Mike Brocksmith (Knox County)

Aerial seeding into standing commodity crops helps Mike Brocksmith get a head start in cover crop establishment.

“I think cover crops were the missing link for us in our soil conservation system,” he says. “These soils in this field have been no-tilled for 20 or 25 years. We already had great soil health. Now we’re going to the next level.”

For Brocksmith, who farms with his wife and two daughters, the next level in crafting a conservation farming system for his family’s farm is building healthy, nutrient-rich soils that help nurture crops even in bad years. “We want to weather-proof our soil for the occasional dry spell, and even for wet spells,” he explains.

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