Rotate, rotate, rotate! but rotate well - include a variety of crop types ie grasses - cereals, legumes -forages etc. - the goal is more than a wheat/soy crop alternation

• Provides a variety of residues and root exudates for soil organisms and the maintenance of soil structure
• Supports biodiversity, encourages natural predators

• Research suggests a 10% yield improvement from crop rotation alone
• Add in the pest management benefits from reduced pest populations - eg. corn rootworm, SCN

Reduce tillage,
Leave residues
Use timely tillage
- anything that leaves more residue on the soil surface

• Less physical damage to soil organisms, their burrows and the overall structure of the soil
• Residue distributed more shallowly in the soil allows more soil organisms access during the breakdown process
• helps to hold moisture
• residues shade the soil and maintains a more consistent soil temperature.

• Reduced fuel costs and possibly time
• Reduced erosion losses
• More active soil = more efficient nutrient cycling
• Less crusting/better soil structure = more efficient crop root systems and better scavenging for nutrients
• Compaction reduce yields from 0 to 75%, depending upon crop and year

Plant cover crops and

green manure crops - crops either seeded or volunteer that are grown to add residues and roots to the soil

• Shades the soil and returns residues that help to moderate temperature and moisture extremes
• Residues contain captured nutrients that are returned to the cycle rather than lost to leaching.
• Living root system growing and exuding materials that aid soil structure

• Protection from erosion losses. It is estimated that soil blown from a field (wind erosion) contains 10-12 times more organic matter and phosphate than the heavier particles left behind.
• Efficient capture and recycling of nutrients reduces losses to the environment.

Apply manure and other organic materials

• Food source for soil organisms
• Aids in soil moisture retentio

• Reduced fertilizer need

Reduce pesticides

• Some soil organisms are sensitive to particular pesticides
• Generally food and habitat in the form of crop residues/rotation and reduced tillage play a much larger role than pesticides in encouraging active soil life and healthy soil.

• Input costs may be reduced as long as cultivation is not used to replace pesticides.