Is carbon smart soil smart? (and money smart?)

By Randall Reeder, P.E., Extension Agricultural Engineer (retired)

That’s a tongue twister. We’ve heard a lot about “climate smart.” If we do the practices suggested to be smart for the climate, are we also being “soil smart?”

When you look at the main practices for climate smart, you will see they agree completely with improving soil health. And those practices that make the soil healthier also save money in the long-term (money smart).

There are five core principles growers can implement to help maintain soil and biodiversity: minimize soil disturbance; grow plants year-round; keep the ground covered; diversify crop rotations; and integrate livestock when possible.

Translation: use continuous no-till, cover crops and crop rotation to be “climate smart.” So, the answer to the question(s) in the headline is, yes, soil smart is also climate smart. And it’s also money smart over time.

Getting past the first few years can be a financial challenge.… Continue reading