Adding cover crops, perennial foraging and grazing to row crop and small-grain operations in Minnesota could bring less soil erosion and nitrate pollution of waterways and lower greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new report from the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture (MISA) at the University of Minnesota.
“Creating Opportunity by Re-Integrating Ruminant Grazing in Row Crop Country” was created by George Boody, endowed chair in agricultural systems at the U of MN and former executive director of the Land Stewardship Project. He finds making a shift on 7.5 million acres of mostly marginal land in the state from traditional row crop production or basic grazing on existing grasslands to more continuous living cover and well-managed grazing, could drive a public benefit of $450 million over six years after an initial $330 million in state-funded cost-sharing for farmers to shift their practices.
“With the integration of continuous living cover and managed rotational grazing of cattle, Minnesota farmers have an opportunity to help meet the Next Generation Energy Goals of 30 percent interim reduction of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, while building soil health in their fields,” Boody says. “Substantial public benefits in water quality, wildlife habitat, and new farmer opportunities justify the taxpayer investments needed to spur adoption at a landscape scale.”
Twenty-one farmers were interviewed for the report, including Luverne and MJ Forbord who farm near Starbuck. The Forbords both grew up on farms where the soil was tilled for row crops. After nearly 20 years of farming, they made the switch and “ditched the tillage,” they say. “Now the whole farm is converted to perennials grazed by our cattle. We’ve seen much better soil aggregation, better water infiltration, and the organic matter has increased. We see erosion in farm country, but not on our farm, not anymore.”
Boody’s report documents extensive research and mapping on the impacts of shifts in cropping practices and livestock integration on both cropping systems and environmental factors. The report includes detailed calculations of reductions in nitrate releases to waterways and greenhouse gas emissions under scenarios where marginal land in row crop production or grass was shifted to cover cropping, perennial forage and/or well-managed grazing.
The report outlines opportunities for farmers with small and midsize beef feedlots in southwestern Minnesota to supply animals for custom grazing on neighboring farms’ cover crop forage in the fall. Shifting marginal corn-soybean acres into perennial forage would also provide startup opportunities for beginning livestock farmers.
The report, supplemental materials and videos of farm operations are available on the MISA website: https://misa.umn.edu/publications/reintegrating-ruminant-grazing-row-crop-country. You can also find a series of 10 videos highlighting ways farmers in Minnesota have integrated livestock into their cropping systems or envision doing so.
“This report is but the latest in a long history of excellent projects led by talented people in the rotating Endowed Chair in Agricultural Systems,” notes MISA Executive Director Helene Murray. “We are proud of that program’s contribution to sustainability of agriculture in Minnesota since its inception in 1994.”
Source : umn.edu