Eastern Montana Regenerative Agriculture’s Innovative cropping systems and marketing methods in the Arid West workshop took place in Miles City January 16th and 17th.
Farmers and Ranchers gathered to hear from Northeastern Colorado farmer Roy Pfaltzgraff speak on soil health basics, seed treatments, rotations, intercropping, financials and marketing.
Roy Pfaltzgraff farms near Haxtun, Colorado. Since taking over the family farm six years ago he has made numerous changes to increase soil health and biodiversity. Across the farm he has raised the organic matter in the top ten inches of his fields from the area’s average of less than 1% to a farm average of 2.5%.
Roy says that here in the arid west making use of limited moisture and keeping a living root in the soil are two of the most important things he thinks about.
“Residue is so important to us we use a stripper header on as many crops as we can, or we leave as much as we can if we have to take something. We’re also trying to keep a living root in the soil but we’re doing a living root with a crop…but the key is the living root, how can we keep a living root in the soil for as long as possible. As long as we can maximize that we’re gonna build soil health.”
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Northern Ag Network, EMRA
