Wisconsin farmers hope new techniques will slow soil erosion

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Students at a working farm and hands-on classroom in Wisconsin are learning about the benefits of stopping soil erosion.

Wisconsin Public Radio reports that Northcentral Technical College’s Agriculture Center for Excellence is working with the National Corn Growers Association’s Soil Health Partnership to preserve and improve topsoil.

The center is teaching farmers to practice no-till and cover crop agriculture as ways to preserve root structure and stop erosion.

Scientists say climate change is threatening strides made in soil conservation since the Dust Bowl years of the 1930s. A report from the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts says the warming trend in Wisconsin is producing more frequent heavy rain that is washing away soil.

The report says more than 30,000 tons of soil has eroded in the state since 2003.

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