We’re going to kick things off with an update from our Conservation Ag Operator Fellow, Ray McCormick. To say that Ray takes conservation to a “whole ‘nother” level would be a massive understatement. From ponds to solar panels, Ray’s got a lot going at his Vincennes, Ind., farm. 

“The sun’s coming up. We’re also working on our natural pond that will be full of water, rocks, frogs and fish. Then here’s our solar panels below the house that we charge our car and pickup with. Then I have a pollinator garden right here. Our natural pond will be surrounded by native plants. Beyond that, we have fields where we run the cattle. Those fields were all used as cover crops to feed cattle over the winter. We seldom take them off of it. We let them chomp around out there. We planted the corn and soybeans directly into the grazed cover crops. The crop seemed to like it.”

“Also, the stream that runs through the farm, we have conservation buffers on all sides, to buffer the ground against nutrient loss. But primarily on our farm, they’re for wildlife habitats — good pollinator habitats and quail nesting habitat. Because our farm is in long-term no-till, when we get these great big rains, the water just infiltrates into the ground. We don’t really need the buffer to keep nutrients out of our stream. We’re pretty proud of the way we farm, and we try to include every aspect of taking care of the environment, being good conservationists, helping out pollinators. And then right over here, we have a duck hunting business, so you see a duck blind that we built and we’re training our labs with. We’ll be putting in the rest of our duck blinds in pretty soon.”

Check out the feature article on Ray’s eventful year in the upcoming Conservation Tillage Guide, which should be arriving in your mailbox around New Year’s Day. Or read it on No-TillFarmer.com.

Watch the full version of this episode of Conservation Ag Update.