Soil erosion is a naturally occurring process on all land.
The agents of soil erosion are water and wind, and human activities which hinder the natural processes. Soil erosion may be a slow process that continues relatively unnoticed, or it may occur at an alarming rate causing serious loss of top soil.

1. Tillage and cropping practices which lower soil organic matter levels, cause poor soil structure and result in increase in soil erosion.
2. The steeper, the slope of a field, the greater is the amount of soil loss from erosion by water.
3. Soil erosion is caused if the soil has no or very little vegetative cover of plants and/or crop residues.
4. Excess tillage can contribute to soil structure breakdown and increased erosion.
5. The lack of windbreaks (trees, shrubs, residue, etc.) allows the wind to put soil particles into motion for greater distances, thus, increasing soil erosion. Certain conservation measures can reduce soil erosion by both water and wind:

• Tillage and cropping practices, as well as land management practices, directly affect the overall soil erosion problem and solutions on a farm.
• When crop rotation or changing tillage practices are not enough to control erosion on a field, a combination of approaches or more extreme measures might be necessary. For example, contour plowing, strip cropping, or terracing may be considered.