Field and Garden: Leave the soil in better condition than what it started

"From now until 2060, we're going to have to produce as much food as we've produced in the last 500 years," says Jerry Hatfield in the 2018 documentary "Living Soil."

Hatfield is the retired director of the USDA's National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment. He was also my major professor at Iowa State University.

Hatfield continues, "If we want to make sure we can feed the world's population, we're going to have to . . . make sure that our soil has the capability of producing these crops."

The United Nations projects that the earth's population will increase by more than 2 billion people in the next 40 years, reaching 10.2 billion by 2062.

"Living Soil" tells how farmers, scientists, and policymakers are working together to improve soil health so that future generations will have enough food and a clean environment in which to live.

The importance of soil health has been increasingly emphasized over the past 15 to 20 years. It's hard to pick up a farm magazine these days that doesn't have an article on the topic.

It should be noted however, that long before soil health was in the limelight, there were men and women who were concerned about the effects of conventional farming practices and began looking for alternative farming methods.

Some of those men and women formed a group which is known today as the Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society (NPSAS).

The organization works directly with farmers to encourage better care of the land by increasing perennial crops, reducing chemical use and developing environmentally beneficial livestock systems.

I once heard a producer say, "Soil is my number one asset. My mission in life, in regards to farming, is to leave the soil in better condition than when I started."

Members of NPSAS resonate with this man's values.

Several weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend NPSAS's annual meeting. My attendance was sponsored by the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program.

Many producers who belong to NPSAS use organic farming practices.

The conference increased my understanding about the buying and selling of organically grown commodities and about the organic certification process.

During one of our breaks, I had an interesting conversation with Tyler Zimmerman, a producer who farms about 2,500 acres near Leonard, N.D.

Zimmerman is not an organic producer, although he says he may move in that direction in the future.

For now, his main focus is to farm in a way that improves soil health, primarily through no-till practices and cover cropping.

Zimmerman converted from conventional to no-till farming in 2015 and hasn't looked back since then.

He has been interviewed twice on NDSU Extension's podcast "Soil Sense." If you are interested in learning more about soil health, that podcast is a great place to start.

I also recommend a publication titled "Building Soil Health."

The publication can be downloaded from the website of NDSU Extension. You can also call me in the Foster County Extension office (652-2581) to request a copy by mail.