Texas farmers trying cover crops, a traditional ecological practice

[Linda Poole]

Check out this story from The Guardian:

'Unpredictability is our biggest problem’: Texas farmers experiment with ancient farming styles​

A study is under way in the water-scarce region to see if commodity farmers can use the regenerative technique of cover cropping as a way to adapt to rapidly changing weather conditions

by Nina Lakhani with photographs by Verónica G Cárdenas in the Rio Grande Valley

Cover cropping was used by farmers to improve soil health in ancient China and India, the Roman empire, and by both Indigenous Americans and the founding fathers – in fact the practice was commonplace in farming globally including the US until the Green Revolution ushered in widespread use of monocrops, synthetic fertilisers and pesticides.

Cover cropping has been used by farmers since antiquity.

It’s the hot new (old) thing, as cover crops sequester carbon from the atmosphere and can boost climate flexibility by absorbing excess water when it rains too much or holding onto it during drier periods.

In the RGV, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), a USDA agency, can use IRA funds to pay farmers $37 per acre to plant cover crops on up 1,000 acres through 2026 – or a smaller fee to landowners to establish cover crops with renters.

Read the whole story here or at:

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...ient-technique-cover-cropping-climate-crisis?

‘Unpredictability is our biggest problem’: Texas farmers experiment with ancient farming styles

A study is under way in the water-scarce region to see if commodity farmers can use the regenerative technique of cover cropping as a way to adapt to rapidly changing weather conditions

www.theguardian.com