Effects of Animal Manure and Cover Crops on Agricultural Soils in Kentucky.

With greater awareness of the wide-ranging implications degraded soils have in the food chain, there is growing interest in developing conservation practices to improve soil quality. To date, such initiatives are at the forefront of soil science as climate change is expected to alter some of the key soil biophysical and chemical properties. In this study, a two year on-farm demonstration is sought to examine the benefit and advantage of animal manure use as an alternative to chemical fertilizers with substantial potential to supply required crop nutrient needs while improving soil organic content. The on-farm study was conducted at two farms owned by minority farmers at Logan and Madison counties, Kentucky. The broad objective of this study was to determine if using cover crops and/or applying manure improves physical, chemical and biological soil properties thereby providing data for economic reasons and incentives for farmers to adopt the practice. Soils at each site was sampled and analyzed for bulk density, organic carbon content, pH, Total P, K, minor elements, soil nitrogen mineralization and soil microbial presence. Comprehensive soil and crop tests and analyses were conducted to identify the key soil quality indicators for monitoring soil health. These measurements were taken prior to, during and after each cropping season. Preliminary findings will be presented.