North Unit Soil Health and Sustainability
County or Counties: Jefferson
Primary Resource Concern Addressed:
- Soil quality limitations - Organic matter depletion
- Source water depletion - Inefficient irrigation water use
- Wind and water erosion - Wind erosion
Project Description
The Soil Health and Sustainability Conservation Implementation Strategy (CIS) is an effort to improve soil health conditions and improve irrigation water efficiency in areas of Jefferson County that have been negatively impacted by extended drought. The Jefferson County Local Workgroup, along with the Jefferson County SWCD and other conservation partners, identified this priority area through concerns and requests from local landowners. Stakeholder meetings and subsequent local workgroup meetings rated soil health and irrigation conservation as a high priority. The local SWCD and OWEB have funded several similar conservation projects in this focus area. The SWCD is assisting with monitoring, analyzing data, and identifying focus area solutions in more detail. Deficit irrigation has compelled farmers in the area to change their farm practices to maintain farm operations. The soil resource needs protection from these changes. Soil resiliency to drought and erosion can be improved by increasing soil organic matter, improving aggregate stability, and reducing compaction. This resiliency will enable operational flexibility as healthy soils are more water efficient and better support crops through stresses like drought. Healthy soils will optimize infiltration and evapotranspiration resulting in water use efficiency. Without resiliency, the landscape will suffer the effects of desertification.
Conservation Practices Offered
- Cover Crop (340)
- Soil Health Testing (216)
- Conservation Cover (327)
- Conservation Crop Rotation (328)
- Residue and Tillage Management, No Till (329)
- Residue and Tillage Management, Reduced Till (345)
- Irrigation Pipeline (430)
- Sprinkler System (442)
- Irrigation Water Management (449)
- Pasture and Hay Planting (512)
- Structure for Water Control (587)
- Irrigation System, Microirrigation (441)
- Irrigation System, Surface and Subsurface (443)
- Pumping Plant (533)
- Energy Efficient Agricultural Operation (374)
Project Partners
- Jefferson SWCD
- North Unit Irrigation District
- OWEB
- Bureau of Reclamation
- NRCS Oregon
- Private landowners
Application Questions
NRCS uses prioritization questions to evaluate applications for this initiative. See the list of workload prioritization questions on the Oregon EQIP page. Ranking questions below will also apply.
Ranking Questions
- Will planned practices will maximize continuous living roots?
- Will planned practices will minimize physical
or chemical disturbance? - Will planned practices will improve soil
condition by reducing irrigation runoff? - Will planned practices will maximize soil
cover? - Will planned practices will maximize soil
biodiversity? - Will planned practices include cover crop?
- Will planned practices convert cropland from
a conventional tillage to reduced or no-till
tillage system? - Will planned practices include crop rotation?
- Planned practices will improve soil condition water infiltration by improving:
a. Irrigation efficiency estimates improved by 40 ac.in/ or more.
b. Irrigation efficiency estimates improved by 35-39 ac.in/ac.
c. Irrigation efficiency estimates improved by 30-34 ac.in/ac
d. Irrigation efficiency estimates improved by
25-29 ac.in/ac
e. Irrigation efficiency estimates
improved by 1-24 ac.in/ac - Will practices planned convert flood/furrow irrigated fields to sprinkler or drip?
- Will Irrigation Water Management be applied at greater than the basic level?