Organic and Specialty Agricultural Practices

Six Core Conservation Practices

Conservation Crop Rotation: Growing crops In a recurring sequence on the same field.
Purposes: to reduce soil erosion, improve soil organic matter, and to manage pests   (insects, weeds, and diseases.)

Cover Crops: Crops including grasses, legumes and forbs for seasonal cover.
Purposes: Reduce soil erosion, increase soil organic matter, capture and recycle nutrients in the soil profile, nitrogen fixation, weed suppression, and for soil moisture management.

Nutrient Management: Managing the amount, source, placement, form and timing of the application of plant nutrients and soil amendments.
Purposes: to properly utilize manure or organic by-products as a plant nutrient source, to budget and supply nutrients for plant production, to minimize agricultural nonpoint source pollution of surface and ground water resources, to protect air quality by reducing nitrogen emissions (ammonia and NOx compounds) and the formation of atmospheric particulates.

Pest Management: Utilizing environmentally sensitive prevention, avoidance, monitoring and suppression strategies, to manage weeds, insects, diseases, animals and other organisms (including invasive and non-invasive species), that directly or indirectly cause damage or annoyance.
Purposes: to minimize negative impacts of pest control on soil resources, water resources, air resources, plant resources, animal resources and/or humans, and to enhance quantity and quality of commodities.

Prescribed Grazing: Managing the harvest of vegetation with grazing and/or browsing animals.
Purposes: to improve or maintain desired species composition and vigor of plant communities, to improve or maintain quantity and quality of forage for grazing and browsing animals’ health and productivity, to improve or maintain surface and/or subsurface water quality and quantity.

Forage Harvest Management

Additional Conservation Practices (list is not all-inclusive)

Bedding: Plowing, blading, or otherwise elevating the surface of flat land into a series of broad, low ridges separated by shallow, parallel channels with positive drainage.
Purposes: to improve the drainage of surface water.

Compost Facility: A facility to process raw manure or other raw organic by-products into biologically stable organic material.

Conservation Cover: Establishing and maintaining permanent vegetative cover.
Purposes: To reduce erosion, improve water quality, improve soil quality, manage plant pests, and to improve wildlife habitat.

Residue and Tillage Management– NoTill—StripTill: Managing the amount, orientation and distribution of crop and other plant residue on the soil surface year round while limiting soil-disturbing activities to only those necessary to place nutrients, condition residue and plant crops.
Purposes: reduce soil erosion, improve soil organic matter, and to increase plant-available moisture.

Residue and Tillage Management– MulchTill: Managing the amount, orientation and distribution of crop and other plant residue on the soil surface.
Purposes: reduce soil erosion, improve soil organic matter, and to increase plant-available moisture.

Residue and Tillage Management- RidgeTill: Managing the amount, orientation, and distribution of crop and other plant residues on the soil surface year-round, while growing crops on pre-formed ridges alternated with furrows protected by crop residue.
Purposes: to improve soil erosion, improve soil condition, modify cool, wet soil conditions.

Fence: A constructed barrier to animals or people. Purpose: To provide a means to control movement of animals and people, including vehicles.

Field Border: A strip of permanent vegetation established at the edge or around the perimeter of a field.
Purposes: reduce soil erosion, improve soil quality, improve water quality, and to manage plant pests.

Grassed Waterway: A shaped or graded channel that is established with suitable vegetation to carry surface water at a non-erosive velocity to a stable outlet.
Purposes: To reduce soil erosion and improve water quality.

Irrigation System, Micro-Irrigation: An irrigation system for frequent application of small quantities of water on or below the soil surface: as drops, tiny streams or miniature spray through emitters or applicators placed along a water delivery line.
Purposes: to efficiently and uniformly apply irrigation water and maintain soil moisture for plant growth, and to prevent contamination of ground and surface water by efficiently and uniformly applying chemicals.

Irrigation Water Management: The process of determining and controlling the volume, frequency and application rate of irrigation water in a planned, efficient manner. 
Purposes: to manage soil moisture, to promote desired crop response, to optimize use of available water supplies, to minimize irrigation induced soil erosion, decrease non-point source pollution of surface and groundwater resources, to promote proper and safe chemigation or fertigation, and to improve air quality by managing soil moisture to reduce particulate matter.

Mulching: Applying plant residues or other suitable materials produced off site, to the land surface.
Purposes: to conserve soil moisture, moderate soil temperature, provide erosion control., suppress weed growth, facilitate the establishment of vegetative cover, improve soil condition and to reduce airborne particles.

Pipeline: Pipeline having an inside diameter of 8 inches or less.
Purposes: To convey water from a source of supply to points of use for livestock, wildlife, or plant irrigation.

Waste Utilization: Using agricultural wastes such as manure and wastewater or other organic residues.
Purposes: to protect water quality, to protect air quality, to provide fertility for crop, forage, fiber / products, and to maintain or improve soil quality.

Water Well: A hole drilled, dug, driven, bored, jetted or otherwise constructed to an aquifer.
Purposes: to provide for the general water needs of farming/ranching operations, to provide water for livestock, wildlife, irrigation, and other uses.
 

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