Going Under Cover

Cover crops help a southwest Iowa farmer protect soil and water quality.

By Darcy Dougherty Maulsby | Photos by Joseph L. Murphy

If you’ve ever been in love, you know what it feels like to be captivated by exhilaration, joy and excitement. That’s how Ray Gaesser felt when he visited the Farm Progress Show in north central Iowa in 1974.

“I fell in love with Iowa and its incredible farmland,” says Gaesser, an Indiana native who farms in southwest Iowa between Lenox and Corning. “I knew this was the place for me.”

Gaesser grew up on a 160-acre farm near the small town of Santa Claus in southern Indiana. After his father passed away, Gaesser began managing the farm while he was still a teenager. “All I ever wanted to do is farm,” he says.

Ray Gaesser walks across a field with cover crops.

As a lifelong farmer, Gaesser cherishes good soil. “One acre of our best soil in Iowa is better than my family’s entire 160-acre farm back in Indiana,” says Gaesser, who moved to Iowa at age 25 when he and his wife, Elaine, bought a farm in 1977. “That’s why I’m passionate about protecting it.”

Since he farms in an area with gently rolling land, Gaesser has built terraces – essentially “steps” in a field that slow the flow of water and create level plains where crops can be grown – during the past 40 years to help hold soil in place. A rainstorm one day in early May 2010, however, marked a turning point in his farming career. “My son, Chris, and I were in the house, watching the sheets of rain pour over our terraces,” Gaesser explains. “It was like a cascade. I’d never seen anything like that before.”

While 4 inches of rain in an hour was unusual, storms of this magnitude have become increasingly common through the years, Gaesser says. “That’s why we started planting cover crops. We want to use practices that keep the soil in place, build soil health and also protect water quality.”

WHAT ARE COVER CROPS?

Cover crops are small grains and other plants that are seeded in the late summer or early fall to keep a living cover on the landscape, after corn and soybean crops have been harvested.

COVER CROP ACRES SOAR IN IOWA

Cover crops have become increasingly popular in Iowa in the past 10 years. Cover crops can include small grains and other plants that are seeded in the late summer or early fall to keep a living cover on the landscape, after corn and soybean crops have been harvested. Numerous studies have shown these plants can help protect soil and water quality, reduce chemical input costs, boost crop yields, increase forage availability for cattle and provide other benefits, according to Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI).

Gaesser planted a couple hundred acres with cover crops in the fall of 2010. He and his son continued doubling the number of acres planted with cover crops each year. “We like using cereal rye, because it’s easy to grow and works well,” says Gaesser, who currently plants cereal rye on more than 2,000 acres of his family’s 5,400-acre farm. “We plant soybeans right into the cereal rye in the spring.”

Cover crops are small grains and other plants that are seeded in the late summer or early fall to keep a living cover on the landscape, after corn and soybean crops have been harvested.

He’s not alone. The number of cover crop acres across Iowa has increased dramatically in the past decade, soaring from fewer than 10,000 acres in 2009 to about 600,000 acres in 2016, according to PFI. More farmers continue to incorporate cover crops into their production systems. Iowa cover crop acres grew by approximately 16% in 2018, resulting in approximately 880,000 total acres, according to Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

“In some ways, using cover crops is a return to the fundamentals of farming,” explains Roger Wolf, director of innovation and integrated solutions for the Iowa Soybean Association. “The goal is to build more resilient soil and help clean the water.”

TRACKING WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS

Many Iowa communities draw their drinking water from rivers flowing through the state. The agriculture industry can directly affect the quality of Iowa’s rivers by managing the soil on farmland across the state, Wolf notes. He works with Agriculture’s Clean Water Alliance (ACWA) to create a benchmark for water quality by monitoring nitrate levels in Iowa watersheds. These areas of land are where all water that drains off the surface collects in the same body of water, such as a stream or lake.

Water Quality Initiative (WQI) projects, which include cover crops and other conservation practices, are making a positive impact on the health of Iowa’s environment. “We’re working where the water starts, which is on the farm,” Wolf says.

In north central Iowa, Prairie Creek’s WQI project at the north end of the Boone River is one example where more conservation practices have been implemented in the past decade. Water samples indicate a decrease in nitrates in Prairie Creek from 2007 to now, according to ACWA data.

Ray Gaesser has made conservation on his farm a priority. He continually looks for ways to help build soil health while protecting water quality.

FOCUSING ON CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

While cover crops offer many advantages, they add another layer of complexity and more costs to farming systems, from extra labor to seeding equipment to the cost of the seed itself. “You also add more risk anytime you add another crop,” Wolf says. “Success requires that farmers put more detailed management systems together.”

Gaesser is up to the challenge and is willing to embrace proven solutions. He adopted no-till farming nearly 30 years ago. It offers a way to grow crops without disturbing soil with tilling or plowing. This type of system works well for the rolling land on Gaesser’s farm. This helps reduce soil erosion and retain soil moisture, which benefits crops during dry spells.

Gaesser also partners with his neighbors to use poultry and hog manure to nourish his crops. “This is the circle of life,” he says. “The corn and soybeans we raise help feed the livestock, whose manure helps fertilize the next crop.”

“We were in the northeast part of the country, where the farmers were using farming practices like we did 80 years ago. They had pretty good black soil, but they plowed up and down the hills, and the erosion was horrific,” he recalls.

That circle of life also extends to Gaesser’s cover crop system, in which he grows and harvests the cover crop seeds he plants in his fields. He also sells cover crop seeds to some of his neighbors.

Ray Gaesser holds ryegrass cover crop seed that he grew to plant and cover farmland over the winter months.

“Ray is a conservation leader,” Wolf says. “Not only does he use cover crops on his acres, but he has another revenue stream for his farm by selling cover crop seeds.”

Gaesser enjoys sharing his knowledge about cover crops with farmers nationwide. “I feel a responsibility to give back,” says Gaesser, who ran for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture in 2018 and has also served as president of the Iowa Soybean Association and American Soybean Association. “I remind farmers that our first responsibility is to protect the soil.”

His travels around the globe on behalf of agriculture have shown Gaesser that Iowa farmers are on the right track. He thinks back to a trip he took to China in 2013.

Closer to home, signs of progress are evident when Gaesser considers how things used to be, compared to now. “In the 1950s and 1960s, county crews would have to use snowplows to remove soil that had blown off the fields. It’s not like that anymore. As farmers, we’re learning as we go.”

Wolf has also seen tremendous progress during his 30-year career in Iowa agriculture. “I’m bullish about the future. There’s more support than ever for conservation practices, including cover crops,” he adds.

Gaesser continues to seek opportunities to surround himself with positive people who are focused on continuous improvement, including the use of cover crops to protect Iowa’s natural resources. “Soil is precious,” he emphasizes. “Healthy soils make healthy farms, which make healthy Iowa communities today and for future generations.”

COVER CROPS USED IN IOWA

GRASS: Nonlegume cover crops, which are mainly grass species, are very useful for scavenging nutrients left over from a previous crop. They tend to have extensive root systems, and some establish rapidly and can greatly reduce erosion. EXAMPLES: Winter cereal rye, winter triticale, winter wheat, winter barley, oats and winter ryegrass

BRASSICA: Brassica cover crops get off to a fast start, providing rapid ground cover that protects the soil from erosion and helps suppress weeds. Some farmers consider oilseed radish to be a bio-drill, as its long taproots aerate the soil and help decrease compaction. Examples: Rapeseed, brown mustard, oilseed radish and turnips

LEGUME: Legume cover crops can fix nitrogen from the atmosphere and add it to the soil to be used for the next crop. Legumes also provide other benefits, including attracting beneficial insects, helping control erosion and adding organic matter to soils. EXAMPLES: Hairy vetch, common vetch, winter lentil and winter pea

BENEFITS OF COVER CROPS

Numerous studies have shown these plants can help protect soil and water quality, reduce chemical input costs, boost crop yields, increase forage availability for cattle and provide other benefits, according to Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI). Cover crops are just one way farmers are protecting Iowa’s land.

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