GOODHUE — A southeastern Minnesota farmer says putting carbon back into the soil by planting cover crops helps his farm.

Jon Luhman raises beef cows, black beans and corn, plus forage for the cattle on just over 700 acres at Dry Creek Red Angus farm northwest of Goodhue, The Post Bulletin of Rochester reported .

Luhman grows sorghum and then allows his cows to graze on the plants. They eat the top portion of the plant while trampling the lower part into the ground.

“We do a planned grazing system using our perennial pastures,” he said. While other farmers let their herd in to graze when the plant is about 10 inches, Luhman waits until the plant is nearly 25 inches tall. That means it has deeper roots and more energy put back into the soil.