Happy New Year! I hope the holidays brought you and your family peace, joy, and rest after a long and challenging year. As we turn the calendar page to what will no doubt be another tough year, I’ve been thinking a lot about the “sustainability” of the farm and what it will take for us to make it through another year. There are so many factors in a successful year that are beyond our control, and beyond keeping a positive mindset and faith while weathering the storm, sometimes it feels like our hands are tied. As we get into county meeting season, you’ll hear from the experts on how to set yourself up for success concerning agronomic, pest management, fertility, and irrigation principles. But what else can we do? Here’s a couple things to think about that are within your control; things you can do to protect you and your farm throughout the year and preserve your sustainability.
You may have decided it’s the best financial decision to leave the field fallow this year from a cash crop, but can we justify a warm-season cover crop instead? I’d encourage you to think long term here…having something in the field to keep the soil covered, suppress weeds and prevent them from going to seed, minimize erosion, continue building organic matter, cycling/scavenging nutrients, and keeping microbes fed with living roots will set us up for success when we can get back in the field. If we can minimize the cost of rebuilding the field, additional pest management product applications due to increases in weed seed banks, and increased fertility expenses because we starved microbial processes for a year, this can save us time and money once we rotate a cash crop back into the field. From a pest management standpoint, if we can prevent weeds from going to seed, this will help minimize the pressure we are placing on our herbicide products next year and potentially reduce the number of passes we will have to make across the field. Even better, if there’s an opportunity to graze or harvest the cover crop for grain or forage, this may be an opportunity for some alternative income. The goal here is to creatively evaluate the ROI to minimize our long impacts to the bottom line.
When it comes to applying pesticides, we play a huge role in preserving the ability to continue using these products by the actions we take. It is directly within our control to use pesticides in a way that is safe for us (the applicator), as well as the environment around us, and the consumer who uses the end product by following the information on the label. This is one of the best things we can do to protect our farm sustainability, as pesticides are critical to producing an economical crop! Take a couple minutes to make sure you have the PPE outlined on the label to keep yourself safe and then USE IT! Get in touch with your county agent to revisit the concepts of on-target pesticide applications if you need a refresher, and please follow all instructions on labeled products for the application you are making – desperate times don’t call for desperate measures….especially when those actions threaten the long-term sustainability of your farm. Especially as we start utilizing products with ESA requirements, record-keeping is certainly within our control and can protect us from questions and concerns down the road. But beyond spray records, good notes about day-to-day operations can help us better understand (and remember) what we are doing, where the money is going, and are we as timely with our inputs as we think. When things get hectic, a written record can help with intentional decision-making vs emotional ones.
Personally, I’m a big fan of controlling what we can control through proactive efforts that help set us up for success in the future – rather than being strictly reactive. Handling immediate threats, but remembering to look beyond them, is the key to long-term resiliency. As we enter this new year, please take care of yourself, check in on your neighbors, continue to stay informed, communicate about what you do to those unfamiliar, and continue to advocate for the agriculture industry.
Taylor Singleton
Assistant Professor and Extension Sustainability Specialist
University of Georgia