Stewardship & Sustainability
McEvoy Family Farms has always been a good steward of the land, which is why our farms have been able to be passed down for over six generations! To us, stewardship in agriculture means treating the land that we farm as if it is our own, taking care of it, and leaving it better than when we found it so that future generations can do the same.
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How exactly are we sustainable? With the introduction of GPS technology into agriculture applications, we are now able to improve seed placement, tillage, input application, and harvest in addition to reducing compaction, operator fatigue, and chemical and fertilizer overlap. This all adds up to increased productivity, reduced costs, and good environmental stewardship.
McEvoy Family Farms is a strong believer in water ways and allowing the water to travel where it wants to. This is why in ALL of our fields, we install 30 foot wide water ways where ever needed. This is very important in helping slow the water down and reduce soil erosion. We also have transitioned more into a reduced tillage operation. Depending on the soil type, we will no-till corn into soybean stubble as you can see to the right, and then on our corn-on-corn ground we will use a vertical tillage unit in the fall to help manage the stalks and then come back in the spring with a field cultivator to refresh the soil for planting. We only use a ripper in the fall on our heavier soiled corn-on-corn ground.
Cover Crops
We are experimenting with planting cover crops for the first time this year. We will be drilling an oat/radish mix on harvested soybean ground. Our goal is to reduce compaction, scavenge nutrients, increase organic matter, improve weed control, increase water infiltration and improve soil biological activity. Stay tuned for updates on our cover crop journey!