Mitigating risk with health practices

We are collaborating with a team of researchers, extension specialists, and producers across Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska to quantify the economic and soil quality trade-offs of different dryland cropping practices. In particular, we will be evaluating the potential of grazed forages and cover crop mixtures in different rotation scenarios. By rotating crops or integrating mixtures of grazed forage crops, farmers might reduce their long-term risk by improving the quality of their soil to the benefit all of the crops they plant. The challenge is in reducing short-term risk while managing the soil for longer-term benefits.