Keep your eyes on the Holmes County skies
- Joe Christner: SWCD
- September 1, 2023
- 1058
On Tuesday, Sept. 5, you may once again see the yellow planes flying low over Holmes County farm fields.
This will mark the 15th year Holmes SWCD has contracted with Fisher Ag Service for pilots and planes to fly cover crop seeds on corn and soybean fields in the area. The planes are yellow and blue “Air Tractors” designed and built to perform aerial applications on crop fields.
The pilots have many hours of training and experience and use the latest technology, resulting in accurate applications. They will apply 191,500 pounds of seed on 2,950 acres of growing soybean fields. The cover crop seeds are oats, barley and oats/barley mix. Locally grown, organic seed is purchased from Scott Myers of Woodlyn Acres in Wayne County, who goes above and beyond to fill our seed order, and 21 farms are participating in this year’s aerial cover crop program.
The planes will load seed and fly out of the Holmes County Airport. The fly-on seeding will take one to two days depending on the weather. This is all part of the Holmes County SWCD Cover Crop Program. The goal of the program is to control erosion and keep topsoil in place.
Beginning in 2009, the Holmes SWCD Board of Supervisors made coordinating an aerial cover crop application program a priority. Soil erosion remained the top resource concern to Holmes County’s crop-producing topsoil. Much of the county’s farmland is categorized as highly erodible land because of soil type and slope. Fall harvested crops such as soybeans and corn silage leave insufficient surface residue to protect the soil from erosion through the fall, winter and early spring, and cover crops are an effective management practice to reduce soil erosion and prevent soil loss.
Depending on the weather, establishing a cover during the busy fall harvest season can be a challenge. One of the solutions is for a farmer to participate in the Holmes SWCD coordinated aerial cover crop program. Aerial application to a standing crop, before harvest, is one way to establish an effective cover crop.
Several years ago the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District recognized promoting cover crops met its water-quality initiatives and launched a per-acre cost-share program in cooperation with the Ohio Department of Agriculture to the 18 counties within the Muskingum River Watershed. The cost share is based on a participant score sheet that prioritizes acres most likely to erode. This year in Holmes County, 6,678 acres were approved for cover crop cost share at $12 per acre. We appreciate the MWCD for its continued support for our shared goals of reducing erosion and sediment resulting in improved water quality and soil health.
From 2009-22 more than 39,000 acres of cover crops have been aerially seeded through the Holmes County SWCD cover crop program. In addition, 31,000 acres have been seeded using other methods of application. That represents a significant reduction in erosion and soil loss from farm fields in Holmes County. Not only is this a huge benefit for farmers, but also because of reduced sediment in the streams, the entire watershed benefits from improved water quality.
This will be the third year Holmes SWCD has organized drone seedings by partnering with FK Agronomics. Cover crop seeding using drones is a relatively new technology. There are quite a few advantages for adding drone seeding to the aerial cover crop program. It works well on fields that cannot be flown by a plane. These fields may have a power line running through the middle, are smaller or are surrounded by trees. A drone also is a good fit for fields with contour strips, as it is much more precise than a plane and able to stay in the defined lines.
Drone seeding also can be more cost effective compared to plane applications, especially for the smaller operations. Holmes SWCD and FK Agronomics will use drones to fly cover crop seed on farm fields during the week of Sept. 4.
Farm fields are not the only place cover crops provide benefits. Gardens are an excellent place to see these benefits as well. Besides reducing erosion, weed suppression is another benefit that is especially valuable in the garden setting. Organic matter is key in having healthy and functional soils, and planting cover crops is one way to increase organic matter, providing additional biomass.
Cover crops help with soil structure, improved water infiltration and water-holding capacity. It also provides a habitat for microorganisms to grow and contribute to nutrient cycling. Oats, barley, wheat and rye are all good cover crop seeds for your garden, depending on your goal for seeding a cover crop.
If you happen to see a yellow plane or a drone flying low over farm fields next week, spreading organic untreated seed, they are part of the program to reduce soil erosion and sediment runoff in Holmes County. As always, call Holmes SWCD for your cover crop questions at 330-674-2811 ext. 3. If you get a great picture, tag us on Facebook or Instagram @holmesswcd or email holmes.swcd@gmail.com.
Joe Christner is a program assistant with the Holmes Soil and Water Conservation District.