NRCS Helping Landowners Improve Soil Health

Kenneth McAlister, a nationally recognized soil health champion from Texas, uses no-till and cover crops to diversify his operation and strengthen his bottom line. And when it comes to farming cotton, McAlister has his bases covered and most of his fields.

In a story from USDA, he said “No-till really helped improve our soil health, but when we started planting cover crops and had something growing in our fields year-round, that was the game changer. Soil health has been the key to helping us be more successful.”

McAlister is the first Texas farmer to be named a soil health champion by the National Association of Conservation Districts. In consultation with agronomists and soil health specialists with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), their fields have flourished with a variety of cover crops over the last several years. That includes hay sorghum, milo, mung beans, canola, barley, oats, and a wide variety of legume seed mixes.

To learn more about improving the soil health on your land, contact your local NRCS office. Read more of this story by clicking here.

Image courtesy USDA/NRCS.