Bigger Acreages Encourage More No-Till (2024)

FAQs

How does no-till farming help the environment? ›

No-till can minimize wind and water erosion and protect soil from high temperatures and moisture loss. In addition, organic matter from previous crops enriches the untilled soil. No-till can also reduce annual fuel and labor costs on farms.

The use of herbicides might harm the environment and human health. No-till farming sometimes requires special equipment, which can become expensive. You may risk crop diseases carrying over when the crop residue is not incorporated back into the soil.

A typical example of double cropping in no-till farming systems is planting winter grains, crimson clover, or hairy vetch in the fall and cutting them before flowering to grow summer vegetables or mid-season brassicas in the cover crop mulch.

No-till farming (also known as zero tillage or direct drilling) is an agricultural technique for growing crops or pasture without disturbing the soil through tillage. No-till farming decreases the amount of soil erosion tillage causes in certain soils, especially in sandy and dry soils on sloping terrain.

Benefits of No-Till Farming

More organic matter and less erosion mean more fertility, less fertilizer, and higher yields.

Since tillage fractures the soil, it disrupts soil structure, accelerating surface runoff and soil erosion. Tillage also reduces crop residue, which help cushion the force of pounding raindrops. Without crop residue, soil particles become more easily dislodged, being moved or 'splashed' away.

Common techniques used by organic farmers to manage soil quality -- which involves not just the soil itself but also water, weeds, disease and pests -- include the use of animal manure, compost, cover crops, green manures and crop rotation. Compost is organic material used with success in both home gardens and farms.

No Till Lowers Labor Costs

Because you only have to pass through the field once with no till planting, versus three to five times with conventional tillage, there is a significant reduction in your labor. This efficiency might allow you to plant more crops in a season and/or drastically reduce your labor costs.

In 2022, more than 1,700 farms reported adopting no-till since in 2017. This is an increase of 7% and brings the total number of Iowa farms practicing no-till to 25,796. Iowa farmers reported a 3% increase in no-tillage acreage.

Twenty-one percent used no-till or strip-till in every year during the same 4-year period. The other half of producers (49 percent) used full width tillage every year. The consistency of no-till/strip-till use in any given field may depend on the crops that are grown in rotation.

How much money is no-till farming funding? ›

No-till farming and conservation agriculture will receive nearly $23 billion in additional U.S. government funding over the next 5 years, a “once-in-a-lifetime investment into conservation,” according to USDA's National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Chief Terry Cosby. The Inflation Reduction Act, passed Aug.

Farmers currently use many different forms of tillage. Practices that are used are strip till, vertical till, chisel plowing and moldboard plowing.

Pulled by a tractor, a no-till planter uses thin rotating disks to make a narrow slice through plant residue and into the soil. Next, a tube places the seed at an appropriate depth in the soil while a second wheel gently presses or “firms” the seed into the soil to ensure proper seed-to-soil contact.

Soil erosion decreases soil fertility, which can negatively affect crop yields. It also sends soil-laden water downstream, which can create heavy layers of sediment that prevent streams and rivers from flowing smoothly and can eventually lead to flooding. Once soil erosion occurs, it is more likely to happen again.

The Pros and Cons

The pros include no more digging or tilling, fewer weeds over time, soil temperatures not oscillating as much on those hot and cold days, and the soil's moisture retention will increase. Less fertilizer is needed, the nutrients circulate naturally, and the soil's PH level becomes more stable.

The no-till drill helps maintain soil structure, preserve organic matter, and reduce erosion by minimizing soil disturbance.

in surface water is associated with or bound to soil particles. Much less is soluble phosphorus. The most effective way to reduce phosphorus pollution of surface water is to reduce soil erosion. No-till reduces total phosphorus losses by approximately 40 percent.

Fields managed using high-residue no-till for multiple years generally have higher levels of organic matter, higher infiltration rates and a higher water holding capacity than conventionally tilled fields. That means water received gets and stays in the field instead of running off the land or moving below plant roots.