Cover Crops and Conservation Tillage Could Reduce Likelihood of Highway Dust Storms

By Tim Alexander

Pop-up dust storms such as the May 1 event that resulted in the loss of seven lives on an Illinois interstate could eventually be curtailed if more agricultural producers take advantage of government-funded programs that help defray the costs associated with adopting sustainable conservation agriculture practices on their farms.

This is the conclusion of many agricultural conservation proponents including Pete Fandel, professor of agriculture at Illinois Central College and a cover crop specialist with the Illinois Sustainable Agriculture Partnership (ISAP). While the adoption of cover crops-- defined as an overwintering crop raised for the protection and enrichment of the soil-- and other agricultural conservation practices by farmers will not completely eliminate dust storms, widespread usage of sustainable conservation practices by farmers could reduce the chances of another deadly dust storm occurring, according to Fandel.

Fandel, who himself is a farmer in Woodford County, is cautioning agricultural producers that failure to take up these conservation practices on a voluntary basis could result in government regulations mandating their usage.

I-55 dust storm rare, but not unprecedented

Dust storms such as the one that occurred May 1 on Interstate 55 near the Sangamon and Montgomery County lines are rare in respect of the number of fatalities (seven), injuries (37) and amount of vehicles (72) involved in the ensuing pileup, which occurred due to obstructed vision caused by the blowing dust. The National Weather Service (NWS) laid a portion of the blame at the feet of farmers, stating “the dust originated from freshly tilled and planted farm fields, and was kicked up by wind gusts of 35 to 45 miles per hour” with winds topping out at 54 miles per hour.

But such dust storms are, in reality, not rare, especially in western and plains states where land is more vast and winds typically more prevalent. In Illinois, two people were killed on May 17, 2017 when 40-50 mph winds closed I-72 from Jacksonville to Springfield, and I-55 from McLean to Bloomington. In 1990, I-57 was closed from Arcola to Mattoon due to blowing dust; two injuries were reported. Similarly, a dust storm on I-57 from central Illinois to the Chicago area led to an accident involving nine cars and two semi trailers, according to the NWS.

Federal mandate on the horizon?

Could federal regulations soon be coming that will mandate farmers usage of conservation practices such as cover crops and reduced tillage? Fandel envisions a day when this could occur in Illinois, even without the increased scrutiny on agricultural practices in the aftermath of the May 1 tragedy on I-55.

“We have the hypoxia situation in the Gulf of Mexico and issues like this (dust storm) that happen infrequently, and we have the current administration that is very environmentally-friendly. And if you look at other parts of the country there have been some laws that have been passed that point to the fact there could be some potential legislation or some ruling that would mandate or encourage more farmers to undertake more of these practices than we are seeing,” said Fandel.

Companies now offering carbon capture contracts to Illinois farmers include PepsiCo and ADM. One carbon-buying company, Indigo, recently sold hundreds of farmer-produced credits for $27 apiece to buyers such as JPMorgan Chase, Shopify and North Face that are looking to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

Several government-funded programs already exist under the auspices of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service that will partially cover the costs of installing and maintaining conservation practices. The programs, EQIP, CRP and others, are funded through the federal farm bill’s conservation title.