Soil Conservation Practices and Cover Cropping | UC Agriculture and Natural Resources

August 11, 2025
By Ben A Faber

Reducing Tillage On-Farm and Cover Cropping in the US and California and Some Limitations

A recent paper by Jeff Mitchell and others has highlighted the work done on reducing soil tillage which accelerates soil organic matter decline, resulting in a variety of ills from ground water contamination, poor soil aeration, and increased soil diseases. The discussion focuses on results from a survey among CA growers sponsored by CASI, a consortium of researchers, growers, private and public, agency and industry to explore improved soil management. The paper has a discussion of the roles of cover cropping in CA agriculture. Read on:

The key role of local and global farmer networks in the development of conservation agriculture in California

J. P. Mitchell, L. E. Jackson, D. C. Reicosky, A. Kassam, A. Shrestha, R. Harben, E. M. Miyao, K. M. Scow, G. Sposito, D. Beck, T. Friedrich, A. S. Mitchell, R. Schmidt, S. Park, B. Park, P. Foster … See all authors

First published: 22 May 2025

https://doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.70039

California's Conservation Agriculture Systems Innovation (CASI) Center has been a highly visible contributor to the development of sustainable agriculture in California since 1998. It has brought together more than 2200 farmers, private sector, university, USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, and other public agency and environmental group partners to develop and share information. It has pioneered systems that reduce tillage and fuel use, improve soil, water, and air quality, and make crop production more efficient and less costly. Working with innovative farmers and private sector partners throughout California, the Center has developed and implemented an ambitious and high-impact outreach initiative. Its efforts, however, have not resulted in large-scale transformations of cropping systems as have occurred in other regions where conservation agriculture is now dominant. Uncertainties associated with adoption must still be overcome despite CASI's ongoing interventions.

Cover Crop On-Line Resources

https://ucanr.edu/site/california-cover-crops-resources

UC SAREP Cover Crop Database

Expert Grower Database: Cover Cropping Practices in Orchards and Vineyards

Challenges: Expert Grower Perspectives

Farmer Profiles: On-Farm Practices

CalFlora and NRCS Vegetation Selection Guide. Find place of interest on Map, then Select “practice” and “purpose” such as “cover crop” and “recover nutrients”, then “plant type” before “searching” which results in a list of plant species meeting the parameters.

https://www.calflora.org/nrcs/

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