2021 July Stewardship Advocate

It’s RAGBRAI week, so of course it’s wicked hot out.  Improving your farm’s soil health can help store more water in the soil to combat hot, dry conditions.  The American Farmland Trust has a free soil health test kit to help farmers create retrospective soil health case studies estimating the economic, water quality, and climate associated with the use of soil health practices.  

Or if you want to take a swim to stay cool, restore an oxbow wetland on your farm.  These former stream meanders store excess water that might otherwise lead to flooding, filter water to improve water quality, and provide habitat to a variety of wildlife.  The Nature Conservancy offers an Oxbow Restoration Toolkit to learn more.