A south-central Iowa corn and soybean farmer says regenerative ag practices have helped him keep his soil on his farm.
Steve Kuiper of Knoxville says reducing soil erosion is one of his biggest priorities.
“We finished a couple projects this spring creating some dry basins. You’re going to have hard rains and you’re going to have some soil movement. If that soil and water ends up in a dry basin, the soil will separate. We can bring that soil back on the hill into a thin spot.”
He tells Brownfield he utilizes cover crops, biologicals, and no-till.
Kuiper says he’s also seen some soil health benefits from laying drainage tile in his fields.
“I’ve heard people have an argument about drain tile and having nutrients leaching out through the drain tile. We haven’t seen that. What we’re seeing is as we pattern tile farms, we have less runoff. The water percolates down through the soil and when the water gets into the soil, it’s a carbon filter.”
Kuiper says his soil health initiatives are also about improving water quality.
“We farm around Lake Red Rock. I want to make sure people understand that we’re doing our (best) not to pollute that lake.”
He says he’s seen significant yield improvement over the years.
