Why should we care!!
                                                                     Source: Patch.com
               Conservation agriculture and its 
                                             potential
                                                                                          Reduced till
      Yield benefits                 Environment 
                                     conservation                                    Conservation Agriculture
                                                                            C                                    on
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             Adoption of Conservation Agricultural 
                                                      Practices
                                                                                   •  Perception that cover crops are costly 
       •  In Texas,6.3% of total crop land was cover cropped.
       •  30 % of total crop land was under reduced till in 
          Texas. 
                 Potential way to increase cover crop 
                                                        adoption
        •  Opportunity for financial gain from cover crop
                                          Cover crop herbage mass management
   1) Cover crop residue in the field        2) Cover crop grazed using livestock               3) Cover crop harvested for hay
                                                                     Source: cropwatch.unl.edu
                                                                  Direct economic profit as forage for livestock
                                             •  Herbage mass removed
          •   Biomass retained               •  Nutrients cycled as animal waste                   •  Herbage mass removed
                                                                                                                     Source: country-guide.ca
                Source: civileats.com
                                  Soil health research gap
                                                                                                               •  Badri et. al (2009)
              •  Soil health benefits increases with                   •   Root exudates can drive soil        •  Micallef et. al (2009)
                   increased cover crop biomass                             microbial processes                •  Bais et. al (2006)
                                                                                                Chaparro et. al (2012)
                                       Finney et. al (2017)
     • Can similar soil health benefits be achieved with living roots even without the herbage mass?