farmers and their advisors make decisions that will result in positive changes for the profitability of their operation and soil sustainability. After this project, farmers will (action outcomes): (1) improve and diversify their production systems through data-driven recommendations; (2) identify circumstances where adopting cover crops will not be only a viable option but will demonstrate improvements on soil health and sustainability of their farms; (3) improve farmers economic well-being, quality of life, and professional inquiry of issues related to environmental stewardship and long-term sustainability. These outcomes represent critical steps toward agricultural systems sustainability and will lead to positive improvements in agricultural productivity and soil health across the North Central region and positive education changes for promoting sustainability. Furthermore, we expect this project to result in fundamental new knowledge on benefits from cover crops for similar agricultural production systems in the US and worldwide. Additionally, this project will result in the education of many current farmers and next-generation agriculturalists (5-12 grades), who will gain valuable experience on agricultural sustainability. We believe that pre-college involvement via field days will impact the long-term adoption of sustainable practices, building up a legacy for future generations.
Research
This project builds upon the KSHP and intends to continue the on-farm soil health research conducted at Guetterman Brothers Family Farms (Bucyrus, KS) since 2018, for two more years (2022 and 2023). The field is under no-tillage with a corn-soybean rotation. The design consists of two treatments and four randomized replicated strips of 6.5 acres each of the farmer standard practice (no cover crop) and the improved practice (cover crop) for 53 acres. The cover crop (CC) to be planted will be decided every year between the project coordinators and farmers based on agronomical needs (compaction, erosion, water infiltration) and seed availability. Crop row spacing, plant density, fertility, and pest management will be based on local and regional standard practices. The characterization parameters include yield, soil type, elevation, weather data, and Kansas State University soil health assessment (Table 1). Baseline soil samples were taken on a GPS coordinated grid at 0-2, 2-6, and 6-12 inches in the spring of 2018. Subsequent soil sampling will be conducted in the spring of 2022 and 2023.
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Methods |
Citation |
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Physical |
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Soil texture |
(Kilmer and Alexander, 1949) |
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Bulk density |
(Fabrizzi et al., 2009) |
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Water-stable aggregates |
(Mikha and Rice, 2004) |
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Chemical |
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Standard nutrient analysis* and CEC |
(NCR221, 2015) (Chapman, 1965) |
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Soil organic carbon |
(Mikha and Rice, 2004) |
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Total nitrogen |
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Biological |
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Phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA)** |
(White and Ringelberg, 1998) |
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Β-glucosidase activity |
(Zeglin et al., 2013) |
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N-acetyl-glucosaminidase activity |
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Acid phosphatase activity |
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Active carbon |
(Weil et al., 2003) |
Cover crops offer multiple benefits to soils, such as providing erosion control, improving soil structure, and increasing organic matter. In this study, we hypothesized that cover crops 1) increase soil microbial biomass and fungi, 2) improve soil aggregation, and 3) boost the relationship between the soil microbial community and aggregates. We conducted on-farm research in Kansas to assess the effect of cover crops in the soil microbial community and aggregates and their relationship. The experimental design was four randomized and replicated strips (RCBD) of the farmer standard practice (no cover crop) and the improved practice (cover crop). Soil samples were taken at cover crop termination on a GPS-coordinated grid at 0-5 cm soil depth in the first (2018), third (2020), and fifth (2022) years of the study. We assessed the soil microbial community through Phospholipid Fatty Acid Analysis and aggregate stability by wet sieving. Our results indicate that cover crops increased soil microbial biomass, fungi biomass, and aggregates' mean weight diameter. Also, cover crops boosted the formation of large macro aggregates.
Educational & Outreach Activities
Participation Summary:
- Soil health and cover crops field day in Bucyrus, KS, at the Guetterman Brothers Family Farms with 160 attendees
- Regenerative ag field day in Parsons, KS, at the K-State Southeast Research and Extension Center with 20 attendees.
- Three publications of the soil health series under review (1- What is soil health; 2- Soil health biological indicators; 3- Soil health physical indicators)
- 1 video about soil health produced.
- 1st Place Oral Presentation, Soil Health Community, American Society of Agronomy (ASA). 2022. Presentation: Cover crops boost the relationship between the soil microbial community and aggregates. Data from this grant was used.
- 1st Place 5-minute Presentation and Poster, Soil Education and Outreach, Soil Science Society of America (SSSA). 2022. Presentation: Using a root display to engage farmers and students toward sustainable agriculture.
- 5-minute and poster presentation in Baltimore (ASA-SSSA-CSSA). Engaging research and extension through soil health: building a network in Kansas.
- Oral presentation at the 22nd World Congress of Soil Science, July 31- August 5, Glasgow, Scotland. On-farm strategies for improving soil health: Building a network in Kansas - USA.