Using perennial groundcovers for improved soil and nutrient retention in corn/soy production

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Commodities

• Agronomic: clovers, corn, soybeans

Practices

• Crop Production: cover crops, intercropping
• Education and Training: on-farm/ranch research, participatory research

Tillage-based corn-soy rotations are the dominant cropping system and represent the major land-use type throughout the Big Blue/Little Blue River watershed in Kansas and Nebraska. The amount of tillage, coupled with relatively high rainfall amounts and intensities, leads to significant soil and nutrient loss to runoff and erosion. Continued soil and nutrient loss to erosion and runoff threatens long-term farm productivity and impairs the quality of surface and subsurface water for human consumption and recreational activities throughout the watershed. Perennial groundcovers (PGC), also known as perennial cover crops, may provide a sustainable alternative to tillage-based production systems and may prove to be more resilient and cost-effective than winter annual cover crops.

We plan to plant kentucky bluegrass and kura clover PGC at three farms in the Big Blue/Little Blue watershed and to collect economic and soil health data. Our research addresses the questions: “Can corn-soy planted into PGC be profitable and a pathway to ecological intensification in the watershed?” and “What barriers to adoption require future research and innovation?” All researchers and farmers will collaborate to introduce knowledge about PGC and our project to the watershed by sharing findings at field days, on social media, and at extension meetings.

PGC research: Determine the agroecological viability of corn/soy planted into kentucky bluegrass and kura clover perennial groundcovers under different farming strategies in Kansas and Nebraska.

• Soil Health: Evaluate effects of PGC on soil health and carbon sequestration compared to conventional practices. 
• Economic Analysis: Compare productivity and profitability under different PGC management strategies - kura clover PGC, kentucky bluegrass PGC, and conventional management.

PGC Outreach

• Build local stakeholder awareness and engagement around PGC.
• Host field days in KS and NE to engage with the local community about PGC.
• Publish our findings on PGC profitability and soil health.