Conservation is stewardship, plain and simple
Justin Dagen

"Man, despite his artistic pretentions, his sophistication and many accomplishments, owes his existence to a six-inch layer of topsoil and the fact that it rains." — Anonymous

When I consider the term "soil conservation," I can't help but think of the word "stewardship:" taking care of something that doesn't belong to you. As family farmers, we don't really possess the land, we simply care for it for a few years until the next generation comes along.

CONSERVATION IS EVERYWHERE: Hundreds of Minnesota farmers practice conservation on their farms, often investing in practices on their own, without state or federal program assistance.

As we all know, water erosion, wind erosion and water pollution crouch by the door. Our task is challenging. Climate change is changing the rules. Yet, failure is not an option. Future generations are depending on us. In the words of a recent contemporary Christian recording artist, "May those who come behind us find us faithful." The Psalmist reminds us "the Earth is the Lord's and everything in it."

On our now sixth-generation farm in northwestern Minnesota, the moldboard plow and the Maytag repairman are neck and neck in the lonely race. The 1970s was a turning point, as conservation tillage design allowed us to manage larger volumes of crop residue efficiently. In the 1980s, miles and miles of hybrid-poplar field windbreaks were planted (however, that trend has recently been reversed due to larger equipment). In the 1990s, many miles of buffer strips were established adjacent to waterways. In the last 10 years, almost half of our farm has been pattern-tiled, reducing runoff erosion. Modern seeding tools allow us to establish perfect stands in high-residue seedbeds.

I believe the health of our soil and water is better now than any time in the past 100 years, despite crop yield increases of nearly 1,000%. Conservation practices are investments that always pay dividends. Give them top priority as you put the 2017 budget together.

Conservation aids sustainable food production
Rochelle Krusemark

While attending the recent annual meeting for AgriGrowth, I heard Carl Casale, CEO of CHS Inc., declare, “Food production cannot be sustainable if farmers are not profitable.” I agree with Mr. Casale. "Sustainable" is not necessarily synonymous with "sustainability," a popular buzzword. At Krusemark Farms, we define sustainability with an environmental science philosophy: not being harmful to the environment or depleting natural resources, and supporting long-term ecological balance.

Our family farm rests on the prairie in south-central Minnesota, with meandering creeks, drainage ditches, woodland, wetlands, pasture, and permanent native grasslands surrounded by tilled and productive land. We are environmentalists. We are farmers.

Brad implemented conservation practices when he purchased the family farm from his parents in 1977. We were married in 1980 and constructed our first terraces and grass waterways in 1981. We have enrolled marginal land in the Conservation Reserve Program and Reinvest in Minnesota, and have taken other land out of production even though it does not qualify for any paid program. We have planted spruce and pine trees the past three years.

Managing cropland to protect soil and water requires evaluating and assessing current soil conditions and then developing a plan. Our farm plan includes installing drainage tile to prevent ponding and soil saturation that increase nutrient loss and leeching. We use minimum tillage, split-shot nitrogen and variable-rate nutrient application per soil types and productivity. The liquid nutrients produced from our hog finishing sites are injected 8 to 10 inches deep using variable-rate. This fall we used strip tillage equipment to perform on-farm trials for next year. We seeded cereal rye as a cover crop on ground where we chopped corn for silage, and on a south-facing slope in bean stubble. Our intention is to graze cows and calves on the cereal rye next spring, prior to planting.

If the weather cooperates, we plan to seed perennial grasses along the creek, where the topography of the land does not slope away from the water structure. We are working with our township and county authorities to repair and riprap where the excessive rains this year caused erosion of the creek banks.

Our goal is to improve the ecological system on our farm while managing our family business efficiently.

Following conservation basics
Paul Kvistad

Tillage on our farm might best be described as mulch tillage, which we do on all acreage every year. Although I have never actually measured the amount of residue left over after a tillage pass, judging by the description of 30% residue left over on topsoil after a tillage pass, this is what our fields would fall under.

When considering equipment purchases or what tillage might do to a field, I always think you have to find balance between too much residue that could plug spring machinery; or leave a cold, wet field for planting and too little residue, which can leave a field prone to wind and/or water erosion.

On our eastern Yellow Medicine County farm, we have medium-to-heavy soils and all fields are tiled. We have three grass waterways that help prevent gullies during heavy rains. We also have couple of hillsides that are prone to washing, and we built terraces there. And we planted a mile and a quarter of ash trees along an old fence line. That helps control wind erosion for us.