In order to help farmers survive drought, pests and market changes, improving the soil may be key
By Shannon Mullane | The Colorado Sun
In southwestern Colorado, Greg Vlaming crouched down to look at dying remains of an oat crop baking under the July sun. It wasn’t just a dead plant — it was armor, he said.
“This minimizes wind erosion and surface runoff,” said Vlaming, a soil scientist, consultant and farmer. “Water can’t run off on something that’s like this.”
Vlaming is working alongside the state, researchers, farmers and ranchers on a newly expanded soil health program established by the Colorado legislature in 2021. The goal of the program is to nurture soils in order to reap rewards — like more efficient irrigation, more carbon storage and healthier crops.
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