Nevada Farm Bureau Updates

Nevada Farm Bureau

FEBRUARY 2021 NEWS UPDATE

Media Contact | Doug Busselman | doug@nvfb.org

Nevada Board Of Ag Approves Amendment

Proposals For SB 54 In their January 19th meeting the Nevada Board of Agriculture heard input from participants who expressed opposition to the changes being sought by the Nevada Department of Agriculture to eliminate positions on the Board of Directors for representatives who are cattle producers and sheep producers as they spelled out in their pre-filed legislation, SB 54. NFB stated, “We are opposed to the way in which this legislation was brought forward and we are opposed to the proposal to remove representatives of the cattle sector and the sheep industry, lumping the two remaining seats into the category of ‘livestock.’” The question over the process, raised by Farm Bureau, ties back to the authority and responsibility of the Board of Agriculture. Without the Board having an opportunity to evaluate the legislation that the Department of Agriculture pre-filed, contrary to state law until after the legislation was already introduced. “In our view,” Nevada Fam Bureau said, referring to the first three subsections of the state law (NRS 561.105), …“we maintain that no bills, introduced by the Department of Agriculture should have advanced into the legislative process without a full public vetting, by this Board, to determine what was intended and whether they were appropriate.” After hearing from those who participated in the allotted public comment period, Board members each shared their views on the proposed actions in the Department’s remake of the membership criteria for the Board. A consensus view emerging from these discussions was that removing the cattle and sheep producers from the Board was not something that would have any support. Further, a number of members expressed their belief that their role should include review of regulations related to programs operating within the Department of Agriculture and other decisions that they have been excluded from over the past couple of years. In the final outcome the Board approved a proposal for several amendments to come from the Board, keeping the current positions and adding two additional seats for the qualifications that the Department has proposed, clarifying some other language in the pre-filed bill for row crops and proposing to change the present limitation of two members coming from a single county to allow for three.

Participate In February 4 Virtual Workshop For Humboldt River Modeling

The Division of Water Resources will be holding their annual update for the Humboldt River corridor modeling in a virtual workshop on Thursday, February 4. Here is the url with all the information: https://files.constantcontact.com/ ce74815a701/4cfd6ca8-a3cb-4aa3-b9e0-139d97704a92.pdf The session that begins at 8:30 a.m. will cover the modeling work has been carried out in the three segments of the river system by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Desert Research Institute. The significances of the information of the modeling has taken on a new dynamic since a proposed Interim Order that just was released: http://water.nv.gov/documents/Notice%20and%20Proposed%20 Order%20Humboldt%20River%20Region.pdf The Notice for the Hearing on the Proposed Interim Order within the Humboldt River Region includes the alert that a public hearing will be held on Friday, April 2, 2021. It also provides the Draft Interim Order that we would strongly encourage a careful review. Starting on Page 7 of the Draft Interim Order the ramifications of how the capture model will be used for Applications for New Groundwater Appropriations, Applications to Change Existing Groundwater Appropriations and Addressing Future Conflicts Between Existing Valid Groundwater Rights and Decreed Humboldt River Surface Water Rights.

New Hemp Rules Announced By USDA

The January 19, 2021 Federal Register carried the final rule from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for hemp production. This new rule takes effect on March 22 and has been based on an update put together from public input. This link offers a condensed, but very comprehensive over-view of the hemp regulations and program operations that are being brought forward: https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/hemp The Nevada Department of Agriculture’s regulations tier to the USDA regulations and the plan that Nevada’s Department of Agriculture submits for consideration by USDA need to fit within the provisions of the national requirements. Of the changes in the operations that we’ve noticed and are highlighted in the link to the hemp regulations also point it out – the past/current 15-day window for collecting samples to test, ahead of harvest, and make certain that the crop is below 0.3 percent THC (tetrahydrocannabinol ) content has been extended to 30 days.

Forest Service Working On Process For Update of Rangeland Management Directives

A public evaluation process is underway, with an opportunity for submitting responses/input, for the Proposed Rangeland Management Directive Update by the U.S. Forest Service. The public comment period is open until February 16. We encourage those who are interested to dig into the proposal by visiting this link: https://www.fs.fed.us/rangelandmanagement/directives.shtml This link provides an outstanding set of additional links for further research into what is being considered and also identifies the upcoming webinar (February 3 at 11 a.m. Pacific Time) that will give more background information. According to the details on the Forest Service webpage the primary purpose for this project is to update a set of manuals which haven’t been modernized for 30 years. We’re hoping that those who have livestock grazing permits on the U.S. Forest will offer their feedback to assist us in developing Nevada Farm Bureau’s best set of public comments. We are also interacting with other Western State Farm Bureaus who have higher levels of grazing on Forest Service-managed lands. Please stay in touch to share your thoughts and points, email doug@nvfb.org or call/text 775-870-3349.

Communications and Connections For Legislative Operations

In spite of the Nevada Legislature not providing any information on what the plans might be for the start of the 2021 Session on February 1st. We are anticipating that much of the beginning phase will be carried out in a virtual world and eagerly hoping that the regular session will be carried out in a more responsible fashion than the process used during the two special sessions of the 2020. We are anticipating using the same Action Request platform that we used in the 2019 Session. Because of limited contact and ability to interact with legislators Farm Bureau’s grassroots engagement will be essential to promote implementation of Farm Bureau policy. This newsletter will be a major communications platform in providing updates and details. We’re also interested in learning how many (and who) might be interested in connections through text messages that we might provide as another option. Some prefer text connections over emails and some might not be interested in text messages at all.

Please visit this link to respond to a survey of your preferences: http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07ehj6xke3kk7elknn/ a009kkbw1u9h/questions

Nevada Department of Agriculture to offer pooled testing for trichomoniasis beginning Dec. 1, 2020

By Dr. Amy Mitchell, State Veterinarian

The Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA) Animal Industry Division is pleased to announce exciting changes to or laboratory and Trichomoniasis Program. Beginning Dec. 1, 2020, the Animal Disease Laboratory (ADL), located at Sparks NDA headquarters, will be offering pooled PCR testing for trichomoniasis, for healthy herds. The samples will still need to be submitted individually, but upon request, up to 5 individual samples will be pooled for testing at the laboratory. NDA staff have been working diligently on this change to help facilitate the need for a cost-effective option that still offers improved accuracy over T. foetus culture. The Animal Disease Laboratory has been streamlining plans for the submission process, in preparation for the December launch. We hope this long-awaited development will facilitate compliance with state regulations and offers producers another tool in preventing trichomoniasis within their herds. We also hope it will allow easier interstate travel for those herds traveling to and from states that accept pooled samples. With the recent impacts of the last few months on the livestock industry, it is even more important to be able to offer producers a more cost-effective option of managing their herds and preventing unnecessary losses due to T. foetus. Trichomoniasis remains a reportable disease in the state, and offering a more accurate, yet still affordable option, can only improve Nevada’s cattle industry. Additionally, NDA will also be accepting pool results on healthy herds, from approved laboratories. In conjunction with this program update, NDA will also be offering an improved communication link between accredited veterinarians performing T. foetus testing, and the NDA. This will allow us to keep practicing, accredited veterinarians updated on the latest changes to the program, as well as the status of trichomoniasis in Nevada. Updated information, including pricing and submission forms, will be posted at agri.nv.gov/animal so be sure to bookmark that link.

Join NFB or Renew Membership

Become a member of Nevada Farm Bureau to support Nevada’s farmers and ranchers and the agriculture industry. If you have any questions please contact us at 1-800-992-1106 or nvfarmbureau@nvfb.org. An Associate member is a non-farmer/rancher member who is eligible for Nevada Farm Bureau Discount. With the purchase of an associate membership you receive member only discounts offered not only throughout the state of Nevada, but nationwide as well. A Farmer/ Rancher Member is an active agriculture producer. With the purchase of a Farmer/Rancher membership you receive member only discounts offered not only throughout the state of Nevada, but nationwide as well. You will also receive a quarterly subscription of the Nevada Farm Bureau Agriculture & Livestock Journal .

by Mike Wolterbeek, Communications Officer 775-784-4547 mwolterbeek@unr.edu

Scientists keep watch on climate and weather as drought grips Nevada

Interdisciplinary approach from UNR Extension keeps people informed & involved

With much of the State of Nevada listed as in extreme drought, Nevadans are facing forecasts for a mild winter, with little precipitation since the rainy

season started. With these designations, southern Nevadans are facing a mild and dry winter and northern Nevadans are looking at an uncertain forecast. All could face water restrictions, crop or pasture loss and, with exceptional drought, water shortage emergencies. The University of Nevada, Reno’s Nevada State Climate Office and Living with Drought Program with University of Nevada, Reno Extension are helping meteorologists better predict Nevada’s confusing weather and helping communities contend with drought. “We are in a significant drought in much of the state, and not starting the wet season with robust supplies of water, the D-3 (Extreme) and D-4 (Exceptional) conditions are a big concern,” Steph McAfee, director of the Nevada State Climate Office said. “Especially in southern Nevada with La Nina, it will probably be dry, but La Nina could go either way for northern Nevada. We’re already in drought, and we depend on winter to build snowpack – we had a dry fall, with a deficit too.” La Nina is a weather pattern that is influenced by ocean temperatures off the west coast of South America, and steers most storms to the Pacific Northwest, away from southern Nevada, and leaves northern Nevada in limbo between the two zones.

“In the Las Vegas area, 90% of the water is from the Colorado River,” McAfee, who works in both Extension and the College of Science said. “Colorado has a somewhat similar La Nina response, it’s a little mixed like Nevada. Colorado is having a decent drought right now. It’s generally a little warmer here, but we are dependent on the snowpack and water from the Rockies.”

According to the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor released Jan. 7, 23.7% of Nevada is in Exceptional Drought (the highest designation), 48.8% is in Extreme Drought, 18.7% is in Severe Drought, and 8.5% is in Moderate Drought. One of the most intense periods of drought in the past 20 years, since the Drought Monitor was created, began the week of Dec. 1, 2020 where exceptional drought – the most extreme classification – is affecting Nevada. That region of drought in the southern Great Basin is still expanding. While reporting has improved over time, the last weekly drought monitor update reported the driest six-month period on record, with only a trace of precipitation at the McCarran International Airport. “It looks like the Southwest is heading into drought, which is never good news, with drought likely continuing into spring and summer,” McAfee said. “We’ll keep our eyes on it, and we’ll know more as the drought monitoring continues.” In the large urban centers of the state, TMWA – the Truckee Meadows Water Authority – and SNWA, the Southern Nevada Water Authority – are in good shape with backups with groundwater and decent surface storage. Farmers and ranchers in rural Nevada may not be as fortunate. How rural Nevada is affected depends on various concerns, whether people rely on groundwater – or springs – which could run low depending on use. People worry about operations, buying feed and selling livestock. “We live in an arid climate, so we know how to operate with relatively smaller amounts of water, but with drought, those methods of dealing with low precipitation are strained. SNWA has their usual winter water guidelines in place with once a week yard watering,” she said. Nevada ranchers, water providers and public land managers rely on the U.S. Drought Monitor to keep track of climate and weather. The U.S. Drought Monitor started in 2000. Since then, the longest duration of drought (D1-D4) in Nevada lasted 269 weeks beginning on Dec. 27, 2011 and ending on Feb. 14, 2017. Average annual average precipitation statewide is 10.3 inches. It is lower in southern Nevada – only 7.1 inches – and higher in northeastern Nevada, averaging 12.85 inches. Beyond the difference in the amount of rain and snow, there are differences in when, during the year, precipitation arrives. In southern Nevada, the summer is relatively wet, and in northern Nevada, the summer is dry. The U.S. Drought Monitor is not a forecast; it looks backward. It’s a weekly assessment of drought conditions, based on how much precipitation did or didn’t fall, up to the Tuesday morning before the map comes out. So, for example, if a lot of rain falls in a drought area on a Wednesday, the soonest change in drought status on the map is the following week. Drought is a slow-moving hazard, so you can be certain that an area will still be in drought if it doesn’t get rain. But it also may take more than one good rainfall to end a drought, especially if an area has been in drought for a long time.

The Lahontan Reservoir is fed by the Carson River and by the Truckee River with water diversions from the Derby Dam, supplying water for irrigation. Pictured here in 2014, in the third year of a four-year drought, much of the lake was completely dry.

Living with Drought “Drought can be difficult to define because the definition varies depending on the context in which it is used,” Kerri Jean Ormerod, who leads Extension’s Living with Drought program, said. “There might be a weather drought, or an abnormally dry period, but not a vegetative drought – if a little well-timed rain provides enough soil moisture to green up the pasture. The different types of drought highlight that drought is relative.” The drought monitor also triggers relief programs that can help agriculturerelated businesses in Nevada. Ormerod said a robust data network of on-theground reports shared with a larger audience would help scientists, decisionmakers and communities assess and track the severity of drought. Information exchange can help scientists, communities and federal partners understand shades of drought, which is useful for response and recovery, as well as evaluation and preparedness. The website LivingWithDrought.com provides a one-stop-shop for homeowners, gardeners, farmers, ranchers, natural resource managers and others to find information they need, including current drought status information; data and tools that can be used to track and report drought impacts; and information about the basic types and causes of drought. Ormerod conducts research and education on water, climate and drought hazards for Extension and is an assistant professor of geography with the University’s College of Science. Besides helping meteorologists and others better prepare for and respond to Nevada’s confusing weather, she hopes to help various groups, such as farmers, ranchers, emergency management personnel and research scientists, to make better-informed decisions. Facing a dearth of equipment and data, University of Nevada, Reno climatologists and weather experts work to build a conduit of information that will improve the accuracy of climate and weather impacts from around the state. “We are always looking to increase climate monitoring and research,” Ormerod said. “There aren’t a lot of weather stations. There’s a paucity of data – so not a lot of information to work from to say it’s a drought, and not a lot of data to inform decisions. Nevada has a problematic landscape. It’s hard to do remote

sensing and gather data, so we facilitate partnerships at the federal, state and local level, and down to the ground for reports, to characterize the climate outlooks.” The Living with Drought Program works closely with the Climate Office, Desert Research Institute, National Weather Service and the Nevada Resource Conservation District, as well as other organizations, to gather information. “If we can collect more data on our precipitation and weather, and analyze and explain it, it can serve several purposes,” Ormerod said. “As the driest state in the nation, it is especially important to report zeros, or the lack of precipitation. This is critical information necessary to track and respond to drought.” She said they are recruiting volunteer observers from “anywhere and everywhere” across the state through either the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network or a related citizen science platform designed for drought monitoring. “We can provide rain gauges for rural observers,” she said. “Even getting a month of zeros from observers is okay; zeros are data too. We also ask for photos and data from ranchers and others who know the landscape of our state. There lots of variability with the climate here. There is no normal, even as to time of year, so we like to get reports from people who know the landscape, like skiers, ranchers, dog walkers, hikers and hunters. We want to know how drought is affecting local conditions. Having a photo of a dry riverbed, greened-up grazing lands, a snowless landscape or a raging river helps us quantify what’s happening with our weather and climate.” The Community Collaborative Network is active in all 50 states, several Canadian Provinces and parts of the Caribbean. Nevada began participating in 2007, with the University’s Extension, Desert Research Institute and National Weather Service working together to coordinate the state program. The volunteers measure and map precipitation – rain, hail and snow – using low-cost measurement tools, mainly a 4-inch rain gauge. It takes these weather observers just a couple minutes each day to measure precipitation in their backyards. Training is provided online. “My message to potential weather observers: you can help, get involved – we need you,” Ormerod said. The Living with Drought Program, in addition to facilitating drought impact reporting, facilitates landscape condition monitoring, such as low reservoir levels, poor rangeland conditions and increased groundwater use. This locally sourced data are used by scientists to better understand drought conditions across the state, which helps to characterize local, regional and national depictions of drought. Collectively, these reports serve to improve drought assessment and reduce vulnerability to drought faced by individuals, communities, species and environments. The drought monitor informs and becomes policy, such as a trigger for federal recovery funds for agriculture and land management decisions. “The Drought Monitor isn’t a simply a map; it’s the best assessment of where there is drought, and the severity of drought,” Ormerod said. “Volunteer-submitted information helps to complement more traditional metrics and can bridge some of the data gaps across the state.” This statewide outreach to Nevadans for climate and drought is helpful day-today and season-to-season, and Extension also looks to the future, working with the water agencies, land managers and other stakeholders to find solutions to the longterm effects that changing climate has on Nevada and its reliance on a changing snowpack, reservoirs and groundwater.

Water research addresses water managers’ information needs Of the many forward-looking climate initiatives of which Extension is a part, perhaps the most comprehensive effort has been the recent Water for the Seasons five-year collaborative research and outreach program, funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation Water Sustainability and Climate Program. Based in the Truckee-Carson River System, Extension designed and coordinated an interdisciplinary research approach that included hydrologists, engineers and resource economists working with stakeholders representing diverse and competing municipal, industrial, agricultural, environmental and regulatory water management organizations from the system’s headwaters to its terminus. “Demand is diverse for water – and includes sustaining wildlife and wildlife habitat, irrigated agriculture, growing municipal populations and economic development initiatives,” Loretta Singletary, an interdisciplinary outreach liaison and economist with Extension, said. “Water for the Seasons sought to find solutions to variable water supply in a changing climate. Drought is just one symptom of climate change, and we worked on climate and water supply projections for snowfed lands in northern Nevada’s high-desert environment, looking at temperature variability, less snowpack and earlier snowmelt.” Singletary’s research and outreach programs focus on the role of water markets as a climate adaptation strategy as well as collaborative research processes, engaging community stakeholders as part of an integrated water management approach to address water supply variability, water scarcity and water quality issues. Water for the Seasons aimed to identify new strategies for enhancing the resiliency of communities in northern Nevada to adapt to these challenges and changes. The research team, working closely with local water managers, integrated climate, hydrologic and economics research with extensive outreach to identify the expected impacts of climate change and solutions for protecting valuable water resources throughout northern Nevada. What they found with the Water for the Seasons project might have been based in northern Nevada, but the reliance on snowpack for water and related challenges to water supply is also key to southern Nevada water availability, which relies on the Rocky Mountains and Colorado River. “With 12 primary water management organizations with critical roles in the Truckee-Carson watershed and a total of 66 organizations that participated in an initial assessment, the project identified climate change impacts as an important challenge to sustaining water supply. The project succeeded in identifying and investigating specific climate adaptation recommendations,” Singletary said. “It’s a case study for snowfed arid lands, which can inform decisions in similar snowfed river systems in the semi-arid West and around the world.” Using the input from water management stakeholders, the research team modeled their information needs under plausible projected climate scenarios, such as warmer temperatures and pervasive drought, and how these conditions affect the river system and water supply across the system. The hydrologists, climatologists, resource economists and political scientists worked alongside local water managers to identify climate change impacts to water resources, to develop and simulate climate scenarios that test river system resiliency, and to examine the effectiveness of potential adaptation strategies to mitigate identified impacts. “We purposefully and strategically work with decision makers to benefit the public,” Singletary said. “If key stakeholders participate in the research process from the beginning, collaboration is harnessed. It legitimizes both stakeholders’ interests as well as research and research findings. We involved water managers in the research to intentionally represent the diverse water uses that typify these snowfed systems. We wanted to know what are the system’s tipping points, what aspects of river system management might adapt to become more climate resilient – whether it’s water for cities and towns, crops, livestock, rangeland, environmental instream flows or industry.” “All stakeholders who participated agreed that more outreach education is needed, to stress that we live in the desert, and there’s not an endless supply of water, even though when you turn on the tap you get water,” Singletary added. “We need education in water conservation – land use, building and other uses – based on knowing that we live in a desert, and drought stresses this further.” The research team developed 10 key takeaways from the Water for the Seasons collaborative research program, which they published in Extension Special Publication 20-02, Water Sustainability and Climate in the Truckee-Carson River System (https://extension.unr.edu/ publication.aspx?PubID=3508): Some of those takeaways include: · climate projections across the river system generally show warmer temperatures and increased water supply variability; · measurable snowpack changes affect timing & availability of water supply; · cycles of wet and dry years are important for evaluating future basin water supply and reservoir operation; · allowing for storing water earlier in the year could enhance water supply; · aquifer recharge can mitigate longterm impacts; · and there is a need for additional collaborative research. “One challenge that surfaced from this project is that we learned that we needed more time,” Singletary said. “At the end of the five-year study, the project collaborators asked if we could keep meeting to continue the research. We really need 10-15 years to firmly establish a comprehensive integrated and collaborative research and outreach program, with more resources for education outreach to disseminate research findings. While it is clear that our climate is changing and that we need to adapt accordingly, it’s promising that water managers and water users are already pursuing climate adaptation to enhance our water and climate resiliency.”

State Comparison of Payments in Lieu of Taxes for 2020*

Randall Chicola | Graduate Student Research Assistant | Department of Economics | University of Nevada, Reno Thomas R. Harris | Professor of Department of Economics | State Extension Specialist | Director, University Center for Economic Development | UNR Lucas Thomas | Extension Publications Writer | University of Nevada Extension

Almost one-third of total U.S. acreage is federal lands, with the largest percentage in the 13 Western states (see Figure 1).

Of the total federally administered acreage in 2020, approximately 93.29% was located in the 13 Western states. Because of the vast quantities of public lands in the West, the management of these public lands greatly impacts county economies and local government fiscal balances. Since public lands are administered by the federal and/or state government, these lands are not subject to local government taxation. However, the U.S. Congress passed Public law 94-565 in 1976, which enacted the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program. The act has gone through several revisions since 1976. In 1982, it was amended and recorded as Chapter 69, 31 U.S.C. In 1983, it was amended to clarify the definition of “unit of general local government” and authorized state governments to redistribute payments to smaller units of government through legislation. The most recent change occurred following the passage of an Act in 1994 that increased payments to each county. Due to its distinction as the largest federal land management agency, the Bureau of Land Management was chosen by the Secretary of the Interior to administer the PILT program. Although all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Guam, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico are eligible to receive federal land-based payments, Western states receive the majority due to substantially greater percentages of Federal land ownership. Table 1 shows the 13 Western states received $423,482,052 of the $514,684,460 in PILT awarded, which accounts for 82.3% of total PILT payments made in 2020. Table 1 shows that the state of Nevada had the second largest amount of entitlement acreage with 56,706,160 acres. However, the state of Nevada received only $27,868,890 in PILT, which ranks Nevada 10th highest in the nation in PILT payments. Nevada PILT payments translated to 13 cents in PILT payments per entitled acre. Only Alaska had a smaller PILT payment per entitlement acre at 49 cents. The Western states of California, New Mexico, Arizona, Montana, Utah, Colorado, Alaska, Idaho and Wyoming received larger PILT payments than Nevada. Only the state of Alaska has a greater entitlement acreage than Nevada. Only the states of Washington, Oregon and Hawaii had lower PILT payments than Nevada. The state of California realized the largest PILT payments in 2020 at $ 54,562,480 or $1.25 in PILT payments per entitlement acreage. Even though California had approximately 13 million entitlement acres less than the state of Nevada, California received approximately $26.7 million more that the state of Nevada in PILT payments. The disparity between overall payments to these states is a result of the PILT formula, which is discussed in Zimmerman and Harris (2000). While providing more overall revenue, the new PILT formula apparently has caused little change in payments among states. Table 2 shows a time trend of PILT payment to the 13 Western states from 2016 to 2020. PILT payments to the states of California and Colorado increased by 15.42% and 17.38% respectively, for the past 5 years. However, the state of Nevada realized only an 8.72% Increase, while PILT payments to Washington increased by 17.47%. Table 2 shows that as PILT payments have changed, allocation among states has not been equitable.

Figure 1

Colorado,

For further information concerning comparison of PILT payments by Western States, please see the webinar “State Comparison of Payments in Lieu of Taxes for 2020.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yLpE-uPLmQ

* For Informational Purposes Only - Under Review. The COVID-19 Information Series from the University Center for Economic Development seeks to explain how eventsbrought forth by the pandemic impact Nevadans. This series is partially funded by U.S. Economic Development GrantED203SEA 3070058. For questions, please email the University Center for Economic Development at harris@unr.edu.

by Maninder Kaur Walia, Assistant Professor Field Crop Specialist | University of Nevada, Reno Extension

A cover crop is a crop of grasses, small grains, legumes or their mixtures grown between cropping seasons, primarily for the purpose of covering the ground.

Cover crops are usually planted after the harvest of an early and main crop to improve soil health by reducing erosion and runoff losses, preventing weed incursion, and improving soil fertility. They are also used for livestock grazing or forage. Cover crops are known to add organic matter to the soils through their incorporation back into soils or decomposition of their root mass. Thus, their inclusion can help producers to maintain long-term productivity of their land. Native Nevada soils have less than 1 percent organic matter, which results in poor soil structure and lower water- and nutrient-holding capacities. Thus, to improve the quality of soils, farmers should focus on increasing the organic matter content of the soils. One way to improve organic matter in soils is to include cover crops in crop rotations. The selection of a cover crop species depends upon the time of planting and their use. There are many cover crop species that can be included in crop rotation. Cover crops can be divided broadly into two major categories, depending upon their ability to fix nitrogen (legumes) or not (non-legumes) (Table 1). However, planting a combination of two or more species of cover crops is always beneficial for early establishment and better growth. Thus, cover crops play an important role in sustainable farming systems. This publication summarizes the primary benefits of growing cover crops. Benefits of cover crops Soil protection. Cover crops can provide an excellent ground cover while soil is not being used by the main crop. This ground cover will protect the soil from wind and water erosion losses. Erosion of soil through these forces (wind and water), leads to loss of particles, such as clay and organic matter from the soil, that are very important to maintain soil fertility. Soils in Nevada are susceptible to erosion losses by wind, and this leads to significant loss of soil particles blown away from the field. Thus, keeping the soil covered by planting cover crops when no main crop is growing will help to protect loss of soil through wind erosion, and thus will improve soil fertility. Soil organic matter and nutrients addition. Carbon (C) in soil plays an important role in maintaining the overall health of agricultural soils. Incorporation of cover crops back into the soils helps to increase soil organic matter (OM), thus improving water- and nutrientholding capacities in soils. Commonly, organic matter is calculated from organic carbon by using a conversion factor of 1.72 as: OM (%) = Total organic C (%) x 1.72 Both soil carbon and nitrogen (N) are needed to form organic matter in soils. Grasses (Figure 1) add more carbon to soils than legumes, due to a higher carbon-tonitrogen (C:N) ratio. However, cover crops with a higher C:N ratio (>35:1) decompose and release nutrients more slowly than crops with a lower C:N ratio, such as legumes (pea, lentil, cowpea, soybean, clovers, etc.). In addition to the C:N ratio, the process of decomposition and release of nutrients also depends upon the growth stage of the crop and the crop species. (Table 1) The younger and immature crop residue will decompose and release nutrients faster than matured crop residues. Legume cover crops also add nutrients to the soil through the process of nitrogen fixation. Legume crops form symbiotic associations (relationships between two interacting organisms) with bacteria called rhizobia, which help to produce nitrates from atmospheric nitrogen. These nitrates (one of the available forms of nitrogen) are then taken up by the legume crop. This nitrogen becomes available to the following crop after the legume dies and is incorporated into the soil. Legume cover crops can help to increase soil N by adding about 50-200 pounds of N per acre (depending upon the species), thus reducing the cost of production of the following crop by saving money on synthetic fertilizer costs, fuel costs for their transportation, and application labor costs. Pest pressure. The infestation of pests may increase or decrease with use of cover crops. Cover crops are shown to reduce the populations of some weeds and soil-borne pathogens. For instance, a) Annual ryegrass and cereal rye cover crops reduce the populations of soybean cyst nematodes significantly. b)Brassica crops reduce nematode pressure in soil through the soil fumigation (a practice to control soilborne pests) process. c) Using winter camelina as a cover crop following harvest of sugar beet provides excellent control of water hemp and pigweed (Figure 2). d)Cereal rye has been shown to have smother and allelopathic effects (inhibition of one plant or organism by another) on weeds for up to six weeks. In addition to weed suppression, cover crop inclusion can also increase economic benefits by reducing the need to apply pesticides. Soil health. Cover crops can significantly improve soil properties. Cover crop incorporation improves water infiltration and soil aeration, and reduces surface crusting and soil compaction (soil bulk density). Use of cover crops improves the formation and stability of soil aggregates, and increases soil microbial biomass and enzymatic activity in soils. Soil microbial diversity is also improved through addition of cover crops in crop rotations. Livestock grazing or forage. Cover crops are usually planted in the fall, after the harvest of the main crop. They are killed or incorporated back into the soil in the spring, before planting of the next main crop. However, cover crops (winter rye, triticale, wheat, etc.) can be grazed or harvested before planting of the subsequent crop. This will help to increase pasture acreage in between the main crop growing seasons. In addition, rotational or strip grazing of cover crops will help to increase utilization while decreasing soil compaction. Conclusions. Integration of cover crops into crop rotations can provide many benefits. However, there are many considerations, such as species or variety selection, seed cost, and time of termination, that need to be addressed before their large- scale adoption. In addition, drought or availability of water can also be a challenge when implementing any cover cropping system in drier regions such as Nevada.

TABLE 1: List of some legume and non-legume cover crops

FIGURE 1: Pearl millet as a cover crop Photo by Maninder K. Walia