Many farmers are concerned about the compaction cattle may cause when grazing cover crops in row crop fields. The Pasture Project, Practical Farmers of Iowa, Sustainable Farming Association, and Land Stewardship Project partnered on a four year NRCS-USDA Conservation Innovation Grant to demonstrate the economic and soil health benefits of livestock grazing on cover crops. Researchers used a penetrometer to measure compaction in row crop fields with no cover crops and no grazing (control) and in fields where cover crops were planted and grazed (treatment). Four years of data show that fields where cover crops were planted and grazed had less soil compaction.
