Innovation and Crop Diversity Yield Long-term Benefits

A willingness to field-test innovative, sustainable practices comes naturally to Fritz Durst, fifth generation Yolo County farmer and rancher; diversifying his operations is one strategy for combating the inherent risk associated with agriculture.  On a recent September afternoon, I rode along with Fritz and had a chance to see some of the challenges and solutions firsthand in the context of his diverse operation. We started on the steep, rugged eastern face of the Capay Hills where Fritz grazes cattle that are later sold to a grass-fed beef cooperative. The next stop is down through the uplands where Durst has planted grapes, and has used no-till production techniques for over 20 years growing grains, oilseeds, and legumes. To the south, we pass minimum-till organic fields for raising seed crops, asparagus, grains and alfalfa hay produced for organic dairy-feed.  Next we head east, through the dry, rolling Dunnigan Hills where he has many acres of highly erodible land currently out of production, and enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program. This land was formerly used for cattle grazing and dryland grain production. We end the tour in the flat, floodplains of rice fields near the Sacramento River and Colusa County line, where the rice is nearing harvest, and great blue heron and American white pelicans fly overhead.  

California Conservation Tillage Pioneer 
Fritz has always enjoyed the challenges of agriculture and began accompanying his father around the ranchland and fields by age five. Not long after graduating from UC Davis with a degree in agricultural economics, Fritz and his father turned their attention toward the problem of persistent soil erosion occurring on the uplands of the Capay Hills and the foothills near Dunnigan.  They investigated no-till techniques for their small grain crops that involved planting directly into the residue of the previous crop. No-till and other conservation tillage methods had long been used in the Midwest, but in California, it was still considered a new and untested technique.
 
As with any farm practice there are benefits and drawbacks.  The most immediate benefit Fritz realized was a significant reduction in soil erosion. In 1985, after one year of no-till wheat production, Durst reported a reduction in annual soil loss from six tons/acre using conventional tillage, to two tons/acre in his no-till fields. Additionally, the large six foot deep gullies that appeared after winter storms were not seen the year following the change to no-till. During the next few years, Fritz reported on his experiences at several no-till workshops, and received the RCD “Cooperator of the Year Award” in 1986 for being one of the pioneers of no-till cultivation in Yolo County.

Currently, there is renewed interest in conservation tillage because of its potential to sequester carbon in the soil, thereby reducing greenhouse gasses.  Additional benefits to air quality come from reducing tractor time and associated diesel expense and exhaust, and from producing fewer airborne dust particles, which is regulated in some agricultural areas.

 No-till  can also  improve soil moisture retention, a factor particularly important to dryland farmers. Crop residues left intact on the soil surface increase the ability for water to infiltrate, and reduces surface evaporation, conserving water for plant growth.  No-till soil quality is also improved through the increase in organic matter, and the lack of disruption of soil microbes and arthropods.

For farmers converting fields to no-till, there can be the added cost of equipment rental for special planters utilizing the 20-ton drills needed for placing the seeds and fertilizer through the previous crop’s residue.  Fritz was able to offset the initial equipment cost through a cost-share program with the NRCS.  Another challenge is the management of weeds that can grow amongst the stubble. Fritz sees this as a short-term cost that ideally will be offset in the long-term, by increased yields due to improved soil quality.

Growing Grasses and Grazers
Fritz explained another change in practice that has led to a more efficient use of resources on his rangeland.  After observing the timing of the growth of annual and perennial grasses on his ranchland, Fritz shifted from a fall-calving schedule to calving in January, so that by mid-February, when hungry calves are first starting to be weaned, there is a maximum amount of tender forage available.  By switching to spring calving, it matched the timing of the animals’ greatest energy demand with the rangeland’s largest supply, thus reducing the cost for hay supplementation.  

Durst has presented workshops on grazing management using temporary electric fencing, and describes how effective this technique can be, since cattle can be trained very quickly to avoid this type of fencing, allowing for potential reductions in the costs involved in the installation and maintenance of more substantial posts with multiple wires for all pasture areas. Fritz has also observed that by grazing the foothill grasslands briefly in May, after the native perennials have produced seed, the cattles’ hoof action improved the yield of perennial grasses later in the year, following the rains. By timing grazing to mimic native herbivore grazing as much as possible, weeds can be reduced and native plants encouraged, slowly shifting the rangeland ecosystem closer to its original composition.  Fritz has utilized the cost-share and technical support provided by the NRCS EQIP program to install reservoir basins, water troughs and fencing on his steep rangeland to assist in his grassland stewardship activities.   
 
Encouraging Stewardship
Over the past 25 years of farming and ranching in Yolo County, Fritz has helped pioneer locally-specialized techniques for no-till production, served as co-chairman of the RCD board of directors for five years with Tom Muller from 1992-1997, and currently serves as president for Reclamation District 108. When asked what some of his goals were for the next 10 years, Fritz answered that he hoped farming in this global economy could remain profitable and feasible for his family and his fellow growers in Yolo County, and that he’d like to continue to work toward the development of a wildlife corridor that spans from the Coast Range to the Sacramento River floodplain. YCRCD is grateful to growers like Fritz for the insight to envision such goals, and  for the drive and willingness to field-test the innovations that make them happen.

Article by Diane Crumley  for the Yolo County Resource Conservation District's "Conservation Quarterly",  Fall 2007, Volume 11, Issue 3.