Soils, crops, the environment, & our ethos.

Where it all starts – the soil, without it, life isn’t possible.

Nothing on earth is more important than healthy soil. Thus, it’s care, maintenance, preservation, and rejuvenation must be, and is, our #1 duty!

Haanover View Farms believes that we are only borrowing the land we farm from the future farmers that will follow in our footsteps. It is our intent to hand over this borrowed land in as good or better condition than we received it.

Crop Rotation, the first step in proper soil maintenance at Haanover View Farms.

We grow a very diverse assortment of crops, each with their purpose, benefits, and economic impact in mind. Crops such as corn are not planted consecutive years on the same fields as corn is a large consumer of nutrients, but an important steady supply of energy for our pigs. Crops such as buckwheat are less positively impactful on the economic side of the farm, but the payback on soil health is immense. Returning nutrients, organic matter, and preservation on the below-ground eco-system must be and is treated like a bank account… deposits must be regularly made in order to have a positive reserve. One of the main reasons we collect and manage our livestock manure is for the purpose of rebuilding that bank account.

No-till, a huge benefit to our farm.

A huge benefit of no-till farming is by not disturbing the soil, wind and water erosion are greatly reduced, precious water is conserved, carbon remains sequenced, and fuel consumption is reduced by some 75%. Underground eco-systems remain undisturbed, allowing mother nature to continue to do her magic.

Minimum till.

Not all crops perform well in no-till systems, a step in-between is minimum till, where most of the organic matter remains on the soil’s surface to protect against wind and water erosion. But, below the surface mixing, blending and incorporation occur… we use some minimum till in our cropping most years.
Traditional Tillage

Traditional tillage.

Sometimes, in certain years, in certain fields, we simply must completely turn over the soil to break it up, mix in residue and make a fresh start. A few fields per year are identified as requiring breaking up, it is an expensive, time consuming, and risk undertaking in our view.

Regenerative cropping.

Some crops like corn and sunflowers are takers of soil nutrients and must be restricted to being grown in the same field multiple years in a row. Crops such as buckwheat, peas, and hay are givers, they return to the soil more than they remove and are included in all our cropping decisions. Wheat and barley are somewhat neutral.

Compaction management.

Compaction of the soil is one of the most damaging activities that a farmer can do and it’s long-term impact is often underestimated. We are extremely mindful of the risk our activities can inflict on the soil. We ensure that our fields are fit for operation before venturing out onto them. Use of compaction reducing dual tires on our tractors and combines reduce pounds per square inch of our equipment. No-till has huge benefits in this area if done at the right time. We regularly harvest our corn crop in the winter as frozen ground is not compacted, plus corn that is naturally dried retains more feed value, saves money, and fuel.

Feeding our crops.

Just like your house plants and gardens, our fields need to be fed. Crops require nutrients to grow strong, healthy, and produce economically viable yields. Also, healthy nutritious feed translates into healthy livestock! Livestock manure and crop residue are our first line of feeding the crop. However, depending on the type of crop and overall health of the field, commercial fertilizer may be required. Fertilizer is extremely expensive! Best management practices such as precision in furrow application next to the seed is a practice we employ, along with application rates that meet but do not exceed the crop’s requirements. This is good for the environment and good for our sustainability.
Feeding Crops

Crop protection.

We accept that certain crops, certain rotations, and unexpected weed pressures force our hand to make the decision to use herbicides to control problems. The use of crop protection products is not a decision we take lightly. We will seek alternatives such as mechanical weed control, alternative harvesting methods such as swathing grain before combining, harvesting a crop such as corn with weed pressures as cattle feed vs allowing the corn and weeds to mature or simply accepting a loss and tilling a crop beck into the earth as green manure. Once we decide herbicide use is required, we do not trust this responsibility to someone else, we do it ourselves.

We always spray late in the day or in the evening, after the pollinators have left the fields for the day, we do not spray if it is windy, we ensure that the plants are receptive to receiving/absorbing the product (once the heat of the day reduces, plants open up to absorb moisture from the evening air, this time period ensures far greater effectiveness of the herbicide and allows us to apply at lower rates). We use GPS guidance system that accurately monitors our speed and location in the field to ensure accurate application. Again, herbicides are extremely expensive, best management for these products are a must and when managed with the respect they deserve, are effective and safe for the environment, our families, and livestock.