The soil health movement appears to be gaining momentum among Idaho farmers and conservation districts statewide.

Over 10 years after the Natural Resources Conservation Service launched its Soil Health Initiative in 2012, a growing number of Idaho producers are embracing soil health farming practices and using no-till, direct-seed drills to plant cash crops and cover crops without tilling the soil.

The Power Soil and Water Conservation District, near American Falls, Idaho, recently wrapped up a county-wide soil health project funded with a $162,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency and Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.

The Power District saw strong interest in the soil health program from their local producers, treating twice as many acres as expected.

Power SWCD purchased a no-till, direct-seed drill as part of the grant project. Once they had the drill available for lease, they got lots of inquiries. The no-till drill was used on 4,647 acres of farmland, compared to an expected 2,000 acres. Cover crops were planted on 1,133 acres of farmland, compared to an expected 400 acres.

“We had people calling us right and left to get into it,” said Ivan Permann, Power SWCD chairman and local producer. “That kind of surprised me. People were getting in line right away.”

Brett Leyshon, a Power District supervisor who owns his own 40-foot no-till drill, said he was pleased to see the enthusiastic response.

“For some people, it’s a way to plant some cover crops and reduce erosion — I think it’s going to be a good tool for that. Maybe they try it out on 200-300 acres and see how they like it. That’s a good way to get started,” he said.

The Kootenai-Shoshone SWCD, near Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, just received a $162,127 DEQ Agricultural Best Management Practices grant so they can purchase a no-till drill that will be available for lease to local producers.

The cost of a no-till drill can be a big barrier for producers to try it on their own, so to have a drill available for lease or rent is a positive thing, experts said. An informal survey indicated that more than 15 conservation districts statewide have no-till drills available for rent or lease.

What is soil health? The NRCS Principles of Soil Health are as follows:

• Minimize disturbance.

• Maximize living roots.

• Maximize soil cover/soil armor.

• Maximize biodiversity.

George Hitz, SWC natural resource conservationist who assisted the Power District with its grant application, said, “I really think no-till and cover crops are some the best practices we can promote to reduce erosion, improve soil health, rebuild resilient soils and create a long-term productive and sustainable future in agriculture.”

Leyshon is seeing a reduction in erosion on hilly grain fields that they farm due to no-till practices.

“I raise wheat, canola, mustard, beans and chickpeas,” Leyshon said. “I seed right into my stubble with the no-till drill and it’s worked well. It’s really helped with my erosion on hilly ground. Since I started no-tilling, I haven’t had any washouts in my field.”