Creating change from tillage to manure

LITTLE FALLS, Minn. — Conservation efforts vary across agricultural operations, but for the Czech family of rural Little Falls, land stewardship is an avenue to healthier crops and a stronger dairy herd.

The Czech family is the recipient of the Outstanding Conservationist award from the Morrison Soil & Water Conservation District. They were recognized as their county’s award winner by the Minnesota Association of Soil & Water Conservation Districts during its annual convention.

Dave and Betty Czech own and operate Czech Dairy with the help of their four children — Joe, Josh, Scott and Taylor. They milk 240 cows in a double-12 parlor and grow around 480 acres of corn and alfalfa on the fifth-generation farm.

“It was honestly very surprising,” Dave said. “We feel like there’s always room for growth, more we could be doing.”

The award is bestowed upon members of the community who work with their local SWCD and go above and beyond in their conservation efforts. Several SWCDs in the state recognize conservationists in their respective jurisdictions.

The Czechs were one of the few dairy producers throughout Minnesota nominated for the award. Conservation efforts on the operation range from reducing tillage to manure storage. The Czech family has spent several years researching ways to reduce their footprint, and have made several changes to their farm.

“It’s a long process,” Dave said. “It definitely doesn’t happen overnight.”

The family’s efforts officially began in 2018 with the purchase of their first vertical tillage disc.

“We had been doing research for a few years, but that was the first step,” Scott said.

Prior to purchasing the disk, the family observed poor soil conditions and knew it was time to make a change.

“The ground always seemed loose, with little structure to it,” Joe said. “We heard guys who did minimal tillage saying that would make it less muddy.”

Dave said they listened to podcasts and learned more about minimal and no-till practices as well as how the practices were affecting overall soil conditions.

“You start with one thing,” Joe said. “It just kind of dominoes into more and more things you can be doing.”

Originally, the family had an outdoor manure storage area. After switching to minimal tillage, they decided to install buffer strips to help avoid runoff. Since then, the farm has changed its solid manure storage into a covered stacking slab. By doing this, there is no runoff from rainfall or snow melt.

“It’s easier to manage, and we’re only hauling it once in the fall,” Dave said.

In the fields, the family has started planting cover crops to reduce wind erosion and made efforts to reduce spraying of herbicides and pesticides.

They plan to continue reducing tillage and spraying and are working toward growing conventional corn.

While most of the conservation efforts are taking place outside of the barn, the end goal is to provide better conditions for the animals inside.

“The better feed we grow, the better our animals are eating, the better they produce for us,” Joe said. “It just makes sense.”

The animals are the driving force behind the Czechs’ conservation efforts, he said.

Dave said they plan to continue learning about how they can practice conservation and become better stewards of the land.

“In the long run, it’s better for the farm,” he said.