On Farm Soil Health Management Systems Demonstration Program for the Southern Plains

Most of the gains made in the adoption soil health promoting practices have been made as a result of incentive programs and efforts to educator producers on the fundamental principles of no-till system-based management. However, the continued adoption of diverse crop rotations and no-till management in the Southern Plains has been limited by various perceived limitations. This project will focus on a bottom up approach in developing an on-farm demonstration program. In order for this approach to be successful, sufficient support for the demonstration of soil health promoting practices must be provided by producers, county educators, conservation district personnel and NRCS district conservationists. Stakeholders will be asked to identify system based management practices that they think will be useful in improving the productivity and economic viability of soil health promoting practices. State extension specialists will then provide technical assistance in the form of protocols that will result in scientifically sound data collection needed to understand the impact of the practices on yield, yield stability, and the economics of the selected practices. State extension specialists will also develop guidelines for Conservation Stewardship Program enhancements for producers willing to participate in on-farm demonstration projects in order to provide further participation incentives.