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Wilkin County Soil Health Demonstration Site
July 14, 2021 @ 9:30 am - 2:00 pm
Freehttps://www.co.wilkin.mn.us/index.asp?SEC=63331EB0-BFA5-4D84-9E33-CA2991D1BE22&Type=B_BASIC
Goals & Objectives
- Goal 1 (Management Systems): Establish a minimum of six demonstration plots to compare the impacts of conventional tillage, strip-tillage and no-tillage, with and without cover crops, on soil health.
- Goal 2 (Monitor & Measure): Annually monitor the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the soil, along with the soil moisture within every plot to measure soil health changes/trends.
- Goal 3 (Economics): Quantify and communicate the risks and returns, for each management system, to help farmers better understand input costs and profits for each.
- Goal 4 (Education): Hold a minimum of one field day annually for the public to increase adoption of soil health promoting practices.
- Goal 5 (Information Gaps): Work with soil health researchers and agency partners to identify research gaps and incorporate activities/measures where practical and feasible.
Overview of the Demo Site
- This field has been farmed by the Johnson family for 40+ years using conventional tillage
- This will be a 5 year demonstration site
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The 60 acre field will be split into 3 – 20ac. Tillage Treatments
1) No-Till
2) Strip-Till
3) Conventional Tillage
2) Strip-Till
3) Conventional Tillage
- Each tillage treatment will be split in half with cover crops vs no cover crops, giving us a total of 6 different plots to analyze
- Current Crop Rotation
Year 1) 2021 Corn
Year 2) 2022 Sugar Beets
Year 3) 2023 Corn
Year 4) 2024 Soybeans
Year 5) 2025 Wheat