AUGUST 10, 2018 11:06 AM
Noah Williams, farmer from Dalles, Oregon, decided to experiment with cover crops after several farmers had told him it is impossible to do cover crops in a dryland wheat operation. Williams decided to divide one of his fields into four sections: winter cover crop, warm-season cover crop, spring cool-season cover crop and a fallow section with no cover crop. The plots that had cover crops affected the wheat following, which stayed greener longer. This indicates moisture had been retained in the fields. Williams also uses sensors to monitor soil moisture, and uses the data to fine-tune cover crop termination; “It’s about long-term benefit. If it takes 10 years of cover crops so I can farm for 20 years longer without depleting my soils, that’s a benefit to me.” Read more about Noah’s operation here!
