Keeping your soil on the farm

 

The first step toward healthy soil is the keep the soil you have in place. Topsoil is the fertile top layer of soil representing centuries of growth and decay and is both a protector from, and vulnerable to, erosion. Erosion is not always readily visible on cropland because farming operations may cover up its signs. Loss of only 1/32 of an inch of topsoil can represent a five-ton-per- acre loss. Watch for the following signs that you may be exporting soil fertility:
 
•        Dust clouds
•        Soil accumulation along fence lines or snowbanks
•        A "drift" appearance on the soil surface
•        Small rills and channels on the soil surface
•        Soil deposited at the base of slopes
•        Sediments in streams, lakes and reservoirs
•        Pedestals of soil supporting pebbles and plant material
 
Erosion damage is twofold:
 
•        Surface soil erosion causes a loss of nutrients and biodiversity within the system, and often creates a less favorable environment for plant growth.
•        Soil nutrients enter and accumulate in bodies of water. The nutrients can cause problems such as algal blooms and related oxygen depletion due to high nutrient levels. This type of nutrient runoff is responsible for large “dead zones” in bodies of water such as the Gulf of Mexico and the Chesapeake Bay.
 

 

 Making Progress

Thanks to the efforts of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and partnering farmers, erosion is a declining problem. We still have a long way to go, though, in preserving valuable topsoil resources. A recent NRCS report found that:
 
•        Significant gains in erosion control that were made between 1982 and 1997 were sustained between 1997 and 2001.
•        Soil erosion on cropland declined from 3.1 billion tons per year in 1982 to 1.8 billion tons per year in 2001.
•        Erosion rates per acre also declined between 1982 and 2001. Wind erosion dropped from 3.3 tons per acre per year to 2.1 tons per acre per year.