Agricultural News
Conservation Meeting Produces Positve Results for Conservation, Soil Health
Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:43:13 CST
Clay Pope, executive director of the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts, and about 40 Oklahomans were on hand for the recent National Association of Conservation Districts meeting in San Antonio Texas.
Pope said the continuing drought across Oklahoma and much of the Southwest got a great deal of attention as did a renewed emphasis on soil health. He said a new soil health initiative launched by the National Resource Conservation Service promises increased productivity for farmers and ranchers while multiplying conservation and environmental benefits.
"Clearly, the NRCS's soil health initiative is one of the things that we're really excited about--the idea that, with some of the research that's come out now, you can increase the organic matter in your soils, you can greatly increase your productivity. It's been shown that for every one percent improvement in organic matter you can have up to $750 worth of nutrients in that acre of soil, plus the fact that by increasing your organic matter you also increase the water-holding of the soil.
"Studies at OSU have shown that no-till is the equivalent of a three-inch rain when you think about how much water you can hold in the soil and the fact that you don't lose as much water to evaporation. And there are also the environmental benefits you have from improved water quality, the reduction in soil erosion, the reduction in diesel use, the improvement you see in carbon sequestration, and also the improvement in wildlife habitat.
"You know, that's something we're all really excited about, that intersection of increased productivity and making sure that we can feed and clothe the world and do it in a manner that helps us protect our natural resource base."
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