​EXPERIENCE

Karl has been using cover crops since fall 2013. Right away he had questions from people driving by his fields. Since starting to use cover crops, he had a few years that was unable to plant covers. For 5 years he has been doing strip-till. He likes that it reduces the amount of inputs in his operation.

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WHAT GOT YOU STARTED

Karl wanted to find a way to break up compaction after sweetcorn pickers came through. Since starting these practices he has noticed that his fields are more mellow, even others who do custom work on his fields have noticed improvements in the soil.

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​WORD OF ADVICE

Just try it! – try it on a smaller field and commit to trying it for a couple years on that one field. We must take care of the soil. It’s nothing new, our ancestors have done something similarly to feed livestock. We must have a market for it. Most are not going to spend extra money, if they don’t get the return. Some could identify other areas to reduce expenditures, to justify additional expenses.

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​BEST SOURCES FOR ADVICE AND TROUBLESHOOTING

Early on people like Andy Linder, Tom Cotter, and other area farmers sharing what worked and didn’t work. Attending workshops and soil health meetings. Taking recommendations from people like TJ Kartes.

 

Karl Swenson

Waseca County

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