Those who attended a PrairieFood Forum and Soil Health Workshop got a glimpse of the future but also challenges that farmers and ranchers continue to face.
Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Mike Beam told attendees that agriculture is big business and 14% of the state’s workforce (about 256,000 jobs) is tied to agriculture. Yet it is family-oriented enterprises that are predominantly farmers and ranchers. They are stewards of over 46 million acres.
The Kansas Department of Agriculture reports that agriculture is the largest economic driver in Kansas, with a total contribution of $76 billion to the state’s economy. The top five farm products are cattle and calves, wheat, corn, sorghum, and soybeans. Kansas leads the nation in grain sorghum production. He noted the importance of beef cattle, animal processing, grain farms, further processing, and pet food production as the leaders.
Andy Lyon, KDA director of conservation, also spoke at the conference Nov. 14 and 15 in Pratt, Kansas. One of the themes was that agricultural producers are adopters of new technologies but forcing them to adopt practices has never worked. Instead KDA will focus on how research and incentives can work.
Both KDA representatives said attending conferences helps guide their decisions. Attendees had an opportunity to learn about regenerative farm principles and building sustainable farm operations.
One of the biggest drivers of the state’s economy has been irrigation. In some areas the Ogallala Aquifer has shown a decline of 60 feet, according to a study that ran from 1996 to 2010, Beam said. Irrigators, researchers, and private companies have invested in drought resistant crops, application equipment and management strategies to help conserve groundwater. A year like 2022 is going to pinch supplies, he said.
The goal of many people is to extend the life of the aquifer so that it will be there to help future generations. Strategies like Local Enhanced Management Areas have been successful in northwest Kansas as producers set conservation standards and control measures working through groundwater management districts.
Other strategies include Water Conservation Areas where any water right owner or group of owners have the opportunity to development a management plan. Also, Multi-Year Flex Accounts allow most water right holders to obtain a five-year term limit that allows the water right holder to exceed their annual authorized quantity in any year but restrict total pumping over the five-year period.
More work needs to be done to conserve water in the aquifer, which is a common theme Beam hears.
“I’m confident you will hear more discussion and an urgency to do more,” he said.
Climate smart
Kansas can also benefit from climate smart practices, and a push for broadband in rural areas will help provide more opportunities for farmers and ranchers to capture carbon credits. Reducing the carbon footprint is being driven by the private sector, which recognizes that reducing greenhouse gas admissions is good for the environment and is desired by consumers. Leading companies include McDonald’s, Walmart, ADM, Land O’Lakes, General Mills, North American Meat Institute, and the National Corn Growers Association. The organizations recognize the importance of carbon sequestration and reducing greenhouse gases and it is not driven by political ideology.
“Congress has not required it, but it is the right thing to do,” he said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced nearly $3 billion is available in climate smart funding and includes opportunities for revenue streams for farmers and ranchers.
Trisha Jackson, director of regenerative agriculture at PrairieFood, believes that when farmers and ranchers partner with Mother Nature it lessens the need for fossil fuel-based fertilizer inputs. She believes that can mean cleaner surface water and more carbon in the soil and increasing water retention and in a dry year that can pay.
Her five principles of soil health are:
1. Limit disturbance;
2. Armor the soil surface by protecting it from wind and water;
3. Build diversity that includes crop rotation and maybe designed with cover crops;
4. Keep living roots in the soil; and
5. Integrate livestock.
She said farmers need flexibility; they may not need to do all five but can work in concert with the principles.
Carbon comes from the atmosphere and that’s the base of fertilizer, she said.
Jackson believes farmers can use integrated cropping practices, including legumes and cereals, as they build their plan. An over-dependence of chemical fertilizer can cause deficiencies, too, and rob the soil of its long-term capabilities.
“PrairieFood believes in the microbial carbon pump,” Jackson said.
Feeding the world
The farmers and ranchers’ task of feeding the world remains at the forefront as Jackson noted the United Nations on Nov. 15 announced the world’s population stands at 8 billion. She said the key for producers is to keep their ground healthy.
Feeding the world is essential, she said. Farmers and ranchers have to be profitable and when they are, the local communities they live in also can be profitable, she said.
Griffin Roberts, chief technology officer and cofounder of PrairieFood, said Mother Nature creates the opportunity to generate natural fertilizer and it is an exciting time for producers who continue to want to learn more. He said Kansas has 47 million cultivated acres and to him that means an opportunity for growing demand for carbon credits that can add to their bottom lines. Besides building their soil health they will continue to expand the market for carbon credits.
Think long term, farmer says
Almena, Kansas, farmer Michael Thompson said in the drier climates of northwest Kansas and southwest Nebraska moisture preservation is critical.
His advice was to look at regenerative practices as a long-term plan that will take many steps and be prepared to learn. Farming is about taking the sun and rain and turning it into a product that can be sold at profit. He likens soil to a bank account. When the bank account begins to decline it gets harder to restore, he said. Crops do best when they have a healthy carbon-rich soil and when those levels increase so does the long-term capacity of the ground.
Thompson said when farmers were integrating no-till there was some who believed it was a cure all. He learned that soil health depends on other factors. He showed slides of fields where only no-till practice was used. Plant roots were unable to break up the soil farther underground.
On his own farm in 2000, Thompson and his family incorporated no-till “but it wasn’t enough.” He then added cover crops and a beef herd to graze in a coordinated pattern.
“We can change our soil. Carbon makes the difference. We need to put the carbon back into the soil,” he said.
He said while being building soil health and profitability is his goal, his advice to other farmers is to be patient.
“Chip away at it,” Thompson said.
Various vendors also spoke about challenges they see as the result of the drought and the importance of getting good soil tests to help guide farmers and ranchers.
Dave Bergmeier can be reached at 620-227-1822 or [email protected].
