© 2021
In touch with the world ... at home on the High Plains
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Preventing Another Dust Bowl: No-till and Cover Cropping Help Retain Moisture in Sandy Soil

Michael Brashier/Flickr

Many producers have converted to no-till, and now progressive farmers are learning to cover crop to keep soil covered after harvesting a cash crop. Ryan Speer is such a producer.

He farms in central Kansas along the Arkansas River south of Halstead. He grows corn, soybeans, wheat and milo, in sandy soil poor at retaining moisture. Ryan started cover-cropping in 2007. By improving the biological material in his soil, more moisture is being stored from precipitation events.