The crops, which include wheat, peas and alfalfa, are planted using a method called no-till farming or direct planting. It helps reduce the amount of carbon released into the air and prevents erosion. The process also helps carbon to build back up in the soil. More information on the farm can be found here.
There were also a few random facts discussed on the trip that I just thought were interesting:
1) The Palouse is the second most erosive area in the United States. Approximately 14 tons per acre per year are lost in the top soil. It works out to about an inch a decade. The Cook farm has already reduced the loss to 10 tons per acre per year.
2) The explosion of pioneer farming in the 1800s created a huge release of carbon. It was not until 1950 that the amount of carbon released through industrialization matched the amount released through agriculture.
3) Natural prairies lost 30 percent of their carbon in 30 years. This help explains the dust bowl in the 1930s.
4) No-till farming is being used to help replace some of the carbon and to prevent more from escaping. The Conservation Reserve Program is a voluntary federal program created to reward farmers who seek to establish environmentally friendly farming practices, such as direct planting.
And now for photos:
This is the only thing signaling the farm's existence. This sign and tower, which also has a solar panel. It's the square thing on the tower.
The class listens attentively as we learn more about the process of direct planting. We were at one of 369 sample sites for testing the soil and gathering information.
This sample site was just off a dirt path in the middle of a recently harvested wheat field, which we drove and walked right through.
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