Dr. Meagan Schipanski, Lance Feikert and Mike Neff
Intensifying and diversifying cropping systems in the High Plains offers great potential for improving soil health, precipitation use efficiency, and enhancing the productivity and profitability of dryland farming enterprises. However, balancing these different goals can also be challenging in water-limited regions. This session will provide producer perspectives and results from on-farm research investigating the potential of grazed forage (cover crop) mixtures as a practice to balance soil health and profitability goals. The study is a collaboration between producers, researchers, and extension specialists in Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska, that evaluated spring-planted mixtures for grazing and soil health benefits on farm fields over two years. Results suggest that 1-2 tons/acre of forage can be produced for about a 30-day period of early summer grazing within dryland crop rotations. The forage mixtures improved soil aggregation near the soil surface, reduced soil moisture below 3 feet in soil profile and had an impact on wheat yields in 1 of 4 fields in the first year of the study. Preliminary economic analysis of this practice will be shared. While the results will focus on the spring-planted mixtures, we will also share initial results from post-wheat planted forage mixtures for late fall grazing.
Mike Neff (Dresden, KS) and Lance Feikert (Bucklin, KS) will share their experiences with grazing cover crops in both spring-planted and post-wheat planted windows. They will share lessons learned on when to plant, what to plant, when to graze, how to manage water and fencing, and the impacts they see on their overall operation and soil health.