The recently formed consortium aimed at fostering partnerships on legume breeding will focus on collaboration and investment, a leading expert has said
Joy in western Kenya as farmers abandon tobacco for beans
For decades, tobacco farming was the primary source of livelihood for many a family in Kenya’s Busia County, despite the various health risks it posed. But tunes are fast changing, with farmers in Changara Division of Teso North sub-County now abandoning the leafy crop for beans.
Kenya: MESHA set to host global agriculture journalists forum in 2025
By Chemtai Kirui I phillykirui@gmail.com
Nairobi — Kenya is set to welcome journalists from around the world for the prestigious International Federation of Agricultural Journalists’ (IFAJ) Congress in 2025, showcasing its pivotal role in the global agricultural journalism landscape.
The congress, organised by Media for Environment, Science, Health, and Agriculture in Kenya (MESHA) will be held in October 2025, with the themes relevant to the contemporary agricultural landscape.
The International Federation of Agricultural Journalists is a non-political, professional association for agricultural journalists and communicators, with members spread across 55 countries.
According to Aghan Daniel, MESHA Secretary, the association is currently seeking financial and technical support to enable it host the global fair for the first time in Kenya.
The event will engage various stakeholders, including agricultural journalists, scientists, policymakers, industry experts, farmers, environmentalists, and representatives from international organizations and governmental bodies.
The annual IFAJ Congresses provide a timely platform for journalists and communicators to delve into the critical issue of agriculture. By exploring the latest advancements, sharing best practices, and enabling global collaboration as a way to foster innovative solutions to the pressing issues of climate change, soil erosion, and other threats to global food security.
Mr. Philip Keitany, the Chairman of the organizing committee for IFAJ congress 2025, said: “The IFAJ Congress 2025 will contribute significantly to addressing global agricultural challenges by facilitating knowledge exchange and information sharing among journalists from diverse backgrounds and regions.”
Keitany, a renowned Agricultural Journalist in Kenya who has attended several IFAJ congresses, including those in South Africa and the Netherlands, said that Kenya hosting the 2025 IFAJ congress will raise awareness and generate public discourse on agricultural matters and help mobilize support for agricultural development initiatives and influencing policy decisions at local, national, and international levels.
“Agricultural journalists need to be actively engaged with stakeholders across the agricultural value chain, including the seed sector, farmers, scientists, policymakers, and consumers, to ensure that their reporting reflects the diverse perspectives and interests of those affected by agricultural issues,” he said, adding that congress will provide a platform for journalists to forge partnerships, form alliances, and leverage collective expertise to tackle complex issues in agriculture more effectively.
The organising committee, will undertake a series of events around the 2025 IFAJ World Congress, featuring dedicated days such as the Industrial Day, Workshop Day, Youth Day, and Tourism Day. This planned schedule ensures that attendees will have a comprehensive and enriching experience, providing a vivid showcase of Kenya’s diverse offerings.
Joyce Chimbi, a Kenyan-based journalist and communicator on science, health, and agriculture, expressed her excitement about hosting the IFAJ Congress 2025.
“Kenya is an agricultural country, as the sector is the bedrock of the economy – directly and indirectly employing millions of people across the value and or supply chain,” she said.
“The Congress is important for this East African nation, providing a crucial platform to showcase not only its strong agricultural sector but also to spotlight best practices — particularly how the country is coping with pressing challenges such as climate change, rapid urbanization, and industrialization.”
Chimbi who writes for a number of news publications in the country and internationally noted the agriculture sector is on a crossroads and farm to fork practices must arise to meet modern challenges that are unprecedented in both form, nature, intensity and severity.
She hoped that the congress will renew focus on agriculture, often overshadowed by other topical issues such as climate, environment, and biodiversity.
“The IFAJ Congress 2025 will bring agriculture back into the spotlight in Kenya and the wider region.” Chimbi said.
“Africa is the continent with the most arable land on the planet,” said David Kazi, a seasoned journalist from Rodrigues Island, located east of Mauritius.
Kazi said that Kenya hosting IFAJ congress 2025 provides an opportunity to showcase to the world the significant strides Africa is making in the agricultural sector, specifically in advancing food sovereignty for the continent and its population.
“There are many journalists in Africa reporting about the agricultural sector as this is a major topic of their daily life and immediate neighborhood. Therefore, their works can be showcased, and their knowledge be consolidated.” He said.
Kazi, who is a fellow at the African Union, said that he hopes that IFAJ Congress 2025, “becomes a stage to not only showcase agricultural achievements but also to celebrate the journalists who play a significant role in shaping the discourse around agriculture in Africa.”
In 2025, IFAJ will celebrate its 69th anniversary since its founding in Paris, France, as the ‘Union internationale des journalistes agricoles’ (International Union of Agricultural Journalists). The organization established to provide a forum where journalists can network, exchange ideas, and practice professional development, has over 5,000 members.
MESHA has played a pivotal role in supporting agricultural journalism throughout its history. Over the past 19 years, it has been at the forefront of contributing to environment, science, health, and agriculture journalism training and mentorship in the country.
“MESHA stands out as one of the most vibrant, diverse, and sustainable gatherings of agriculture journalists.” Chimbi said.
“It is a valuable tool in advancing coverage of agriculture in a most comprehensive manner serving as a model for other regional media associations.”
This year’s annual IFAJ congress 2024 will be held in Switzerland’s Interlaken, from August 14th to 18th.
How Kenyan women are breaking taboos and thriving in the fishing industry
By Jasmine Atieno
@sparkleMine
For decades, women at the Kenyan coast have kept away from the deep waters. Taboos, both cultural and religious, banned them from fishing, forcing them to wait at the shores to buy fish, both raw and processed for resale at the markets.
“There used to be a lot of beliefs about women going to the ocean. For instance, they were afraid that some women would go into the water on their periods, and a jinni would enter her body. So most women would wait for the fishermen to bring back and we would buy from their catch,” shares Joyce Mramba, the Co-Founder of Tuna Women Group in Kipini, Tana River.
But things are changing. High poverty levels within the area drove most female fish vendors into transactional sex for fish. Anyone who does not do this would go home with nothing. This is where Joyce came in.
In 2012, she mobilised five other women and together, they decided to fish for prawns. Fortunately, they did not need classes to fish prawns since they had watched how the men did it. Besides, this type of fishing did not require them to go deep into the sea. Prawns do a nightly vertical migration to shallower waters at night to find prey, returning to deeper water at sunrise to hide from predators. They also migrate seasonally to breed. The best time to catch them is very early in the morning and evening when they come out to feed.
Done twice a day, the fishing yields over 50 Kgs of prawns, which fetches Sh200 (USD 1.4) per kg.
“Prawns are highly preferred here and by late evening everything will be sold out. In fact, there are customers who will not get anything if they come late,” shares the business woman.
The group has since grown with 35 members, performing different tasks aimed towards empowering the women fishers group.
“Most fishermen were not very receptive to our development. Some felt we were rebelling against Islamic beliefs. To iron this out, we had to come into certain agreements such as making commitments that we wouldn’t go fishing while on our periods, and do what we need after the cycle before going back to fishing. And slowly they started accepting us,” shares Joyce.
She is also a peer influencer in Kipini, creating awareness on HIV/Aids infections among the fisherfolk at the Coast.
“A few years back, the fishermen, most of whom were contracted by big boat owners, would deliver all the catch to the boat owners, who would set high prices on the fish. This left the women desperate and some were willing to go all the way to trading their bodies. This translated to an increase of HIV/Aids infections in Kipini. But since the group of women fishers started, I have been talking to the men, showing them that this new development is a win for all of us, and their families as well,” she explains.
Mercy Mghanga, Chairperson of Beach Management Unit, and a member of the Coastal women in fisheries, an organization that represents women in fisheries at the Coast of Kenya, urged that women fishers be supported with better fishing equipment to increase their yield.
“As women, we have not been fully empowered to create employment opportunities for ourselves. We have not been enabled enough to fish to our best capacity. It’s true that the government started an initiative to train about 1,000 fisher folk every year, and yes some have been trained but still do not have the right fishing equipment,” shares Mercy.
Aside from fishing, the women at the Coast are also getting more involved in decision making processes, taking up elective seats because they also have the capacity to advocate for their rights. Speaking on this shift in the fisheries industry, Chairman, South West Indian Ocean Tuna Forum (SWIOTUNA), Hadley Becha, says that there is need to have more capacity building initiatives and mentorship programs to fully achieve this.
“More efforts are being put in place to build the capacities of women in different areas, including legal frameworks supporting fisheries governance and management, fisheries handling and hygiene, resource mobilization financial management and also supporting women in exchange visits for peer to peer learning, but there is definitely need for more initiatives for empowerment,” said Becha.
This change of things has also improved the relationship with the men fishers who were previously their opposers.
“Most fishermen used to have a problem with women fishing but the situation is not the same today. We see how this is beneficial to the family as well. The women are able to provide financial support in the family,” shares Somo Somo, a local fisherman and boat owner.
Malawi seed sector amplify support for biotech
The seed sector in Malawi has said it will advocate for research and adoption of genetically modified organisms as one of the tools in fighting food insecurity and climate change in the country.
World Seed Congress: Lobbyists call for partnerships to drive uptake of seed varieties.
By Henry Mangome I sciencejournalist2021@gmail.com
Leading lobby groups attending the World Seed Congress in Cape Town have called for close cooperation between them, seed companies and government to increase the uptake of new seed varieties in Africa.
Stephen Muchiri, Chief Executive Officer of Eastern Africa Farmers Federation (EAFF) who represents nearly 25 million farmers, said that seed companies hardly involve farmers when deciding on what crops to research on and breed.
His remarks were shared by Gerald Masila, Executive Director of Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGCC) with a membership of about four million individuals.
The two experts were making contributions in a panel discussion titled Agri-Food Value Chain Opportunities in Africa and Beyond.
Seed companies, they said, should work with other actors in the value chain to participate in formulating and hence recognising government policies for the attainment of food security as well as in enhancing uptake of new technologies.
Muchiri also accused the government of introducing punitive regulations and taxes that stifle farming.
Masila added that there is a big disconnect between the private and the public sectors in seed varieties breeding, which has often led to poor uptake of the new varieties.
He advised breeders to first identify the market demands before deciding on varieties to breed to reverse the trend where investors and donors are the key decision makers, leading to farmers rejecting varieties on offer.
“Market should be the springboard for research undertaking and not the other way round,” said Masila.
He said that farmers hardly adopt new seeds and technologies due to poor communication by the seed sector and distorted information by sources outside the industry.
“The agenda in breeding must address the needs of key stakeholders right from the consumers to the needs of the farmer, be they yield or consumer preferences, for acceptance of the final product,” said Masila.
He said that low research and investments by public institutions have resulted in external investors and private seed companies setting their own agenda in breeding, leaving out farmers in decisions made.
According to a report by The African Seed Access Index (TASAI), a seed industry research body, the number of varieties sold in 2017 vis a viz varieties released between 2000 and 2017 in Nigeria stood at 33 per cent for maize and 46 per cent for sorghum. For Kenya maize scored 21 per cent and sorghum 37 per cent.
According to Mainza Mugoya, the Regional Coordinator at TASAI, calculating the level of acceptance and uptake of new varieties in Africa remains a grey area because not all countries have updated national variety catalogues. He added that when the private sector releases a variety, they do not always market it immediately as they may first want to test the market before producing large quantities and this may take time.
Muchiri said that for sustained growth of the certified seed sector, governments should stop their dictatorial policies, which leave farmers reeling from the effects of one-sided decisions.
“Government needs to be the convenor and not competitor of the seed sector, with farmers at the centre to ensure correct information flow. Be the regulator and play the oversight role but don’t be dictatorial,” he said.
“Farmers are left on their own and we as an association find it hard to show that we have the backing of everyone in the value chain. This calls for joint lobbying for policies and other matters affecting the seed sector.”
Responding to the concerns by the lobby groups, Seed Trade Association of Kenya Executive Officer Duncan Onduu said that his association is ready to work with farmers and they have already begun to consult with the Kenya National Farmers Federation.
Onduu said it pays to bring farmers on board whenever issues of research arise so that they stay in sync with the research agenda for the realisation of food security.
Researchers vouch for domestic water harvesting
By Ruth Keah I rkeahkadide@gmail.com
The Kenya Agricultural Research Organization (KALRO) Kabete occupies approximately 25 hectare of land with an altitude of 1740m above sea-level. The annual mean rainfall and temperature are about 980 mm and 23°C, respectively. It is located approximately 13 kilometres from Nairobi city.
On the right hand side, just a few metres after entering the main gate, you come across a one-acre farm. It was the main attraction for people who visited the organization open week exhibition.
This is due to its flourishing and healthy green looking crops notwithstanding it being a dry season. The organization has been using rain water harvesting technology to do farming in the one hectare land.
Dr Esther Gikonyo is the Centre director at KALRO Kabete. She is a soil and plant nutrition specialist. She said that at this time when climate change is being experienced globally, water harvesting technology is very important in ensuring that farmers embrace it to do farming so that they can get enough yields.
Dr Gikonyo said as an organization, they ploughed the one hectare land in January and February and used the harvested water for irrigation.
“We started ploughing in the month of January when it was very dry. But thanks to our harvested water, we used it to do irrigation and now these are the fruits of our labour,” she told a section of MESHA members.
“If the community embraces water harvesting technology and do irrigation using the water, then every family will be food independent,” she added.
Dr Gikonyo advised farmers to develop the habit of harvesting rainwater because rain patterns have become unpredictable. She also noted that water harvesting come in handy due to climate change effects which have been causing insufficient rains and environmental damages.
She observed that the above scenario has seen many farmers get little or no harvest at all hence causing food scarcity and famine in some parts of the country.
Water Harvesting
Water harvesting, experts say involves collection and storage of rain water with the help of artificially designed systems, which run off natural or man-made catchment areas such as rooftop, compounds, hill slopes and others.
Francis Karanja is the irrigation engineer at KALRO. He says water harvesting technology is simple and every farmer can afford it noting that it is also very easy to use the technology for irrigation. He says at the farm, the rain water is collected from a roof-like surface and redirected to a deep pit or a borehole.
“Some of the equipment that we use include black paper to cover the pool, two water tanks and the solar machine to pump the water into the farm,” he said.
According to Engineer Karanja, the pit can hold up to 4,500 litres of water and can supply water to irrigate the farm for a period of three months.
“The borehole cost us Ksh 250,000 (USD 1,800) and is expected to last for more than ten years,” he said.
Apart from the water harvesting technology, different stakeholders exhibited various technologies for farming such as con garden, vertical bag farming among others.
This was in line with the year’s theme “transformative agricultural technologies, innovations and management practices for food and nutrition security, income and climate resilience.”
How cage fishing technology helps fight HIV in Western Kenya
By Robert Malala, Busia County I malalarobert@gmail.com
Western region of Kenya has been one of the main supply of fish to Kenyan market for ages and one of the major sources of income to the residents of counties bordering Lake Victoria.
However, women who are the most participants in the trade of these commodity have found themselves in a trap of exchanging their bodies sexually with the fishermen so as to get the business going on, popularly known as Fish for sex ‘jaboya’.
This situation has been feared to be a major contributor to the spread of HIV/AIDS that has seen the region leading in the national HIV/AIDS prevalence.
“HIV/AIDS began many years ago and it is rampant in this area because of a practice we call jaboya,” revealed Mrs Judith Abong’o, Rangwe sub-county HIV/AIDS Control Coordinator, Homa Bay County, western Kenya.
“We have fishermen who demand for sex from women who want to purchase fish from them, she added.
According to 2022 HIV/AIDS prevalence national statistics released by the National AID and STI Control program NASCOP, Western Counties Bordering Lake Victoria took the first five position on the list with Homabay having 19.6 percent, Kisumu 17.5, Siaya 15.3, Migori 13.3 and Busia 7.7 consecutively.
These figures surpassed the national percentage in the prevalence which is at 4.8 percent with women leading by 5.2 percent compared to men who are at 4.5 percent.
However, the introduction of fish cage farming technology in the lake region counties might bring this threat to an end.
Other than this technology bringing a solution towards fish for sex in the region it has broken the tradition of fishing being an activity only for men, and brought women to the forefront in the industry.
Traditional fishing was too heavy duty for women, and there were lots of risks including attacks from dangerous aquatic creatures, and fear of being arrested and tortured by the Ugandan Defense Force officers that disadvantaged the women.
Kisumu County Executive Committee (CEC) member in charge of Agriculture, Irrigation and Fisheries department Kenneth Anyango, termed the fish cage idea as a reliable gender-inclusive option for the economic income to residents.
‘’In Kisumu county, twenty percent of women have gone to fish caging. The old lake fishing method was biased against women and mostly done by men but as long as you have capital, you can easily set up your cage,” said Anyango.
Francesca Odhiambo, a fish trader at Dunga beach in Kisumu County for the last twenty years and secretary of Chiela Smart Women Group, confidently testifies how they got into fish cage farming as a group, a move that has totally changed their lives economically.
“Definitely, there is a significant change in our income, like now we have our own cage and we are sure of getting any quantity of fish that our clients may require,” said Odhiambo.
“I am happy that this idea has given us opportunity to have our own fish, instead of getting involved in fish for sex activities that are common around this beach,” she added.
Fish cage technology was introduced in 2013 as a pilot project at Dunga Beach in Kisumu County by Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KEMFRI) and Egerton University.
Later, the County government of Kisumu adopted the practice before it spread to other lake region counties.
A vibrant Kowil Women Group that consists of twenty members has also invested in this new technology. The group is located at Nyenye Got Agulu Beach on the shores of Lake Victoria, about ninety five kilometres away from Dunga, in Bondo sub-county in Siaya County.
“We began fish cage farming in 2018 and the difference is that you are sure of the quantity of fish at hand and an estimate of the money you will get after harvesting,” said Evelyne Akello, one of the members of Kowil Women Group.
According to the acting director of fisheries in the county government of Siaya, Emman Otieno, women are naturally more committed than men in carrying out tasks.
Otieno reiterated that this is an added advantage to women because it enables them receive funding from the government and other financial institutions to expand their business, and to that effect they have a better chance of doing well in fish cage farming.
“This year the government of Siaya budgeted for substantial amount of money to assist farmers procure feeds because this is the main problem when it comes to aquaculture,” said Otieno.
In Busia County the national government through the Ministry of Mining and Blue Economy is constructing a modern fish landing centre at Mulukoba Beach in Budalang’I Sub-county to a tune of Ksh 124 million Kenya shillings (USD 891,000) that will help in value addition.
Mulukoba Beach has about 150 cages of which 30 percent of the owners are women who are mostly in self-help groups.
62 years old Pascalia Were is one the fish cage farmers at Mulukoba beach, who adopted this new idea a year ago under the umbrella of Mulukoba Women Fish Mongers.
According to her, the technology has numerous advantages compared to traditional fishing methods.
“This technology has made our work easier, we don’t need to waste time chasing for fishermen and other engagements to obtain fish but instead we just harvest and sell,” explained Pascalia were.
Through these aquaculture technology, it is obvious that women can play a major role in diversification of fishing especially during this tough times of climate change if introduced to modern innovations.
Expert: High level of acidity in soils stifle food production
By Robert Malala I malalarobert@gmail.com
Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) has raised concern over the decreasing rate of production in agriculture due to declining soil fertility in Kenya.
According to the head of station at KALRO Kabete, Dr. Esther Gikonyo most of the soils that are used for farming in Kenya are short of or below the sixteen essential nutrients required for crops to perform well.
“Soil fertility is declining because of continuous cropping without sufficient replenishment of the nutrients in the soil,” said Dr Gikonyo.
While addressing the media during a two days Agricultural Exhibition at the institution, Dr Gikonyo added that currently about 63 per cent of the soils in areas with high and medium rainfall which also has the potential for the country’s food production are acidic with an average pH that is below 5.5.
Most of the crops that the country depends on for food require between the soil pH of 5.5 and 6.5.
“63 percent of the soils in this country will require correction of the pH through the application of Lime which will reduce the quantity of fertilizers used and increase production,” she added.
According to a report released by Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) in 2019, Food Crops as a subsector in Kenya contributes approximately 33 percent of the total agricultural Gross Domestic Product.
The report indicated that food production in Kenya, was about 10.5 million tons but unfortunately this has reduced by 30 percent.
Kevin Wafula who is a youthful farmer from Pasama village in Teso South Sub-county in Busia County, has been growing tomatoes, Soya beans, maize and beans for several years but says that he has never tested soils in his farms.
All along he has been wondering why the yield is declining despite applying fertilizer during planting and even at top dressing stages.
“Last year I planted Rose cocoa variety of beans in one and a half hectare of land and harvested 20kgs only, just because I assumed my soil was okay, but I expected to harvest between six and nine sacks of 90kgs, said Wafula.
According to Shaban Wandera a perennial farmer in Matayos Sub-County in Busia county, westen Kenya majority of farmers fear getting in to soil sampling process because of the expenses involved yet others lack awareness of its importance.
“It is very difficult to convince a farmer to spend one thousand shillings (USD 7) on soil testing and spend another five hundred shillings (USD3.6) to and from our research centre called Alupe KALRO to go for soil testing,” said Wandera.
The main food crops in Kenya are maize, wheat, rice, potatoes, Green grams, and beans whereas Maize is the principal staple food of Kenya and it is grown in 90 percent of all Kenyan farms.
Most of the varieties of maize planted in Kenya requires a soil pH of between 5.8 and 6.0 an indication that a lot of sensitisation has to be done for farmers to adjust and embrace soil testing if not the use of lime.
For example in Western Kenya where by the main cash crop is sugar cane, production has been lowering day after day causing a very big deficit of cane to the sugar factories in the region.
This is because majority of farmers are continuously planting cane without following procedures nor testing their soils so as to determine the best variety of seed cane and how to neutralize the acidity.
“Sugar cane production has been decreasing in this area, but fortunately as a factory we partnered with other stakeholders and did soil testing before advising farmers on which variety of cane to settle on. This has led to an increase in production,” said Gerald Okoth, the general manager of West Kenya Sugar Company that has contracted a majority of sugar cane farmers in western Kenya.
In her statement, Dr. Gikonyo advised that farmers particularly in areas with high rainfall like North Rift, Mount Kenya and Western regions to embrace the use of lime and then Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) or Nitrogen, Phosphorous and potassium (NPK) fertilizer so as to effectively counter the threat of acidity.
“My appeal to all farmers in this country to test their soils so that they can be given prescription that will cure their soils and by so doing we are going to achieve food and nutrition security and have resilience in the income and climate changes,” reiterated Dr Gikonyo.
This article has been produced with financial support of Media for Environment, Science and Agriculture (MESHA).
In memoriam: Farewell to a regenerative ag rockstar
Dave Brandt was a big man with an even bigger heart.
He also had big hands, often used to gently scoop up spades full of dirt to show visitors his farm’s worm-friendly, crumbly soil structure.
Brandt had turned decades of experimenting in no-till and cover crops into what can only be described as the ultimate in high organic matter soil beds on his Ohio farm. The 76-year-old, who tragically died in a car crash last week, was the king of conservation, a regenerative ag rockstar long before that trendy buzzword began to surface years ago.
“It’s like cottage cheese”: Ohio no-till pioneer Dave Brandt shows what happens in cover crop residue, resulting in rich, worm-friendly soil leading to high yields at reduced input costs.
If you want to understand more clearly what it takes to build organic matter and soil health, just watch the video above, made at Brandt’s farm some eight years ago.
Brandt was legendary for his innovative testing with cover crop seed mixes, intercropping and no-till. He used nature, not chemicals or synthetic fertilizers, to nurture high yields. When I visited him in 2015, he was working on ways to prove that his methods were more than just conservation. In fact, farmers who adopted his techniques could shave input costs.
“The problem today is we have been told you need to apply this and buy that to make a yield,” he told me. “But if we start treating the soil right, we may not need all those extra things to make maximum economic returns. We’re trying to prove that with the right no-till system, what we have in the soil is all we need to maintain production.”
A quiet guru
Unassuming and forthright, Brandt never asked for publicity. Yet, people flocked by the truckloads to see his fields and hear him speak in simple, clear language about the virtues of a three-pillar system: no-till planting; cover crops for nutrients, weed suppression and conservation; and crop rotation. His working crop farm in the gently rolling fields of central Ohio served as a massive test plot.
I thought I was seeing things when we stopped at a field of corn intercropped with soybeans.
“These soybeans will give 100 lb. of nitrogen back to the corn crop,” he explained. “After the cost of seed and planting, this will lower the cost of N to that crop by half.” Back then, that was conservatively $60 per acre savings on fertilizer costs. The savings would be dramatically higher with today’s high input cost landscape.
These intercropping trials began over a decade ago as a local FFA project. In plots with no nitrogen applied – just soybeans intercropped – the corn yielded 182 bushels per acre. In a nearby field where 140 units of N was applied but without the intercropped beans, the field yielded only 125 bpa.
“That’s when my eyes really opened up on this idea,” he said. “Over the growing season we’ve seen the corn roots grow right into the soy root nodule where the nitrogen is.”
Weed suppressing cover crops
On another plot, Brandt was looking at non-genetically modified corn with zero seed treatment compared to GM seed with and without treatments, which, at the time of our visit, cost $45 to $60 per acre.
“We’re trying to see if biotech traits are worth it in specific soil conditions like no-till with weed-suppressing cover crops,” he said. “Guys with conventionally-tilled fields probably do need them because those soils have no micro-organisms to speak of.
“With these plots we’re trying to see if no-till, cover crops and rotation will do enough in terms of insect and weed control.” If successful it would mean shaving another $50 to $100 off crop budget costs. Again, this was in 2015 – consider how much more you would save based on today’s crop costs.
TEACHER TO MANY: People flocked by the truckloads to see Brandt’s fields and hear him speak in simple, clear language about the virtues of a three-pillar system: no-till planting, cover crops for nutrients, weed suppression and conservation; and crop rotation. Credit: Mike Wilson
Organic matter on steroids
Then I got to see what might best be described as the showpiece of the place: a field that had been no tilled since 1970 when Brandt first started tinkering with the practice. The soil was dark, with a certain ‘give’ under the shoe; a bit spongy, yet well drained. Nearby was a recently purchased field that had been conventionally planted for years.
The two fields were stunningly different from each other.
“My field has 7% organic matter,” he explained. “The field we just purchased here has less than 1%– it’s been farmed to death. Our goal is to get that figure up to 7% in the next seven years.”
Now, any farmer who paid attention in agronomy class can tell you there’s a bit of magic that happens to soils that make even the three or four percent OM level. Lots of nutrients get unlocked and fertilizer bills go down, while yields grow.
But… 7%?
Brandt would never brag about such an achievement, but he would certainly want others to see just what they could do to improve their farm’s soil health. He told me everything he had learned about farming came from these home-grown field trials he would set up each year.
“The average farmer might see what I’m doing and say, you don’t have scientific data,” he said. “If it works, who cares? I make a lot of mistakes, but this is how I learn. There’s nothing I won’t try.”
In fact, Brandt turned one of his ‘mistakes’ into another test plot. He ran out of weed spray on a small patch of land where he had been killing cover crops. So he just decided to see if the corn crop could outgrow the living cover blend. When I visited in late May of that year, the corn seedlings were healthier than the corn plants in the nearby area where the cover had been killed off.
“Who knows, maybe corn needs competition,” Brandt said with a smile.
Cover crop master
Brandt used to be famous in the cover crop world for his fondness for tillage radishes. He had been quoted many times on the marvels of this plant builds soil tilth and opens up pores to improve drainage.
FULL OF LIFE: Brandt liked to plant tillage radishes in cover crops. Those radishes would break down and provide food for earthworms, which in turn built up the water infiltration capacity in the soil. Credit: Mike Wilson
At the time of our visit Brandt was selling no fewer than 127 varieties of cover crop seed. His warehouse could blend just about anything for anybody, depending on what you were trying to accomplish. One 12-variety blend had tall, medium and short plants, which offered a variety of root depth to suppress weeds and create pores in the soil. In the spring of 2015, he had planted corn into that blend and the soils tested 175 lb. of N per acre, so no nitrogen was needed on that field that year.
Brandt believed a three-crop rotation that includes corn, soy and wheat was the best way to build soil OM. Adding wheat is a hard sell at times since it’s not the revenue generator corn and soy are. However, you need to take the long view, he would insist.
“This wheat is going to probably make 90 bu. per acre,” he explained, gesturing to a nearby field. “Then after we harvest, we will put on a long season cover blend which will produce lots of N and bring P and K back to the surface. That will save me in the neighborhood of $200 per acre in reduced fertilizer costs when I plant corn in that field next spring.
“If you have a three-year rotational crop you can enhance corn and soybean yields; that is university proven,” he added. “Now we’re going to a three-crop rotation plus cover crops, which gives us higher OM, loosens soil, increases water infiltration and lowers nutrient costs the next two years. That makes it all more profitable, and no one can argue with that.”
Here’s something else no one can argue with: Dave Brandt will be sorely missed.