California’s statewide Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, established in 2014, requires local groundwater sustainability agencies to adopt sustainability plans for high and medium priority basins. However, GSAs may unintentionally discourage cover crops because GSAs tend to account for cover crops’ water use but not their water-related benefits.
Despite water needs for growth, cover crops may be part of the solution to increasing agricultural productivity with less water, say more than 100 multidisciplinary experts in a report compiled by the California Department of Food and Agriculture, University of California, USDA NRCS, Sustainable Conservation and the California Association of Resource Conservation Districts.
The 89-page report indicates California-based cover crops research shows soil water infiltration increased more than 40% and runoff was reduced by more than 40%.
It’s easy to be “in the know” about what’s happening in Washington, D.C. Sign up for a FREE month of Agri-Pulse news! Simply click here.
Additional benefits of cover crops include improving soil health, diversifying pollinator habitat, improving water storage and increasing soil carbon capture potential. However, these benefits are not currently utilized to their full potential in the San Joaquin Valley and areas across California with strict oversight from local groundwater sustainability agencies.
Cover crop adoption in California is lower than other parts of the country. Between 2012 and 2017, California cover crop acreage increased 2.9%. The United States experienced a nearly 50% cover crop acreage increase during the same period, according to a USDA Economic Research Service report.
For broader adoption, cover cropping in the SGMA era report recommends expanding California-based cover crop research, providing additional guidance and support to GSAs, improving data collection and utilization as well as short and long-term funding to assist implementation.
For more news, go to www.Agri-Pulse.com.
