Location: Dairy Forage Research
Project Number: 5090-21500-002-010-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 1, 2021
End Date: Aug 31, 2024
Objective:
The overall objective is to evaluate short- and long-term changes in soil compaction and soil health status, greenhouse gas emissions, and crop production response prior to and following the implementation of conservation management strategies that incorporate cover crops, perennial grasses and other diversified cropping approaches, and precision agriculture tools at the field scale.
Approach:
Baseline values of soil compaction, soil health, crop production, and crop production variability will be established to characterize current conditions in fields at the ARS Prairie du Sac research farm which do not have a long history of diverse crop rotation and cover crop use. This information will be used to determine the implementation of "next steps" with regards to the integration of diverse, adaptive management strategies that will utilize cover crops, diverse perennial species, and conservation tillage, and facilitate the use of stacked management approaches using precision agriculture tools and cover crops to address soil health issues.
