Improving Water Quality in the Corn Belt (and Beyond...)

Improving Water Quality in the Corn Belt (and Beyond...) 2011 Shannon Zezula NRCS Indiana State Resource Conservationist

Cropping Systems = Healthy Soil • Soil Biology. • HABITAT!

Conservation Cropping SYSTEMS No (Never)-till + cover crops + precision Nutrient Mgmt + Buffers • Restores soil carbon • Conserves moisture; improves infiltration • Saves fuel, time, labor, machinery • Reduces erosion • Resilience • Improved soil fertility and nutrient cycling - biota • Controls weeds • Perfects Planting/Stand • Improves Air, Water, Wildlife…

Why Now? We are building a better Cropping System, as well as a Smarter Drainage System! Corn futures surged 90 percent in the past year, while wheat jumped 80 percent and soybeans advanced 49 percent Along with...input costs, extreme weather patterns, public awareness... Crops will be grown...yield matters...tile drainage will increase Where do we fit?...

AVOID CONTROL TRAP Nitrogen & Phosphorus Losses

No-Till/Strip-Till Nutrient Management Controlled Traffic and Precision Technology • We can Avoid, Control and Trap Nutrient Losses with a system of Production practices! Crop Rotation Stripcropping Buffers Cover Crops

laterals laterals main main Water level control structure Drainage is Key... ...to Successful Yields &... ...Conservation Cropping Systems

Nitrogen Loss • At best about 60% of the fertilizer added to the field is accumulated by the corn crop • We can do better… • 4 Rs...Source, Time, Place, Rate Where Water Goes …so too does Nitrate! NO3 NO3

800 200 0 400 600 Soil P and Subsurface Drainage Drainage from 50-cm undisturbed soil lysimeters 1.5 1 Dissolved P, mg/L 0.5 0 Mehlich-3 soil P, ppm

Cover Crops Iowa- ARS Dr. Tom Kasper Reduced Nitrate leaching by 60 lbs. /ac. With a cover crop of Cereal Rye

Cover Crops Managing the Fate of Nitrogen! Purdue University Dr. Eileen Kladivko • Nutrient management, no-till, crop rotation and cover crops were implemented. SYSTEM! • Nitrate concentrations in tile water dropped from over 30 mg/l to under 10 mg/l

Corn-soybean system normally fallow from Oct – April. A winter cover crop takes up (or “traps”) some of the nitrate that otherwise leaches out during fallow season

Drainage Water Management (DWM) The outlet is raised after harvest to reduce nitrate delivery during winter.

Diversion Structure BIO-REACTORS Capacity Control Structure Woodchips

Structural Practices 2-Stage Ditch

Structural Practices Constructed Wetland to Treat N from Tile Tile drained field Dam Deep wetland Wetland Buffer

Buffers • Target in low-producing areas (zones of NO APPLICATION!) • Filtering • Habitat

Water Quality Benefits will be Limited Unless Soil Health is Maximized Mastering the Details through Planning is Key to an Optimum System We can take production and water qualityfurther with Conservation Cropping Systems and Smart Drainage Systems – Where will we be? Now’s the time to Capture the potential!

Questions • Shannon Zezula – NRCS Indiana • Shannon.zezula@in.usda.gov • 317-290-3200 ext 388

Improving Water Quality in the Corn Belt (and Beyond...)