Tilling and the erosion of soil are a huge contributor to the rapid increase of desertification in relatively recent years. Some farmers have found a way to regain the soil health of the earth around them: cover cropping.
Cover cropping is an ancient technology that allows for the soil to retain water and vital nutrients for the growth of new crops while simultaneously acting as a pesticide. There is also research that shows how the use of cover crops increase crop resistance to drought conditions, which is an important benefit in the midst of a climate change crisis.
Another benefit of cover crops is that there is a wide array of cover crops for farmers to choose from. This means that the crop used as a cover crop can be changed depending on how much nitrogen they want in the soil, how much water they want to retain, what pests needed to be warded off, what season their cash crop grows in, etc.
The question that is extremely important to farmers though is if they will make money doing it. In theory, it is easy to say yes due to the reduced use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and equipment needed to distribute these chemicals. However, the yields of the crops are questionable when deviating from conventional farming methods. An analysis of yield data shows that farmers actually had an increase in yield (for corn and soybeans) when using cover crops.
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