The Feasibility of Cover Crops in Dryland Cropping Systems in SW Colorado and SE Utah

The Feasibility of Cover Crops in Dryland Cropping Systems in SW Colorado and SE Utah

Summary

The main goal of this project is to determine if and how cover crops can enhance the sustainability of dryland cropping systems in SW Colorado and SE Utah. Our hypothesis is that cover crops grown during the fallow period between two cash crops such as winter wheat or safflower will achieve one or more of the following benefits: (1) reduce soil erosion, (2) improve soil fertility and biological activity or (3) suppress weeds, without negatively impacting the profitability of the cropping system. In order to test this hypothesis, several field trials were initiated in 2015 or 2016. Cover crop mixtures have or will be planted in these trials and a large number of data is being collected to determine cover crops’ impacts on dryland cropping systems in our high altitude and relatively arid environment. The project’s website was launched in 2015 and is already quite popular. Two seminars were organized in December 2015 and in March 2016. Attendance to these seminar exceeded 100. The results of Year 1 of field testing will be available later this year.

Objectives/Performance Targets

Objectives/Performance Targets:

1. Evaluate the performance of cover crops and determine their effects on soil moisture, soil fertility, weed control, soil biology, soil erosion, and on the succeeding cash crop.

• Establish field trials on farmers’ fields and at the Southwestern Colorado Research Center (Research Center).
• Collect baseline data at the start of each trial.
• Measure soil and plant characteristics annually to determine if and how cover crops affect dryland cropping systems in SW Colorado and SE Utah.

2. Assess the economic feasibility of cover crops in dryland cropping systems. Partial budget analysis will be used to track changes in revenue that result from the operational and input costs associated with planting cover crops. Analysis will include measuring return on investment following cover crops, accounting for changes to yield or quality of cash crops. This will determine where a cover crop strategy produces a profit or loss to the operator. Indirect costs and benefits of cover crop management will be documented.

3. Educate farmers and others about cover crops and disseminate project results (all participants). This will be achieved via:

• Yearly field tours and workshops
• A project documentary video
• Factsheets, CSU/AES Technical Bulletins, and two refereed journal articles
• Presentations at growers meetings, workshops, and other relevant events in Colorado and Utah.

4. Gauge the project’s impact by how well the outreach events are attended, feedback from each event, and the number of acres planted to cover crops since this project started. NRCS will continue to track the number of additional applications for cover crop grant assistance and will assist with long term monitoring of cover crop practice adoption.

Accomplishments/Milestones

The following tests were initiated or established in 2015 or 2016:

1. Barry Farm in Eastland, UT: Yellow sweet clover was inter-seeded with winter wheat in wheat-wheat-fallow and will be compared to winter wheat with no yellow sweet clover in it. In another field, a 10-species cover crop mixture was planted in a large portion of the fallowed ground in a wheat-fallow rotation. Both crop rotations are no-till and non-organic. Yellow sweet clover and the 10-species mixture were planted on August 15, 2015.

2. Crowley Farms in Eastland, UT: A 6-species cover crop mixture was planted on September 10, 2015 on fallowed ground in a conventional-tillage wheat-fallow-safflower rotation. This field is certified organic.

3. Waschke Farm in Dolores County, CO: Approximately 33 acres of fallow ground in a wheat-fallow rotation were planted to Austrian peas on April 18, 2015. Austrian peas were disked on June 21, 2015 and the whole field was seeded to winter wheat in late October. The Waschke’s farm is certified organic. More cover crops will be tested on this field in 2017.

4. Garchar Farm: A 4-species cover crop mixture will be planted on fallowed ground in a non-organic conventional-tillage wheat-fallow rotation in April 2016 as soon as the weather permits.

5. Research Center: Three, four, and six species cover crop mixtures were planted in late September 2015 in fallowed ground in a no-till wheat-fallow rotation. Another field was planted to winter wheat and will be divided into main plots and sub-plots after wheat harvest in July 2016 to start a second cover crops trial. Treatments will consist of tillage (conventional and no-till) and up to nine cover crops mixtures. Some of these mixtures will be similar to the ones tested on farmers’ fields. The crop rotation will be non-organic wheat-fallow.

6. One or two additional on-farm trials (Lewis & McCart) may be started in the spring of 2016. The background data for the Lewis’ farm has already been collected.

The soil types in the test sites were identified and mapped in the summer of 2015.  Concurrently, the protocols for soil and plant sampling and analysis were developed and baseline data was collected. These include soil infiltration rates with the Cornell Sprinkler Infiltrometer, earth worm count, and the Haney and Phospholipid Fatty Acids (PLFA) soil tests. Ground cover was assessed with the line-point intercept and the biomass methods at two of the test sites in early fall 2015. More sampling and measurements are being done in 2016. Earlier this year, it was decided to add the Cornell Soil Health Analysis and the “NPK+Organic Matter” standard soil analysis. The latter was added due to the variability in test results that may exist with the Haney test. Other data that will be collected this year include soil water content, cash crop yield and quality, field operations dates and types, input costs and custom rates, commodity prices, etc. These will be used to develop enterprise budgets for each test. Data for 2015 (e.g., field operations and inputs) has already been collected. The results of Year 1 testing will be available later this year.

The project’s website with soil media components (Facebook and Google+) was launched in 2015 and includes regular updates of the project’s news and events. The link to the website is:

http://drylandcovercrops.agsci.colostate.edu/

Several of the project’s participants have been interviewed and videotaped. Some of the presentations and other events related to this project were also videotaped. Clips of these videos were uploaded to YouTube and posted on Facebook and Google+ pages. 

Two seminars were organized in Cortez, CO, one on December 5-6, 2015 and the other one on March 18, 2016. The first seminar, Exploring Innovations and Efficiencies, included one presentation about this project and five other presentations (two by cooperating farmers) that addressed soil health and farming sustainability in Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico. The second seminar was held at the Montezuma County Fairgrounds in conjunction with the Four States Ag Expo. Its focus was dryland cover crops and soil moisture management. The agendas of both seminars are posted on the project’s website.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

It is too early to assess the impacts of this project since this is the first year of the project and some of the field trials were started late in 2015 or are being implemented this year. However, the project’s website and outreach activities have had broad appeal. For example, the December 2015 seminar was attended by over 100 people from the Four Corners Region. Thirty-one people attended the March 2016 seminar and 20 people attended the follow-up evening outreach event with the speakers. Feedback from these events was mostly positive.

The project’s website is generating interest in cover crops and soil health from a broad audience (consumers, farmers, ag professionals, general public). After the release of the marketing flyer (e.g., flyer to advertise the project) in the community and local ag-related events, Google + has reached almost 10,000 hits globally.  The launch of project interview videos are increasing traffic 25% through YouTube and is expected to increase by the end of the year.      

Collaborators: