COLUMBIA – Farmers and researchers from around mid-Missouri gathered Friday to discuss the latest research and innovation in cover crop management and technology.
“There’s a lot of great work that’s been done,” Ryan Britt, a farmer at Britt Farms Inc. in Clifton Hill, said. “When we’re able to get together and kind of compare ideas, see what worked, what hasn’t, one of the things that our operation has learned the most from is our mistakes, and it’s nice for somebody else to make some of those mistakes so we don’t have to.”
It comes after increased federal funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help farm conservation. Specifically, the Inflation Reduction Act will give around $19.5 billion to conservation programs around the country.
Recently, the MU’s Center for Regenerative Agriculture also received a $10 million grant to help double the acreage of cover crops in the U.S. by 2030. It was given by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, a federal agency within the USDA.
Cover crops are plants that protect and improve soil when other crops are not being grown and can help reduce erosion, improve soil health, smother weeds, control pests and diseases and improve biodiversity.
Rob Myers, the director of MU’s Center for Regenerative Agriculture and leader of the grant project, says cover crops are vital for farmers.
“If you think of like your lawn, it’s not as likely to wash away as a bare soil would be,” Myers said. “They’re protecting the soil, their roots are holding the soil in place and keeping the soil from eroding away from a field.”
Part of the funds will go toward improving varieties of cover crops. As a result, the department hopes they will develop crops adapted to different regions, soil types and cropping systems. Overall, generating the maximum benefit farmers can obtain in them.
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“Through the process of plant breeding, we can develop new varieties of cover crops that are better suited for different soil types and regions,” Myers said. “Some of the cover crops out there were maybe developed for Florida, or the south, we want ones that are good for our region and other parts of the country.”
According to Myers, the use of cover crops also has economic benefits for farmers.
“Over time they can help improve the yields of crops by improving soil health,” Myers said. “With more yield, the farmer can make more income. They can also save on lower input costs.”
There’s benefits for wildlife too. They can provide habitats for things like nesting ground birds, or food for deer and birds. Overall, providing more biological diversity for landscapes.
According to the release, the $10 million grant is the largest grant MU has earned from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Myers recently earned a $25 million grant — the largest federal grant ever awarded to an MU faculty member — to help Missouri farmers adopt climate-smart practices.
The grant project involves collaboration among 14 MU faculty, 38 scientists from across the country, 17 states, 12 universities, three seed companies, the American Seed Trade Association, three USDA Agricultural Research Service locations and three USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Plant Materials Centers, according to the release.
Scott Edwards, the Missouri state conservationist for the natural resources conservation service, stated his reasoning for the influx of federal money.
“I think there’s been a demand for conservation that just hasn’t been able to be met with current funding through the farm bill,” Edwards said. “I think congress and the department has stepped up.”