Pop quiz: What farming practice prepares the land for growing crops through the digging and stirring of soil?

If all of us were posed this question, I’m just about certain we’d all be screaming the (conventional) answer: conventional tillage. In a way, we’d be right on the money, but there’s also another acceptable answer: earthworms.

Okay, earthworms aren’t exactly a “farming practice”, but in a sense, they can be viewed that way. After all, there’s a reason they’ve been coined, “nature’s plow.”

EARTHWORMS: A FARMER’S BEST FRIEND?

So what role do they play exactly? Soil Ecology expert Clive Edwards has the answer:

“Earthworms dramatically alter soil structure, water movement, nutrient dynamics, and plant growth. They are not essential to all healthy soil systems, but their presence is usually an indicator of a healthy system.”

To break down some of the more prominent benefits, earthworms:

• Stimulate microbial activity
• Mix and aggregate soil
• Increase soil infiltration
• Improve water-holding capacity
• Provide channels for root growth
• Bury and shred plant residue

For a more in-depth look at how earthworms can be a farmer’s best friend, check out the The University of Ohio State’s Clive Edwards’ informative breakdown here.

EARTHWORMS AND TILLAGE

So why are we pushing the earthworm agenda?

Unfortunately, the very practice of tillage is devastating earthworm populations. This seems to be yet another reason of why SDSU’s Dwayne Beck, who also knows a bit when it comes to farming, says that, “Tillage is a catastrophic event.”

As far as earthworms go, researches from University College Dublin, Ireland as well as University of Vigo, Spain have been studying this reality for over 65 years. Their research spanned 40 countries and involved over 200 fields. The results?

“What we see is a systematic decline in the earthworm population in the soil after continued ploughing and a significant increase in the abundance of earthworms in less disturbed soil, although some soils would need more than 10 years to show good signs of recovery.” – Olaf Schmidt, UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin.
That’s not where the research ends, however.

“Our study also identifies the conditions under which earthworms respond most to a reduction in tillage intensity,” says University of Vigo Professor Maria Briones. “These findings can be translated into advice for farmers in different parts of the world. For example, strong results are achieved in soils with higher clay contents (>35%) and low pH”

TRUTH IN YOUR OPERATION

Can earthworms help your crops? Is their role really worth considering when it comes to your farming operation? Of course, the only way to know for certain is to find out for yourself, in your own fields. This, to a degree, takes an admitted leap of faith. As Olaf Schmidt admits, some soils require over 10 years for their native earthworm populations to fully recover. That reality in and of itself should show us how deeply conventional practices have devastated our lands.

The transition to no-till and regenerative farming is not realized over-night, but if this research is of any indication, increased earthworm populations have a bevy of benefits that are tough to ignore. After all, that’s the reason they’ve been called, “nature’s plough.” Could they be put to work for you?

JOIN THE REVOLUTION!
– Barrett

SOURCES: 1) Tillage Farming Damaging Earthworm populations, Says Scientists
                    2) Earthworms

In our last blog, we discussed the often-overlooked value of soil health and living soils. What is that value? Well, it all starts with… actually, don’t worry about it.

While the evidence in support of regenerative farming (a philosophy and set of practices that drive soil health/biology forward) seems to be growing, it probably doesn’t do much good for us to simply read them. The truth is, even if someone presented the most lopsided statistics in favor of such practices as these accompanied by authoritative quotes in its support, odds are it wouldn’t do much good. We humans often need more than just head-knowledge to be converted – we need knowledge that resonates with the heart. This type of deep knowledge is rarely acquired in the classroom or from words on a screen. No, this type of knowledge is acquired only through direct experience.

Luckily, just last week our team was able to witness the benefits of living soils first-hand – no blogs, text books, varying statistics, or farmer testimonials necessary.

In our 5-day trip to the Mount Rushmore State, we were fortunate enough to meet with the NRCS’ Jeff Hemenway. In that interview, Jeff shared a wide array of knowledge and hard statistics that illuminated the value of living soils. While these statistics may be hard to argue against, what definitely couldn’t be dismissed was seeing them unfold in that very interview.

SLAKE TEST

The concept of Slake Testing probably isn’t new to most of our audience, but for those who may benefit from a definition, soilquality.org gives us a perfect explanation:

“Slaking indicates the stability of soil aggregates, resistance to erosion and suggests how well soil can maintain its structure to provide water and air for plants and soil biota… Limited slaking suggests that organic matter is present in soil to help bind soil particles and microaggregates into larger, stable aggregates.”

Or put more simply, Slake Testing compares the resilience of two soils – most notably, conventional till versus no-till.

For those of you that haven’t seen our video of the demonstration on Facebook or Twitter, take a moment to check it out for yourself here:

Even a few seconds in and it’s not hard to see that two drastically different factors are at play. The conventionally tilled soil begins to break down the second it’s submerged. The no-till soil on the other hand maintains its structure throughout.

As I sat there, a relative newbie to the soil health movement, it was clear that all of the articles, statistics, and interviews that had been pointing towards the value of living soils were in fact true. I could say this because the evidence was playing out right in front of me.

For the no-till soil, organic matter, while perhaps unseen by the eye, was there, alive and well. All I could think of during the test was that the no-till soil performed as a unit, one living whole, while the conventionally tilled soil performed less like a cohesive entity, and more simply like… well, dirt.

Take this example a step further and apply it to two different fields – one conventionally tilled and one incorporating no-till (which, if done right, is always accompanied by the 4 Principles of Soil Health).

It’s rather clear that the field using the latter would be more resilient (to shocks like drought or floods) with reduced erosion and higher soil biomass. It doesn’t take a PhD in soil science or agronomy to see this… or as Dr. Buz Kloot would say, “It’s not rocket surgery.”

THE GROWING SOIL HEALTH MOVEMENT

Our one Slake Test in Huron, S.D. last week is not an isolated event. These tests have been on display at conferences and universities throughout the U.S., opening countless eyes along the way. Just look up “Slake Test” on YouTube and you’ll see what I mean.

As anyone who has followed along with Merit or Myth knows, the evidence of healthy soils is abundant and we like to think that we are playing a small part in helping get that message out there. Regardless, we’re not the only ones who are taking notice. Government agencies (spearheaded by a national NRCS effort), universities, environmental organizations and agribusinesses have begun to make a serious push towards soil health – and they’re going all in. Millions of dollars in support of sustainable agriculture are being spent each year. This has led not only to an increase in awareness, but also community. These agencies, organizations, and universities that were once on opposite sides of the fence regarding ag practices are now joining forces. What’s more, the farmers themselves have now been given a platform to speak – AND FINALLY THE WORLD IS LISTENING!

This is the power of healthy soils! There’s only one thing that can be said…

JOIN THE REVOLUTION!
– Barrett

Soil is precious.

This reality often gets lost in translation, but in truth, it is the core message of regenerative farming. Still, many of our actions within the ag industry seem to act in opposition to this truth. Of course, this is always to our own detriment.

So how vital is soil exactly? Well, in some ways, it’s proving as vital as life itself.

“A third of Earth’s organisms live in the soil,” explains Miriam Horn, author of “Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman: Conservation Heroes of the American Heartland” and writer at the Environmental Defense Fund.

That makes up for quite the amount of life below our feet. Unfortunately, it’s generally easy to justify interfering with Mother Nature in the name of progress. What we’re starting to see in our lifetime, however, is that disturbing natural ecosystems (like that of soil) is beginning to disturb our own way of life.

“We still are losing in the U.S. close to 2 billion tons of topsoil every year,” says Horn. “In some parts of the country, that’s the equivalent of about a foot or more of topsoil gone.”

These are just some of the issues that we’re facing as a nation. Fortunately, where there is a problem there is also opportunity, and where there is opportunity, there is the chance to thrive. That is exactly the case in Glen Elder, Kansas, where producer Doug Palen has found a way to drastically increase his organic matter and crop performance – all while promoting sustainability.

ARMORING THE SOIL

Palen has been practicing no-till and crop rotation since the mid-90’s. Currently, he boasts an array of crops including wheat, corn, soybeans, sorghums as well as oats and sunflowers.

“What we’re constantly trying to do is mimic the native system,” Palen says. “The natural system where there’s always something growing. Always trying to ‘armor’ the soil, (as) we often talk about, is to protect it with the residues on the surface.”

The notion of “armoring soil” may seem a bit radical, but be careful not to get caught up in the terminology. What the notion of this “armor” actually does for the farmer is protect his top soil against erosion. THIS is what valuing soil is all about.

Fortunately for producers, according to Palen’s results, valuing our soil not only seems to lead to more sustainable practices, but also has many other benefits (as anyone who has watched our three-part series with Dr. Randy Anderson is aware).

PALEN’S SOIL BENEFITS

Water Irrigation: Counter to what traditional ag has believed, tilled soil actually seems to be much worse at capturing water than untilled soil. As Miriam Horn voices, “It (no-till soil) stays very porous, and so the water permeates very deep in the soil. There isn’t nearly as much evaporation or water loss, and so (no-till farmers) are much more resilient to these extremes of weather.”

Palen has seen the evidence of this play out in his Kansas fields. For more information on how no-till soils seem to retain water, check out our video with Dr. Tom Schumacher.

Time, Energy and Inputs: Adopting sustainable farming practices works along with Mother Nature. Because of this, we seem to spend less time and energy fighting what Mother Nature wants to do. The end result is a lower workload, and, as we’ve covered before, an increase in quality of life for the farmer.

“They have to make many fewer tractor passes,” Horn explains of no-till farmers, “which saves a lot on time and diesel, but they also frequently add much less nitrogen, because the crop rotations are doing that work. Nature is providing the nitrogen that they need.”
Palen’s practices also address depleted carbon levels – a growing problem of American farmlands.

“If you farm well, if you leave the soil undisturbed, and you keep it protected in these ways and you care for your microbiome, you can start rebuilding that carbon back,” Horn says. “But this group of farmers that Doug is part of have seen the carbon levels in their soil building back up toward native prairie levels.”

And how does Doug Palen say he’s been able to do all of this?

“Everything I get is what Mother Nature gives me, and so that’s what we work with, and we get along well.”

Keep up with Doug Palen and family through his nonprofit, No-till on the Plains.

Join the Revolution,
– Barrett

SOURCE: Another Way to Grow Crops – By Laying Down the Plow