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Regenerative agriculture paying off for Wisconsin farmer

A northwestern Wisconsin farmer says his decades long focus on regenerative agricultural practices has made his farm more adaptable.

Andy Bensend, who grows corn, soybeans, and wheat in Barron County, says this season’s drought doesn’t seem to be having as big of an impact on his crops.

“It’s my goal to get every acre that I farm covered with a cover crop in between the crops.”  He says, “We think it’s given us good resiliency and we’re able to hang on to the rainfall that we do get and reduce to some degree our dependence on herbicides or at least reducing the weed pressure.”

He tells Brownfield that incorporating no-till in the ‘90’s and cover crops in the early 2000’s has built up his soil health.

“The secret to all this is not the cover crop itself but it’s the soil microbes that are doing the work for us.”  He says, “The cover crops are just the vehicle.”

Bensend says using cover crops to scavenge and hold nutrients in the field has also allowed him to reduce synthetic fertilizer rates while maintaining or improving crop yields.

AUDIO: Andy Bensend – Wisconsin farmer