Cover crops improve soil health across termination strategies in organic cropping systems of the Mid‐South United States

Low soil organic matter and fertility levels are limiting factors for organic agriculture in the Mid‐South US. Integrating cover crops and grazing and reducing tillage as part of the crop rotation may enhance soil health and potentially improve system's profitability and resilience. This study assessed soil properties and Soil Management Assessment Framework soil health indices as affected by cover crop termination strategies of no‐tillage (NT), NT + grazing (NTG), conventional tillage (CT), and CT + grazing (CTG) across landscape positions (summit and sideslope). Soil samples (0‐ to 15‐ and 15‐ to 30‐cm depth) were collected in 2021 and 2024 and analyzed for soil organic C (SOC), total N, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), bulk density, extractable P and K, potentially mineralizable N (PMN), and beta‐glucosidase activity. After 3 years, cover crops increased SOC and N by 20%–27% and surface soil health by 3% across treatments, with more pronounced effects in the summit than the sideslope. Generally, CTG had the highest EC, likely due to urine and manure deposition increasing soluble salts. PMN under NT and NTG at the 0‐ to 15‐cm depth was 30% higher than CTG, showcasing greater N availability from conservation management. Random forest analysis identified P and SOC as the most important predictors of soil quality. Overall, these findings showed that cover crops enhance surface soil health regardless of termination strategy, and nutrient management tailored to landscape position is key for enhancing soil health in organic agrosystems in the Mid‐South US.