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For those who aren’t aware, cover cropping is a highly effective method for preventing soil erosion and maintaining high quality soil and moisture levels in farming. It also allows you to farm off-season crops. There are many cover crops benefits, and multi cropping can do wonders for a farm’s soil.
It’s no secret that soil erosion has a terrible effect on an agroecosystem’s ability to produce quality food, and the main function of cover crops is to prevent this from happening by shielding the surface of the soil from the impact of heavy raindrops and preventing erosive runoff and violent splashing. With cover crops, the water from rainfall can steadily trickle down through the soil in a controlled manner, allowing crops to flourish.
While crops need water to grow, too much water will hinder the soil’s capacity to grow healthy food, and erosion of soil causes water to drain off-field and potentially damage waterways and other ecosystems downstream.
Crop root networks are also extremely useful for literally holding the soil in place. By preventing soil erosion, farmers can better manage the soil’s fertility and nutrient levels, which means healthier growing food without the use of chemicals.
Perhaps one of the most limiting nutrients in the production of crops is nitrogen, which cover crops (or “green manure”) can do an exceptional job of managing, and keep the soil rich with the appropriate nutrients for a number of years.
Cover crops also protect against weeds, pests and diseases.
There are a multitude of other benefits to be gained from implementing cover cropping techniques in your farm, which you can learn about from our free resources centre, or by taking one of our highly interactive online courses on organic sustainable farming practices.
Alternatively, Farming Secrets also has an online store, where we sell an extensive range of high quality reading material and Films from qualified and experienced experts in farming and agriculture who illustrate the importance of biological farming practices as well as demonstrate how to implement these practices and transform your farm into a sustainable, chemical-free business.
At Farming Secrets, our courses are designed by experts who have applied these methods for themselves, and achieved great success in chemical-free farming. These courses are structured in a way that they take you through the entire process of how to transition into organic farming, from step one right through to becoming an expert on the subject.
Whether you are just starting out and want to take the sustainable path, or you’ve been running a farm for years but realised the benefits of making the transition to biological farming methods, our Farming Secrets online farm management courses will give you all the information you need.
As Soil Lovers we respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of all the lands on which we work and pay our respects to the Elders past present and emerging.
When caring for your land take a moment in stillness to respect the wisdom your land is sharing with you.
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