PROFILES IN SOIL HEALTH
Meet Some of Nebraska’s Soil Health Heroes
Watch and learn from producers we visited across the state of Nebraska! Each operation showcases the unique ways farmers and ranchers have worked to increase soil health, profitability and quality of life by sharing their firsthand experiences with adopting and utilizing these practices on their operations.
Sowing the Seeds of Sustainability: Nebraska’s Soil Health Partnership
Farmers, conservationists and others interested in soil health are working to inform and support other producers across Nebraska through a budding soil health partnership. Aaron Hird, NRCS’ soil health specialist in Nebraska, says the partnership helps everyone benefit from the experience and expertise of the group. “At this point in the youth of soil health we are having to learn this as we go. It’s definitely a two-way street as we work through each individual process with each farmer. Each case is different, and we learn so much every time we put this on the ground,” Hird says.
Bill Nielsen
Bill Nielsen, has been using cover crops and other soil health practices to improve his Kearney County farm in central Nebraska. Watch THIS VIDEO where he talks about his soil health journey.
Jason Degenhardt
Farmer/Retailer’s Adventures in Cover Crops Yield Multiple Benefits on and Off the Farm
Man standing in a corn field.
Veteran no-till farmers Jason Degenhardt and his family farming partners, Kenny and Colby, have long witnessed the benefits of foregoing the plow in lieu of the no-till drill. Decreased erosion and increased moisture retention are at the top of that list.
Watch THIS VIDEO to learn more about Jason’s soil health journey.
Rodney Rulon
Rodney Rulon and his family were a little bit reluctant to get started with cover crops. They didn’t have any experience with covers, and so they started with about 60 acres their first year. But the Arcadia, Indiana family soon saw the benefits and now have about 3,000 acres “under cover.” More importantly, they’re very pleased with the results.x
