FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Explore videos of local farmers answering
frequently asked questions about soil health in southern Minnesota
Why do you farm the way you do?
Getting started with soil health practices
Benefits of focusing on soil health
Advice for getting started with soil health practices
Cover Crop Management
How to add cover crops into a corn/soybean rotation
Cover crop termination scenarios
Cover crop field specific details
Cover crop establishment options
What should be in my cover crop mix
Selecting herbicides
Equipment Needs
How to implement soil health practices with the equipment you already have
How to start no-tilling using equipment you already have
What equipment upgrades or modifications help with no-till?
Alternatives to strip-till
Purchasing used strip-till equipment
Manure
How to build soil health with manure
Low disturbance manure injection
Strip-till with manure
Cover crops and solid manure
Tillage/Compaction/Drainage
How to build soil structure, improve drainage, and avoid compaction
How to deal with compaction without tillage?
How will I get my fields to dry out if I don’t do tillage?
Tile drainage
Does reduced tillage work in heavy soil?
Economics
The most cost-effective way to get started with soil health
Cost of cover crop seed and application
How to maintain or improve yields
The cost of conventional tillage
Minimize the cost of learning through trial and error
Nutrient Management
Options for reduced till nitrogen application
In-season nitrogen management
Pest Management
Early season weed control without a field cultivator
Scouting for pests