A Proposal To Transition To No-Till Farming

Conventional fall tillage is a common practice with farmers as they will till crop remnants back into the ground after their fall harvest. The practice of tilling erupted in the 18th and 19th centuries during the European agricultural revolution. The goal behind tilling is to work crop remnants into the first 6-10 inches of soil. Tilling is seen as a great way to clear fields of left-over debris and even kill off any weeds that appeared throughout the growing season leaving farmers with a clean canvas to replant in the spring. While this may be a long-standing tradition within the farming community, it can also have some adverse effects on the overall quality of the soil over time. Tilling can cause 2 primary problems, soil erosion and mineral depletion. The purpose of this proposal is to discuss how beneficial it may be for to begin working with local and national farmers to adopt the practice of no-till farming. Through this proposal, I intend to show you how the benefits of no-till farming can outweigh the current conventional tilling practices we see throughout the country. I believe that not only can farmers do more to improve the quality of their soil but they can also reduce expenditures and increase profits along the way.

Problem

The problem with the current state of the farming industry is that a lot of farmers and big agricultural organizations are focused on output and sustainability, which just equates to their bottom line. It is a common misconception that that farmers must till their fields in order to prepare the soil for next years crop. When this happens in the fall, fields are left baron through the winter and the soils become exposed to wind and water which can cause erosion of fertile soils and the soil to be depleted of vital nutrients and microorganisms can be killed off in the process. I often hear how farmers are doing everything they can to find ways to make their fields more sustainable for future crops. Most of the time this “sustainability” results in farmers having to apply synthetic fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides to the ground to maintain a proper PH balance as well as rid the land of weeds and bugs. To most people, this sounds like a good idea because weeds and bugs can be devastating to crop yields, but a lot of people don’t realize how damaging these practices can be to the soil in the long term.

Another issue with conventional tilling is that it cost money. As the old saying goes “everything costs money” that is especially true when you are a farmer. If you think about it, to till the ground a farmer needs equipment and the average cost of a large tractor is $2-300, 000. That tractor then needs fuel and depending on the size of the tractor you may have a 400 gallon tank that you will need to fill and at today’s current diesel fuel prices of $3. 30 per gallon would cost over $1, 300. After they till the ground they have to apply fertilizer, herbicides and pesticides all of which are very expensive and will greatly impact the overall final cost to the consumer.

Proposed solution

I propose that we find ways to begin educating farmers on the benefits of no-till farming. If farmers and the overall agricultural industry to were place more focus on no-till farming they not only could potentially save enormous amounts of money each year on operational costs, but they would also be able to improve the overall quality of their farmland. Furthermore, our agricultural industry would begin to see a shift from conventional sustainability methods to a if they were to adopt more holistic practices to that would regenerate and restore the quality of their fields.

Justification

The end goal of this proposal is to reduce the overall operating cost of farming all while developing ways to revive and restore the health of our precious farm land. The best way to achieve this is to adopt a holistic farm management plan. By asking farmers to adopt a holistic farm management plan, we can work with them to reduce the need for conventional tilling practices. There could be a lot of opposition to this idea because clearing the land each year allows farmers to plant a more crops and possibly yield more each year. However, some studies show that if done properly, a no-till farm can yield just as much as a conventional tillage farm and in some cases the conventional farms produce only 0. 5% more each year. Not only do no-till farms have comparable yields, but they work toward improving the quality of the land while reducing their carbon footprint. No-till farms will harvest their crops and leave the roots and stalk behind. This allows for a natural process to take place as bugs and microorganisms begin to break down the remaining plants and turn them into usable organic matter that will enrich the quality of the soil. Not only does this allow the old plants the ability to re-fertilize the field, but the old plants will act as a water vapor barrier for future crops. If you have ever planted a garden or flower bed and added a layer of bark to the top, you may have noticed that that flower bed tends to retain water better than other areas where the soil is exposed to sunlight.

Water retention is very important for farmers especially if they are located in throughout the west where we are experiencing severe drought and it is becoming increasingly difficult to farm with our limited water resources. There are others that argue that by moving to a holistic no-till farming plan would increase the use of herbicides to kill and maintain weeds that are in with the crops. Yes, it is true that there is a chance that farmers will have to use more herbicides however, depending on the management plan they decide to use they can still minimize the use of herbicides and still protect their crops. A few options that farmers can deploy to help them manage weeds are to rotate crops every year, use cover crops in the fall and winter and then also utilize livestock. Farmers that focus on raising a variety of fruits and vegetables are able to create a yearly crop rotation schedule to manage where they are going to plant every year. By rotating crops, they are able to keep once specific plant from depleting the soil of vital nutrients in the same spot year after year. This allows the soil maintain a balance of nutrients and also can help minimize the risk of spreading various plant diseases such as blight. Cover crops also help maintain a healthy soil environment. Cover crops such as winter peas or barley are also utilized to keep weeds at bay and retain water in the soil which will also help reduce additional tillage and chemical costs for most farms.

Conclusion

I believe that by partnering together with farmers and even agricultural research universities around the country, that we can develop a holistic farm management plan that can not only protect our environment for devastating soil erosion but to also save the consumer in the long run. If farmers are able to reduce the amount of tillage they do they aim to reduce their fuel costs by 50-80% and labor by 30-50%. Regeneration in the long term is more beneficial than sustainabily. Most importantly, if a farmer owns 1, 000 acre farm and they are able to till 15 acres per hour, they could possibly regain 60+ hours of time per week that they could spend with their families.