- Develop a mental
picture of your farm with best conservation practice in place.
Visualize a clear picture of what you want
your farm to look like regarding soil and water conservation and work to make
this picture a reality. Make sure that the water that leaves your farm is
clean and clear and will benefit your downstream neighbor.
- Make a
conservation plan for each field. Use NRCS technical advice to correct problems and use the
finalized plan as a conservation goal for each field. Make sure the water
leaving each field is clean and clear.
- Reduce or
eliminate tillage. If tillage
is necessary to correct a problem, then do only the minimum work needed to
correct the problem. Try to keep vegetation or vegetative residue on the soil
surface at all times.
- Use crop rotation
which includes a high-residue crop. High-residue crops lower soil erosion and
increase infiltration and organic matter. Crop rotation allows a varied
Integrated Pest Management Plan that can help prevent resistance.
- Plant cover crops
or allow winter annuals to grow. Providing winter crops will reduce soil
loss. If possible hold water on fields during the winter months as long as
practical. Impounded water allows soil particles to settle out and benefits
wildlife all winter long.
- Leave a 30-ft.
vegetative buffer on the lower
end of each field to trap soil sediments in the runoff water. Create an
elevated pad on the lower end of each field, forcing runoff water through
pipes as it leaves the field. Buffers on all sides of the field can benefit
wildlife as well.
- Direct all water
furrows to a grade control
structure, pipe, or to (not through) a vegetative filter strip.
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