PROFILES IN SOIL HEALTH
Nickelson Family, Frederick, SD
“There’s challenges every year, and every year is a different challenge. What I’ve found in my soils, building the organic matter, having a better soil health, allows me to weather through whichever weather or storm I am faced with.” — Don Nickelson
This Profile in Soil Health, featuring Don and Trista Nickelson, is the fourth of five videos to be released in 2020. The Nickelson’s monitor and work to improve the health of their operation by utilizing practices such as regular soil testing, no-till, diversity in crop rotation, livestock integration, cover crops, precision ag, as well as bale and rotational grazing. These practices have allowed them to respond to challenges such as variability in rainfall across the land they farm and ranch, as well as to work to regenerate saline areas. The family started exploring soil health upon Don’s return from college. They began to use no-till practices with the goal of reducing labor, while maintaining yields. The Nickelson’s are doing what they can now to overcome challenges, through the benefits created by the soil health practices they utilize.
