NO-TILLAGE FARMING = LOWER COSTS, HIGHER YIELDS, CLEANER AIR

The Wikipedia Dictionary defines tillage as “arable land that is worked by plowing and sowing and raising crops”.  It was not always so.  History tells us that as far back as 4000 BC, land was tilled by digging by hand and scratching with a stick in order to prepare soil for planting.  It was a lousy job that was often performed by slaves.  Some of the more enterprising farmers ran hoofed animals over the ground to work the fields by trampling.

Things finally started looking up by the the 16^th century when wooden plows pulled by oxen, mules, elephants and water buffalo replaced hand labor. This was followed by the invention of the cast iron plow by Jethro Wood in 1819 and the steel plow by John Lane in 1833.  Although some farmers resisted using steel plows because they believed the steel poisoned the soil, the switch to the new equipment was explosive.  It was such an improvement in the preparation of the seed bed, weed control , soil and water conservation and the incorporation of plant residues and  fertilizers that farmers were forced to abandon older concepts of farming in order to compete.  Soon after 1900, the farm tractor was introduced which eventually made modern large-scale agriculture possible. 

Farming made great strides during the early years of the 20^th century with improved equipment, better fertilizers and insecticides and advanced farming techniques.  More and more land came into production, yields increased and the trend toward larger farming operations began.  While still plagued with drought, dust bowls, floods and declining markets, there was little concern about the effect farming had on the environment.  Furthermore, most farmers believed that turning the soil was necessary for weed control while  burying  crop residue and manure benefited the soil.  However, working the soil in this manner left it vulnerable to erosion by wind and water.

During the 1940’s, both scientist and farmers began worrying about the adverse effect that tillage had on both the soil and the atmosphere.   While farmers worried about the loss of fertile topsoil due to tillage, scientist were concerned about the effect it had on the atmosphere.  Since the mechanization of agriculture began, scientist estimate that some 789 billion tons of carbon once trapped in the soil have been  lost to the atmosphere in the form of CO2 which has been associated with global climate change.

A combination of  the effect of tillage on farmland, concern of environmental  damage and the development of better herbicides and insecticides has led to an increase in no-tillage farming to reduce or eliminate those problems.  Today, more than 37% of farmland in the United States is under no-tillage behind Brazil with 45%, Argentina with 50% and Paraguay with 60%.

In next month’s newsletter, we will discuss the benefits and problems with no-tillage, new equipment and techniques and the areas where no-tillage is most beneficial.