Some Farmers Are Using This New, Experimental Practice to Help Prevent Flooding

By Rachel Cramer

Across much of the Midwest, the atmosphere is becoming warmer and retaining more water, leading to heavier downpours. A two-crop system called relay intercropping could help farmers buffer weather whiplash and boost profits.

On a farm in east central Iowa, pale green seed heads brush the shins of Mike Bretz as he walks through a field. He planted this cereal rye last October as part of a multi-year research project.

“Got a little bit of growth going in the fall and the winter there, and then of course, it starts coming up in the spring,” Bretz said.

He plans to harvest the rye in July. But it’s not the only crop growing in this field. Bretz leans down to inspect dark green leaves in tidy rows spaced 30 inches apart. He planted these soybeans mid-April and will harvest them in the fall.