South Dakota Dairy Farmers Improving Soil Health and Water Quality with Regenerative Agricultural Practices
Rye Cover Crop
This article is sponsored by Midwest Dairy.
Regenerative agriculture practices are currently at the forefront of conservation conversations. As widespread soil erosion and decreased land productivity continue to occur at unprecedented levels, farmers are turning to regenerative agricultural practices to improve soil health and restore degraded soils. Each piece of farmland is different and requires a specific management plan to best care for the soil, moisture content, and flora and fauna. Therefore, there are a multitude of sustainable practices farmers can implement, including no-till farming, planting cover crops, installing buffer strips, reducing fertilizer application, and developing a nutrient management plan, to name a few.
Regenerative agriculture practices positively impact not only soil health but water quality, filtration, and retention as well. By retaining a higher amount of biomass on the ground through practices such as planting riparian buffer strips and cover crops, farmers can reduce the amount of runoff into nearby streams and rivers while retaining soil moisture on their land. Additionally, these plants will help to filter out excess nutrients and harmful bacteria before they enter our waterways. Farmers across the United States are implementing these key agricultural practices, including dairy farmers in the Big Sioux River watershed.
Jogchum Andringa, Dairy Farmer
Dairy farmer Jogchum Andringa plants cover crops, such as rye, turnips, and radishes to help build healthier soil, reduce fertilizer application, and retain soil moisture. “In addition to improved soil health and biodiversity, cover crops help prevent soil erosion and reduce nutrient runoff, which protects water quality. Cover crops can also be used as a forage for our cows, providing additional feed options and improving nutrition for the herd.” Andringa also feeds upcycled agriculture byproducts that could end up in a landfill, such as corn gluten, soy hulls, and beet pulp. “Cows have a unique ability to turn byproducts that humans can’t or won’t eat into nutrient- rich milk. On our farm, one example of this is feeding beet pulp, a byproduct from the processing of sugar beets. Beet pulp is the fibrous material left over after the sugar is extracted and is highly digestible for the cows.”
On a national scale, the U.S. dairy industry has committed to making sustainability and regenerative agricultural practices more affordable and accessible for farms of all sizes through the U.S. Dairy Net Zero Initiative. As a whole, the dairy industry commits to achieving greenhouse gas neutrality, optimizing water use, and improving water quality by optimizing the use of manure and nutrients by 2050. Sustainable agriculture practices have come a long way on dairy farms, but there is still more work to do. We look to leaders such as Jogchum Andringa and others to continue to spread the good word about the importance of implementing conservation practices that improve soil health and water quality.