By Christine Charles
A newly published report from Michigan State University Extension offers a window into the questions and concerns Michigan agricultural professionals have about conservation agriculture. The report synthesizes insights from focus groups and surveys with advisers, educators and conservation professionals across the state in 2023.
The goal? To better align research, outreach and technical support with the real-world challenges farmers and their technical advisers face when adopting conservation practices like no-till, cover crops and diversified rotations.
Why this report matters
Michigan farmers are increasingly interested in conservation practices that protect soil, water and long-term productivity. However, according to Michigan Agriculture Advancement, 2021, adoption remains low due to a mix of agronomic, economic, ecological and social barriers. This report identifies the specific knowledge gaps that hinder adoption as identified by technical experts, agronomists and experienced farmers who work alongside farmers who are new to or hesitant to use conservation practices.
Key barriers include:
- Concerns about yield loss, pest pressure and profitability.
- Uncertainty about how practices perform under extreme weather or with annual variability.
- Lack of region-specific examples and economic data.
- Social resistance and time constraints for implementation.
Five priority areas for research and outreach
The report highlights five core themes where Michigan’s agricultural professionals want more support:
- Conservation practices and systems – Advisers want local examples, risk assessments and economic data to help farmers troubleshoot the added complexity of different conservation systems. Data on conservation practices through a perspective of farm systems, stacked practices and on-farm customization would help agricultural professionals to better apply conservation practices in the field.
- Cover crops – There is a strong demand for guidance on integrating cover crops after late harvests, investing in species (and varieties) with proven benefits in Michigan, and balancing the economic and agronomic value of cover crops.
- No-till – While continuous no-till farming has shown many system and environmental benefits, many Michigan farmers rely on rotational or reduced tillage. Advisers want comparative research on long-term outcomes and measurable environmental benefits from diverse tillage approaches in Michigan.
- Time – Increased fieldwork, learning curves and delayed payoffs remain large deterrents to implementing conservation practices. Advisers want tools and research to help farmers implement short-term successes and set realistic expectations of conservation practice impact over time.
- Soil health – Soil health has become a featured topic for many years and many advisors want to now understand the concept on a new level. Increasingly, agricultural professionals would like to know which soil health indicators can inform management decisions and how to best tailor on-farm practices across diverse cropping systems to improve agronomic, economic, and soil health outcomes.
Source : msu.edu