Agriculturalists have seen an increased awareness and adoption of conservation practices.
Today we look at one conservation practice, which researchers continue to find interest in.
AUDIO: Dr. Richard Cruse, Iowa State University – Agronomy Department
The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) presented a Seeding Solutions Grant to Iowa State University (ISU). The grant, coupled with funding matches, totals $1.49 million. Dr. Richard Cruse, professor in the Agronomy Department at ISU, says his research aims to improve soil health through prairie strips.
?The research is going to address the effect of prairie strips, or reconstructed prairie strips strategically placed on the landscape, and how those prairie strips interact with soil to favorably affect environmental components and agricultural productivity,?Cruse said.
Research suggests prairie strips favorably, yet disproportionately impact water runoff and soil quality. Dr. Cruse wants to determine if there are lasting returns after transitioning land back to crop production.
?We don?t know how long it takes for positive effects on soils to occur,? Cruse said. ?And if we (were to) rotate the prairie strips to a different position, how long does the favorable soil condition last if we move the area into row crop production?,? Cruse asks.
Dr. Cruse also plans to examine production benefits.
?There?s another component related to farmers, (which) we haven?t talked about yet, and that is addressing where farmers are seeing a non-profitable response to what they?re currently doing with row crops. Research shows a significant percentage, anywhere from 10- to 20-percent, of given fields are non-profitable, year-after-year. We?re addressing this form of interaction between prairie strips, or native prairie,? Cruse said.
?If we stopping applying, or paying for inputs we normally would have in row crop areas, farm profitability goes up,? Cruse said. ?There?s an interaction of this dealing with farm profitability, where profitability occurs or you can increase profitability, and adding a component that would have favorable economic and ecologic returns.?
