Posted on Dec 1, 2023
Missouri farmers adopt practices that improve their land, support environment
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On a small farm near Laddonia, Brian Willott waded through fields of dried corn stalks that had already been crushed into the ground.
He had just finished harvesting his corn and soybeans and was preparing his empty fields to plant cover crops, which will hold his soil together and replenish its nutrients over the winter.
Willott is among a new generation of farmers working to make their operations more environmentally friendly. Traditional farming practices such as tilling and monoculture — cultivating a single crop — have come under fire in recent years for their role in harming soil and exacerbating climate change.
Willott is part of the new Climate-Resilient Crop and Livestock Project, which gives farmers and ranchers needed funding and technical assistance to make their operations more climate-smart.
“We farmers get painted as the villain a lot on environmental issues, and we’re not,” he said. “I think this is one of those programs where we really get to show everybody what we can do to help. We’re making things better on our own farm, and it’s also removing carbon from the atmosphere. We’re part of the solution, not the problem.”
He had just finished harvesting his corn and soybeans and was preparing his empty fields to plant cover crops, which will hold his soil together and replenish its nutrients over the winter.
Willott is among a new generation of farmers working to make their operations more environmentally friendly. Traditional farming practices such as tilling and monoculture — cultivating a single crop — have come under fire in recent years for their role in harming soil and exacerbating climate change.
Willott is part of the new Climate-Resilient Crop and Livestock Project, which gives farmers and ranchers needed funding and technical assistance to make their operations more climate-smart.
“We farmers get painted as the villain a lot on environmental issues, and we’re not,” he said. “I think this is one of those programs where we really get to show everybody what we can do to help. We’re making things better on our own farm, and it’s also removing carbon from the atmosphere. We’re part of the solution, not the problem.”
Missouri farmers adopt practices that improve their land, support environment
Posted from stlpr.org
Farming
Agriculture
Environment
Climate Change
Posted 5 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Willott is part of the new Climate-Resilient Crop and Livestock Project, which gives farmers and ranchers needed funding and technical assistance to make their operations more climate-smart.
“We farmers get painted as the villain a lot on environmental issues, and we’re not,” he said.
“I think this is one of those programs where we really get to show everybody what we can do to help. We’re making things better on our own farm, and it’s also removing carbon from the atmosphere. We’re part of the solution, not the problem.”
Willott has been interested in being “part of the solution” since he was a kid. Growing up on his parents’ farm, he watched his father experiment with no-till farming and crop rotation to protect the soil before these practices were well-known.
In 2008, Willott’s father received a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study cover crops, which are planted after the harvest to improve soil fertility by capturing excess nutrients.
Back then, Willott said, almost no one in their community had heard of cover crops. But his father became a major advocate for the practice, and his son now recommends it to other farmers."...
..."Willott is part of the new Climate-Resilient Crop and Livestock Project, which gives farmers and ranchers needed funding and technical assistance to make their operations more climate-smart.
“We farmers get painted as the villain a lot on environmental issues, and we’re not,” he said.
“I think this is one of those programs where we really get to show everybody what we can do to help. We’re making things better on our own farm, and it’s also removing carbon from the atmosphere. We’re part of the solution, not the problem.”
Willott has been interested in being “part of the solution” since he was a kid. Growing up on his parents’ farm, he watched his father experiment with no-till farming and crop rotation to protect the soil before these practices were well-known.
In 2008, Willott’s father received a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study cover crops, which are planted after the harvest to improve soil fertility by capturing excess nutrients.
Back then, Willott said, almost no one in their community had heard of cover crops. But his father became a major advocate for the practice, and his son now recommends it to other farmers."...
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