How one rainstorm changed my farm forever

In the spring of 2007, one weather event completely changed the course of my farming operation.

We did our usual tillage when a 1-inch rain hit. Later that evening, I was driving down the road and had to slow down because something was on the road — it was soil from our field.

I knew I needed to make a change and started looking into cover crops and no-till to build soil health on my farm.

That’s when I started researching no-till practices and cover crops to rebuild our soil. To test it out, I took a 200-acre field and used conventional tillage practices on half of the acres and switched to no-till into the radish cover crop on the other half.

At harvest, it was the best-yielding field on the farm and the best return on investment. I saw the power of cover crops and started working to get them on acres across the farm.

During the past 18 years, my operation has gone from 100% conventional tillage to:

• 100% no-till;

• 100% cover crops;

• 100% non-GMO; and now

• 100% organic.

But it has been a journey. I tell every farmer — it’s at least a five-year process before you can seriously start reducing inputs.

My first piece of advice is not to jeopardize the livelihood of the farm. My second piece of advice is to do something that has a high likelihood of success the first time you try it — because if it doesn’t work, you’re not going to want to do it again.

My third piece of advice is to step out of your comfort zone and try something different.

Looking for more information? There are resources to help farmers get started.

Farm Advisors, a farmer-led, peer-to-peer program, is ready to help farmers in their conservation journey. Find out more here: farmadvisors.ag/.

Rick Clark is a fifth-generation farmer in Warren County in west-central Indiana.