Farmers feed, shelter and power the world, and they take seriously the responsibility that comes with that critical role.
To celebrate Earth Day, Indiana Farm Bureau, the state’s largest general farm organization, honors our land and everything Hoosier farmers do to protect and preserve the natural resources entrusted to them.
“Farmers are the original stewards of the land,” INFB President Randy Kron said. “We protect the land because it has given so much to us, and we want it to be around for future generations.”
Sustainability and efficiency go hand-in-hand whether you are a row crop farmer producing corn and soybeans using cover crops or no-tillage, a livestock farmer who is handling manure responsibly or a forester who is actively managing the woods.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, agriculture is responsible for 10% of America’s greenhouse gas emissions, much lower than transportation, electricity generation and industry. But farmers are continuously taking active steps to reduce their carbon footprint. INFB spoke to Hoosier farmers about their view of sustainability in agriculture and how they implement climate-friendly practices in their day-to-day work on the farm.
Nick Wenning, Decatur County Farm Bureau president, is no stranger to conservation and sustainability on his row crop farm.
His family farm produces corn, soybeans and wheat. The farm has been 100% no-tillage for over 20 years, meaning they never till or plow the soil so nutrients stay locked in. No-till farming decreases the amount of soil erosion tillage causes in certain soils. Wenning also plants cover crops to replenish nutrients and hold down topsoil.
“We use variable rate technology to make sure we don’t over-apply fertilizer,” explained Wenning. “But if we do, that is the beauty of cover crops – they will absorb the fertilizer to eliminate any chance of runoff into waterways. By doing right by the ground, I get better crops. I get phenomenal yields for what I farm.”
According to the Indiana State Department of Agriculture’s 2022 Conservation Survey, Hoosier farmers planted cover crops and small grains on 1.5 million acres of farmland in late 2021, matching a record amount set in 2020. Because of those cover crops, it is estimated that 2.1 million tons of sediment was prevented from entering Indiana’s waterways, which is enough sediment to fill more than 597 Olympic-size swimming pools. Additionally, the 1.5 million acres of cover crops planted sequestered an amount of soil organic carbon that is the equivalent of 819,941 tons.
Sequestering carbon in the soil helps to offset greenhouse gas emissions, such as the carbon dioxide emitted by cars, power plants and other burning of fossil fuels. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service reports expected carbon sequestration of 0.37 metric tons/acre/year for cover crops for most regions of the U.S. Assuming this sequestration rate, current cover crop adoption sequesters 5.5 million metric tons of carbon per year. This is equivalent to taking 1.2 million passenger vehicles off the road each year, according to Purdue University’s Center for Commercial Agriculture.
Photo Credit: GettyImages-Harvepino
Categories: Indiana, General