No-till farming

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No-till farming
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Young soybean plants thrive in and are protected by the residue of a wheat crop. This form of no-till farming provides good protection for the soil from erosion and helps retain moisture for the new crop.

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. Other possible benefits include an increase in the amount of water that infiltrates into the soil, soil retention of organic matter, and nutrient cycling. These methods may increase the amount and variety of life in and on the soil. While conventional no-tillage systems use herbicides to control weeds, organic systems use a combination of strategies, such as planting cover crops as mulch to suppress weeds. [1]

Contents

There are three basic methods of no-till farming. "Sod seeding" is when crops are sown with seeding machinery into a sod produced by applying herbicides on a cover crop (killing that vegetation). "Direct seeding" is when crops are sown through the residue of previous crop. "Surface seeding" or "direct seeding" is when seeds are left on the surface of the soil; on flatlands, this requires no machinery and minimal labor. [2]

While no-till is agronomically advantageous and results in higher yields, farmers wishing to adapt the system face a number of challenges. Established farms may have to face a learning curve, buy new equipment, and deal with new field conditions. [3] [4] Perhaps the biggest impediment, especially for grains, is that farmers can no longer rely on the mechanical pest and weed control that occurs when crop residue is buried to significant depths. No-till farmers must rely on chemicals, biological pest control, cover cropping, and more intensive management of fields. [5] [6] [7]

Tillage is dominant in agriculture today, but no-till methods may have success in some contexts. In some cases minimum tillage or "low-till" methods combine till and no-till methods. For example, some approaches may use shallow cultivation (i.e. using a disc harrow) but no plowing or use strip tillage.

Background

Tillage is the agricultural preparation of soil by mechanical agitation, typically removing weeds established in the previous season. Tilling can create a flat seed bed or one that has formed areas, such as rows or raised beds, to enhance the growth of desired plants. It is an ancient technique with clear evidence of its use since at least 3000 B.C. [8]

No-till farming is not equivalent to conservation tillage or strip tillage. Conservation tillage is a group of practices that reduce the amount of tillage needed. No-till and strip tillage are both forms of conservation tillage. No-till is the practice of never tilling a field. Tilling every other year is called rotational tillage.

The effects of tillage can include soil compaction; loss of organic matter; degradation of soil aggregates; death or disruption of soil microbes and other organisms including mycorrhizae, arthropods, and earthworms; [9] and soil erosion where topsoil is washed or blown away.

Origin

The practice of no-till farming is a combination of different ideas developed over time, many techniques and principles used in no-till farming are a continuation of traditional market gardening found in various regions like France. [10] A formalized opposition to plowing started in the 1940s with Edward H. Faulkner, author of Plowman's Folly. [11] In that book, however, Faulkner only criticizes the deeper moldboard plow and its action, not surface tillage. It was not until the development after WWII of powerful herbicides such as paraquat that various researchers and farmers started to try out the idea. The first adopters of no-till include Klingman (North Carolina), Edward Faulkner, L. A. Porter (New Zealand), Harry and Lawrence Young (Herndon, Kentucky), and the Instituto de Pesquisas Agropecuarias Meridional (1971 in Brazil) with Herbert Bartz. [12]

Adoption across the world

Land under no-till farming has increased across the world. In 1999, about 45 million ha (170,000 sq mi) was under no-till farming worldwide, which increased to 72 million ha (280,000 sq mi) in 2003 and to 111 million ha (430,000 sq mi) in 2009. [13]

Australia

Per figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Agricultural Resource Management Survey, in Australia the percentage of agricultural land under No-till farming methods was 26% in 2000–01, which more than doubled to 57% in 2007–08. [14] As at 30 June 2017, of the 20 million ha (77,000 sq mi) of crop land cultivated 79% (or 16 million hectares) received no cultivation. Similarly, 70% (or 2 million hectares) of the 3 million hectares of pasture land cultivated received no cultivation, apart from sowing. [15]

South America

South America had the highest adoption of No-till farming in the world, which in 2014 constituted 47% of the total global area under no-till farming. The countries with highest adoption are Argentina (80%), Brazil (50%), Paraguay (90%), and Uruguay (82%). [16]

In Argentina the usage of no-till resulted in reduction of soil erosion losses by 80%, cost reductions by more than 50% and increased farm incomes. [16]

In Brazil the usage of no-till resulted in reduction of soil erosion losses by 97%, higher farm productivity and income increase by 57% five years after the starting of no-till farming. [16]

In Paraguay, net farm incomes increased by 77% after adoption of no-till farming. [16]

United States

No-till farming is used in the United States and the area managed in this way continues to grow. This growth is supported by a decrease in costs. No-till management results in fewer passes with equipment, and the crop residue prevents evaporation of rainfall and increases water infiltration into the soil. [17]

In 2017, no-till farming was being used in about 21% of the cultivated cropland in the US. [18] By 2023, farmland with strict no-tillage principles comprise roughly 30% of the cropland in the U.S. [19]

Benefits and issues

Profit, economics, yield

Some studies have found that no-till farming can be more profitable in some cases. [20] [21]

In some cases it may reduce labour, fuel, [22] irrigation [23] and machinery costs. [21] No-till can increase yield because of higher water infiltration and storage capacity, and less erosion. [24] Another possible benefit is that because of the higher water content, instead of leaving a field fallow it can make economic sense to plant another crop instead. [25]

A problem with no-till farming is that the soil warms and dries more slowly in spring, which may delay planting. Harvest can thus occur later than in a conventionally tilled field. The slower warming is due to crop residue being a lighter color than the soil exposed in conventional tillage, which absorbs less solar energy. But in the meantime, this can be managed by using row cleaners on a planter. [26]

Another problem with no-till farming is that if production is impacted negatively by the implemented process, the practice's profitability may decrease with increasing fuel prices and high labor costs. As the prices for fuel and labor continue to rise, it may be more practical for farms and farming productions to turn toward a no-till operation. [27] In spring, poor draining clay soil may have lower production due to a cold and wet year. [28]

The economic and ecological benefits of implementing no-till practices can require sixteen to nineteen years. [29] The first decade of no-till implementation often will show trends of revenue decrease. Implementation periods over ten years usually show a profit gain rather than a decrease in profitability. [29]

Costs and management

No-till farming requires some different skills from those of conventional agriculture. A combination of techniques, equipment, pesticides, crop rotation, fertilization, and irrigation have to be used for local conditions.[ citation needed ]

Equipment

On some crops, like continuous no-till corn, the residue's thickness on the field's surface can become problematic without proper preparation and equipment. No-till farming requires specialized seeding equipment, such as heavier seed drill, to penetrate the residue. [30] Ploughing requires more powerful tractors, so tractors can be smaller with no-tillage. [31] Costs can be offset by selling ploughs and tractors, but farmers often keep their old equipment while trying out no-till farming. This results in a higher investment in equipment.

Increased herbicide use

One of the purposes of tilling is to remove weeds. With no-till farming, residue from the previous year's crops lie on the surface of the field, which can cause different, greater, or more frequent disease or weed problems [32] compared to tillage farming. [33] Faster growing weeds can be reduced by increased competition with eventual growth of perennials, shrubs and trees. Herbicides such as glyphosate are commonly used in place of tillage for seedbed preparation, which leads to more herbicide use in comparison to conventional tillage. Alternatives include winter cover crops, soil solarization, or burning.

The use of herbicides is not strictly necessary, as demonstrated in natural farming, permaculture, and other practices related to sustainable agriculture.

The use of cover crops to help control weeds also increases organic residue in the soil (and nutrients, when using legumes). [34] Cover crops then need to be killed so that the newly planted crops can get enough light, water, nutrients, etc. [35] [36] This can be done by rollers, crimpers, choppers and other ways. [37] [38] The residue is then planted through, and left as a mulch. Cover crops typically must be crimped when they enter the flowering stage. [39]

Fertilizer

One of the most common yield reducers is nitrogen being immobilized in the crop residue, which can take a few months to several years to decompose, depending on the crop's C to N ratio and the local environment. Fertilizer needs to be applied at a higher rate. [40] An innovative solution to this problem is to integrate animal husbandry in various ways to aid in decomposition. [41] After a transition period (4–5 years for Kansas, USA) the soil may build up in organic matter. Nutrients in the organic matter are eventually released into the soil.[ citation needed ]

Environmental Policy

A legislative bill, H.R.2508 of the 117th Congress, [42] also known as the NO EMITS act, has been proposed to amend the Food Security Act of 1985, that was introduced by Representative Rodney Davis of Illinois in 2021. Davis is a member of the House Committee on Agriculture. [43] This bill proposes suggestions for offsetting emissions that are focused in agricultural means, doing so by implementing new strategies such as minimal tillage or no tillage. [44] H.R.2508 is currently under reference by the House Committee of Agriculture. H.R.2508 is also backed by two other representatives from high agricultural states, Rep. Eric A. Crawford of Arkansas and Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska. [44] H.R.2508 is proposing to set up incentive programs to provide financial and mechanical assistance to farmers and agriculture plots that transition their production processes, as well as providing contacts to lower risk for producers. [45] Funding has also been proposed for Conservation Innovation Trails. [45]

Farmers within the U.S. are encouraged through subsidies and other programs provided by the government to meet a defined level of tillage conservation. [46] Such subsidies and programs provided by the U.S. government include: Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). [47] The EQIP is a voluntary program that attempts to assists farmers and other participants help through conservation and not financially suffer from doing so. [48] Efforts are put out to help reduce the amount of contamination from the agricultural industry as well as increasing the health of the soil. [48] The CSP attempts to assist those looking to implement conservation efforts into their practices by suggesting what might be done for their circumstances and needs. [49]

Environmental

Tilling the soil after usage leads to soil erosion, loss of organic matter, and increased carbon dioxide emissions. APES Wikipedia Figure Project (2).png
Tilling the soil after usage leads to soil erosion, loss of organic matter, and increased carbon dioxide emissions.

Greenhouse gases

No-till farming has been claimed to increase soil organic matter, and thus increase carbon sequestration. [24] [50] While many studies report soil organic carbon increases in no-till systems, others conclude that these effects may not be observed in all systems, depending on factors, such as climate and topsoil carbon content. [51] A 2020 study demonstrated that the combination of no-till and cover cropping could be an effective approach to climate change mitigation by sequestering more carbon than either practice alone, suggesting that the two practices have a synergistic effect in carbon capture. [52]

There is debate over whether the increased sequestration sometimes detected is actually occurring or is due to flawed testing methods or other factors. [53] A 2014 study claimed that certain no-till systems may sequester less carbon than conventional tillage systems, saying that the “no-till subsurface layer is often losing more soil organic carbon stock over time than is gained in the surface layer.” The study also highlighted the need for a uniform definition of soil organic carbon sequestration among researchers. [54] The study concludes, "Additional investments in soil organic carbon (SOC) research is needed to understand better the agricultural management practices that are most likely to sequester SOC or at least retain more net SOC stocks." [55]

No-till farming reduces nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions by 40-70%, depending on rotation. [56] [57] Nitrous oxide is a potent greenhouse gas, 300 times stronger than CO2, and stays in the atmosphere for 120 years. [58]

Soil and desertification

No-till farming improves aggregates [59] and reduces erosion. [60] Soil erosion might be reduced almost to soil production rates. [61]

Research from over 19 years of tillage studies at the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service found that no-till farming makes soil less erodible than ploughed soil in areas of the Great Plains. The first inch of no-till soil contains more aggregates and is two to seven times less vulnerable than that of ploughed soil. More organic matter in this layer is thought to help hold soil particles together. [62]

As per the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, no-till farming can stop desertification by maintaining soil organic matter and reducing wind and water erosion. [63]

No ploughing also means less airborne dust.

Water

No-till farming improves water retention: crop residues help water from natural precipitation and irrigation to infiltrate the soil. Residue limits evaporation, conserving water. Evaporation from tilling increases the amount of water by around 1/3 to 3/4 inches (0.85 to 1.9 cm) per pass. [64]

Gully formation can cause soil erosion in some crops, such as soybeans with no-tillage, although models of other crops under no-tillage show less erosion than conventional tillage. Grass waterways can be a solution. [65] Any gullies that form in fields not being tilled get deeper each year instead of being smoothed out by regular plowing.

A problem in some fields is water saturation in soils. Switching to no-till farming may increase drainage because the soil under continuous no-till includes a higher water infiltration rate. [66]

Biota and wildlife

No-tilled fields often have more annelids, [67] invertebrates and wildlife such as deer mice. [68]

Albedo

Tillage lowers the albedo of croplands. The potential for global cooling as a result of increased albedo in no-till croplands is similar in magnitude to other biogeochemical carbon sequestration processes. [69]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tillage</span> Preparation of soil by mechanical agitation

Tillage is the agricultural preparation of soil by mechanical agitation of various types, such as digging, stirring, and overturning. Examples of human-powered tilling methods using hand tools include shoveling, picking, mattock work, hoeing, and raking. Examples of draft-animal-powered or mechanized work include ploughing, rototilling, rolling with cultipackers or other rollers, harrowing, and cultivating with cultivator shanks (teeth).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crop rotation</span> Agricultural practice of changing crops

Crop rotation is the practice of growing a series of different types of crops in the same area across a sequence of growing seasons. This practice reduces the reliance of crops on one set of nutrients, pest and weed pressure, along with the probability of developing resistant pests and weeds.

Organic farming, also known as organic agriculture or ecological farming or biological farming, is an agricultural system that emphasizes the use of naturally occurring, non-synthetic inputs such as compost manure, green manure, and bone meal and places emphasis on techniques such as crop rotation, companion planting, and mixed cropping. Biological pest control methods such as the fostering of insect predators are also encouraged. Organic agriculture can be defined as "an integrated farming system that strives for sustainability, the enhancement of soil fertility and biological diversity while, with rare exceptions, prohibiting synthetic pesticides, antibiotics, synthetic fertilizers, genetically modified organisms, and growth hormones". It originated early in the 20th century in reaction to rapidly changing farming practices. Certified organic agriculture today accounts for 70 million hectares globally, with over half of that total in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable agriculture</span> Farming approach that balances environmental, economic and social factors in the long term

Sustainable agriculture is farming in sustainable ways meeting society's present food and textile needs, without compromising the ability for current or future generations to meet their needs. It can be based on an understanding of ecosystem services. There are many methods to increase the sustainability of agriculture. When developing agriculture within sustainable food systems, it is important to develop flexible business processes and farming practices. Agriculture has an enormous environmental footprint, playing a significant role in causing climate change, water scarcity, water pollution, land degradation, deforestation and other processes; it is simultaneously causing environmental changes and being impacted by these changes. Sustainable agriculture consists of environment friendly methods of farming that allow the production of crops or livestock without causing damage to human or natural systems. It involves preventing adverse effects on soil, water, biodiversity, and surrounding or downstream resources, as well as to those working or living on the farm or in neighboring areas. Elements of sustainable agriculture can include permaculture, agroforestry, mixed farming, multiple cropping, and crop rotation.

Conservation agriculture (CA) can be defined by a statement given by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as "Conservation Agriculture (CA) is a farming system that can prevent losses of arable land while regenerating degraded lands.It promotes minimum soil disturbance, maintenance of a permanent soil cover, and diversification of plant species. It enhances biodiversity and natural biological processes above and below the ground surface, which contribute to increased water and nutrient use efficiency and to improved and sustained crop production."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cover crop</span> Crop planted to manage erosion and soil quality

In agriculture, cover crops are plants that are planted to cover the soil rather than for the purpose of being harvested. Cover crops manage soil erosion, soil fertility, soil quality, water, weeds, pests, diseases, biodiversity and wildlife in an agroecosystem—an ecological system managed and shaped by humans. Cover crops can increase microbial activity in the soil, which has a positive effect on nitrogen availability, nitrogen uptake in target crops, and crop yields. Cover crops reduce water pollution risks and remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Cover crops may be an off-season crop planted after harvesting the cash crop. Cover crops are nurse crops in that they increase the survival of the main crop being harvested, and are often grown over the winter. In the United States, cover cropping may cost as much as $35 per acre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Topsoil</span> Top layer of soil

Topsoil is the upper layer of soil. It has the highest concentration of organic matter and microorganisms and is where most of the Earth's biological soil activity occurs.

Tilth is a physical condition of soil, especially in relation to its suitability for planting or growing a crop. Factors that determine tilth include the formation and stability of aggregated soil particles, moisture content, degree of aeration, soil biota, rate of water infiltration and drainage. Tilth can change rapidly, depending on environmental factors, lsuch as changes in moisture, tillage and soil amendments. The objective of tillage is to improve tilth, thereby increasing crop production; in the long term, however, conventional tillage, especially plowing, often has the opposite effect, causing the soil carbon sponge to oxidize, break down and become compacted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soil conservation</span> Preservation of soil nutrients

Soil conservation is the prevention of loss of the topmost layer of the soil from erosion or prevention of reduced fertility caused by over usage, acidification, salinization or other chemical soil contamination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Living mulch</span> Cover crop grown with a main crop as mulch

In agriculture, a living mulch is a cover crop interplanted or undersown with a main crop, and intended to serve the purposes of a mulch, such as weed suppression and regulation of soil temperature. Living mulches grow for a long time with the main crops, whereas cover crops are incorporated into the soil or killed with herbicides.

Soil health is a state of a soil meeting its range of ecosystem functions as appropriate to its environment. In more colloquial terms, the health of soil arises from favorable interactions of all soil components that belong together, as in microbiota, plants and animals. It is possible that a soil can be healthy in terms of ecosystem functioning but not necessarily serve crop production or human nutrition directly, hence the scientific debate on terms and measurements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strip-till</span> Soil conservation technique

Strip-till is a conservation system that uses a minimum tillage. It combines the soil drying and warming benefits of conventional tillage with the soil-protecting advantages of no-till by disturbing only the portion of the soil that is to contain the seed row. This type of tillage is performed with special equipment and can require the farmer to make multiple trips, depending on the strip-till implement used, and field conditions. Each row that has been strip-tilled is usually about eight to ten inches wide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Rodale Institute</span>

Rodale Institute is a non-profit organization that supports research into organic farming. It was founded in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, in 1947 by J. I. Rodale, an organic living entrepreneur. After J.I. Rodale died in 1971, his son Robert Rodale purchased 333 acres and moved the farm to Kutztown, Pennsylvania.

The environmental impact of agriculture is the effect that different farming practices have on the ecosystems around them, and how those effects can be traced back to those practices. The environmental impact of agriculture varies widely based on practices employed by farmers and by the scale of practice. Farming communities that try to reduce environmental impacts through modifying their practices will adopt sustainable agriculture practices. The negative impact of agriculture is an old issue that remains a concern even as experts design innovative means to reduce destruction and enhance eco-efficiency. Animal agriculture practices tend to be more environmentally destructive than agricultural practices focused on fruits, vegetables and other biomass. The emissions of ammonia from cattle waste continue to raise concerns over environmental pollution.

The term cropping system refers to the crops, crop sequences and management techniques used on a particular agricultural field over a period of years. It includes all spatial and temporal aspects of managing an agricultural system. Historically, cropping systems have been designed to maximise yield, but modern agriculture is increasingly concerned with promoting environmental sustainability in cropping systems.

Soil management is the application of operations, practices, and treatments to protect soil and enhance its performance. It includes soil conservation, soil amendment, and optimal soil health. In agriculture, some amount of soil management is needed both in nonorganic and organic types to prevent agricultural land from becoming poorly productive over decades. Organic farming in particular emphasizes optimal soil management, because it uses soil health as the exclusive or nearly exclusive source of its fertilization and pest control.

Emerging in North America in the 1970s and 1980s, vertical tillage (VT) is a system of principles and guidelines similar to conservation agriculture (CA) in that it aims to improve soil health, increase water infiltration and decrease soil erosion and compaction. With varying degrees of soil movement, it aims to not invert the soil and keep residue on the surface where it protects the soil. It usually includes small forward-facing discs that limit soil inversion and slices the residue for faster decomposition and to get a seeder or planter into the heavy residue-laden fields. Many times it also includes a deep ripping tool for breaking up hard pans and compaction created from traditional tillage implements and heavy equipment like large tractors and combine harvesters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regenerative agriculture</span> Conservation and rehabilitation approach to food and farming systems

Regenerative agriculture is a conservation and rehabilitation approach to food and farming systems. It focuses on topsoil regeneration, increasing biodiversity, improving the water cycle, enhancing ecosystem services, supporting biosequestration, increasing resilience to climate change, and strengthening the health and vitality of farm soil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soil regeneration</span> Creation of new soil and rejuvenation of soil health

Soil regeneration, as a particular form of ecological regeneration within the field of restoration ecology, is creating new soil and rejuvenating soil health by: minimizing the loss of topsoil, retaining more carbon than is depleted, boosting biodiversity, and maintaining proper water and nutrient cycling. This has many benefits, such as: soil sequestration of carbon in response to a growing threat of climate change, a reduced risk of soil erosion, and increased overall soil resilience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbon farming</span> Agricultural methods that capture carbon

Carbon farming is a set of agricultural methods that aim to store carbon in the soil, crop roots, wood and leaves. The technical term for this is carbon sequestration. The overall goal of carbon farming is to create a net loss of carbon from the atmosphere. This is done by increasing the rate at which carbon is sequestered into soil and plant material. One option is to increase the soil's organic matter content. This can also aid plant growth, improve soil water retention capacity and reduce fertilizer use. Sustainable forest management is another tool that is used in carbon farming. Carbon farming is one component of climate-smart agriculture. It is also one way to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

References

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  42. ↑ "H.R.2508 - Naturally Offsetting Emissions by Managing and Implementing Tillage Strategies Act of 2021". 14 April 2021.
  43. ↑ "About Rodney". Congressman Rodney Davis. Archived from the original on 19 November 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  44. 1 2 Davis, Rodney (14 April 2021). "Text - H.R.2508 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Naturally Offsetting Emissions by Managing and Implementing Tillage Strategies Act of 2021". www.congress.gov. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  45. 1 2 Republican Leader Glenn 'GT" Thompson NO EMITS Act Naturally Offsetting Emissions by Managing and Implementing Tillage Strategies Sponsored by Rodney Davis (IL-13) (PDF). 2021.
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