Native WI Prairie. Photo: The Prairie Enthusiasts

Soil is fragile. Maybe some of you rolled your eyes when you read that, but hear me out.

Wisconsin developed some of the best agricultural soils in the world over the course of the last 20,000 years or so (just recently, geologically speaking). That soil was built by the annual cycle of life and death occurring on Wisconsin’s vast prairies and savannas. Starting in Spring, powered by the sun, the Earth produced tremendous amounts of biomass. When cold arctic air descended from the north each Fall, and brought the killing frost along with it, the summer’s growth commenced its annual ritual of decay.

This seasonal event meant two really important things for water quality. First, it protected the soil from heavy spring rains. Rain loses its erosive power when vegetation absorbs its force first. By the time the spring rains had come, the dead vegetation had fallen over from wind and snow, creating a protective mulch over the soil. Second, the dead vegetation provided a generous helping of organic matter for the soil to incorporate.

Organic matter is one of the soil components that holds water. Really healthy soils will have organic matter levels of 5% or higher. Studies have shown that increasing a soil’s organic matter level by 1% will allow it to hold 20,000-25,000 more gallons of water per acre. Not only does organic matter hold water, but it also holds soil particles together (and in place). The best way to demonstrate this feature is to walk through saturated soil that is devoid of organic matter – the soil will stick to your boots and feel as heavy as concrete. Cross the road and walk the field high in organic matter, and your boots will stay clean.

When it comes to water quality, these two features of organic matter are really important. Regionally, we have lost a lot of wetlands due to development. Now it’s more important than ever to create an agricultural landscape that can hold tremendous amounts of water. When the soil is completely saturated and can hold no more water, organic matter helps keep the soil in place, resulting in cleaner run-off. The NRCS Rainfall Simulator does a great job showing the filtration and infiltration capabilities of healthy soil.

One of the ways to build organic matter and protect soil from erosive rains is to incorporate cover crops into a crop rotation. These are crops that are planted around the planting and harvesting of the main crop. Sometimes cover crops are even planted into the main crop while it’s growing. For example, a farmer might plant oats or triticale immediately after harvesting corn silage. The cover crop will then grow and produce biomass until the frost kills it. The dead plant matter then remains on the soil through Winter and into Spring, protecting and feeding the soil all the while.

This isn’t easy, though. In a year like 2019, late plantings and saturated soils have made harvest season difficult. If you look around the Fox-Wolf basin, there is an incredible amount of corn-grain and soy still on the fields. Most of these crops will get harvested this year, but don’t be surprised if next spring you see a combine in one field and a corn planter in the next. When there is very little time to harvest, there is even less time to plant a Fall cover crop. There are solutions to many of the water quality issues we see stemming from agriculture, but it’s not always easy or possible.

Cover crop planted into corn silage residue. Photo: Mycogen Seeds

As mentioned earlier, soil, in its rawest form, is fragile. When agricultural soils are reduced down to their mineral constituents, there is little that stands in between them and the Winnebago Lakes during a heavy rain event. Farming practices that mimic the soil building history of the great-prairies of Wisconsin can be added to any farm, no matter the type or size. They do not come without challenges, but there are many farmers showing that it’s worth overcoming them in order to improve both soil/water quality and their bottom line. Check out the great work the Lower Fox Demo Farm is doing, as well as the newly formed Upper Fox Demo Farm.

Through the completed Lake Management Plan, the Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance, along with our project partners, will be able to bolster agricultural efforts that improve soil health, ultimately bettering water quality. For example, Fox-Wolf’s work in the Lower Fox watershed helped equip Outagamie county with no-till farming implements that the county can rent out to farmers. It’s not easy to adopt new farming practices because it can be expensive and requires a new way of thinking and planning, so helping farmers overcome those barriers is an effective way to get more practices on the ground. Widespread adoption of practices like cover-cropping and no-till farming is one of the many paths we, as a region, need to take in order to achieve our water quality goals.

Winnebago Waterways is a Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance program. The Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance is an independent nonprofit organization that identifies and advocates effective policies and actions that protect, restore, and sustain water resources in the Fox-Wolf River Basin.

Follow the Fox Wolf Watershed Alliance’s Winnebago Waterways Program on our Winnebago Waterways Facebook page or @WinnWaterways on Twitter! You can also sign-up for email updates at WinnebagoWaterways.org.

This article was written by Austin Pethan for the Winnebago Waterways Program. Questions or comments? Contact Austin at austin@fwwa.org or (920) 920-851-4295.