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Farmers shouldn’t cut corners on conservation

A conservation consultant says farmers shouldn’t cut conservation practices as they enter another year of low commodity prices.

Hans Kok says there is a return on investment in practices like nitrogen management, which can improve soil and productivity.

“Some farmers are doing strip trials where some of them, with the help of Purdue University, put different strips of nitrogen rates out and then come up with where you get the highest yields and profits on your fields,” he says.

He says many farmers are looking at their seed costs first.

“I know a lot of farmers that are really reevaluating what kind of corn they should be growing- are there premiums to be had on certain hybrids or certain kinds of corn,” he says.

He tells Brownfield farmers should also continue to use cover crops.

“For nutrient cycling that’s very important, but sometimes you don’t see an immediate return on investment,” he says. “Luckily we have a lot of farmer data that shows what the return on investment on cover crops is.”

Kok spoke to Brownfield at a recent farmer workshop hosted by the Indiana Corn Marketing Council and the Indiana Soybean Alliance.

Audio: Hans Kok, conservation consultant