Healthy Soil, Healthy Rivers: How Cover Crops Protect the Deschutes Basin
When fields in Jefferson County go fallow due to drought and water shortages, they don’t just stop producing crops—they can also start losing soil. Without living roots in the ground, topsoil blows away in the wind or washes off in the rain, carrying nutrients and sediment into our rivers. Fallowed fields are also more vulnerable to invasive weeds, which often require heavy chemical treatment to control.
That’s where cover crops come in. By planting protective crops on idle land, farmers can keep soil anchored, rebuild organic matter, and suppress weeds naturally. This means fewer chemicals on the land and in the water, healthier soils that retain moisture, and cleaner rivers downstream.
Through new funding secured by the Deschutes River Conservancy, the DRC and local partners will work to design a Jefferson County cover-cropping program that makes it easier and more affordable for farmers to use this practice. In doing so, the DRC will also explore how to integrate cover cropping incentives into future water transaction practices. Not only will this help keep farmland viable for future generations, it will also improve air and water quality and strengthen the resilience of the entire Deschutes Basin.
Healthy soils mean healthier rivers. By investing in practices like cover cropping, we’re investing in the sustainability of both our farms and our waterways.
