No-Tillage Farming

No tillage farming is a practice that has been going on since the 1800s. People then may not have known the exact purpose and benefits; however, it was for the best. Through research and studies on soil fertility, we have discovered the importance of no tillage practices.

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Someone planting on ground that has not been previously tilled on.

Many farmers today in the United States are using conventional tillage. Conventional tillage is causing serious erosion problems and soil fertility problems. So as a result, scientists have looked for better ways to preserve the land we live on. No-tillage practices is the best option for helping these problems.

The advantages of No-tillage farming is that it limits the erosion because you are not constantly turning over the ground and loosening the soil. Because you are driving over the land and continuously, moldboard plowing or disking at the same depth, this will cause serious tillage pans just below the depth of tillage in some soils. Moldboard plowing and disking are two types of conventional tillage that turns the soil and loosens the surfaces. Tillage pans are compacted soil beneath the loosened soil. Another benefit of the no tillage application is that it limits production costs in fuel, so not only does it help the soil it helps save money for farmers. Another production cost cut is labor, farmers are not spending time in a tractor tilling land they can be doing other things.

The study by Neto and co-workers is based in the Cerrado of Brazil; Cerrado is a savannah biome occupying 25% of Brazils land area. By researching the advantages of no tillage farming, they used mulch-based systems to study the organic farming. They first went to each farm to discuss the background of the land, asked a few questions regarding the past years and how the farmers managed the soil, whether they used conventional tillage or no tillage and for how long. They then went to do a field survey, this included characterizing the soils variability and how it affected the soil fertility of their land. In addition, the last phase was Homogenous Chrono sequence characterization, in other words they characterized the impact the study on the no tillage mulch based application. When collecting soil for tests they took three samples at each location one 0-5, 10-20, 20-30 centimeters down. Taking a sample at each location is important they took them at eight different locations. Two native vegetation fields, one pasture of 17 years, a conventional tillage field, and four no-till mulch based fields. The four no-till pastures were of different years of use, one is from 1 years, 4 years, 8 years and 12 years. It is good to have a variety when testing different fields because it really shows which practice is the best and most effective.

After the study, the researchers had enough findings to determine that no-tillage practices are effective and supported the benefits that no till presents. However, the researchers did not know the history of the land on the farms studied they provided enough evidence to support these practices as well. No-tillage practices are proven to limit erosion, which leads to higher percent of organic matter left on the surface. Using this no-tillage application, it will increase carbon level, and more stable pH for healthy growing crop.

It is good to know about No tillage application because pushing landowners in the right direction on how to use their land is important to our environment today. Yes, many people do not want to be told what they can and cannot do with their land, but if you present facts and use, a kind manor most will listen and that is the start. Our food is made on these fields and if the land is not used to the most effective way possible than it is not good for everyone. Persevering the earth is very important to many people in the world so why not test this practice if it helps save money and preserve the earth.

As a student, I am learning the importance of soil in our fields, as an agriculture science major I have learned from my professors the different practices used on cropland. I personally believe that no tillage practices are a great way to help keep land fertile and prevent erosion all while saving money on input costs. I decided to do some research on these practices as a project for class and while doing this it has backed up my statements of why it is important to help preserve the land we use for crops.

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Other references:

Course Materials from CHEM 110 Contemporary Chemistry, Dr. Voura

Course Materials from AGRO 110 Soil Science, Dr. Gilbert Jenkins