Benefits of No Till farming

southernblues

southernblues

New member
I'm sure this could be debated between conventional tillage, strip till and no till...

I'm researching no till and the soil benefits and ran across this video which is amazing. One of the big advantages to no till and not disturbing the soil is increase in earthworms that help with water penetration to the soils and from this video it's perfect proof.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eroGrAjlLZk&NR=1
 
southernblues said:
I'm sure this could be debated between conventional tillage, strip till and no till...

I'm researching no till and the soil benefits and ran across this video which is amazing. One of the big advantages to no till and not disturbing the soil is increase in earthworms that help with water penetration to the soils and from this video it's perfect proof.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eroGrAjlLZk&NR=1
Click to expand...

No till only works just so long. The soil becomes too compacted and will need to be deep tilled or used a ripper on eventually.
 
My farmer friends in KS no till the dry land but always rip the irrrigated if corn is going on it. They say the cost is worth it in yield. I noticed while hunting this season that on the dry land this year they also ripped the harvest staging areas and grain cart pathways. Ripping must cost the devil in fuel.
 
UGUIDE said:
I have heard a lot of things that cause compaction but no-till wasn't one of them???

There are plenty of biotillers and cover crops that can alleviate compaction without tillage. Soybeans is a good one too.
Click to expand...

Harvesting equipment, livestock grazing on the stubble, rain, Etc can all compact the soil. Loose soil grows better higher yielding crops plain and simple but can it be done right without loosing too much top soil to run off and wind? Ripping the field is one way.
 
onpoint said:
No till only works just so long. The soil becomes too compacted and will need to be deep tilled or used a ripper on eventually.
Click to expand...


Actually quite contrary ---

Soil and water
No-till improves soil quality (soil function), carbon, organic matter, aggregates,[17] protecting the soil from erosion,[18] evaporation of water,[8] and structural breakdown. A reduction in tillage passes helps prevent the compaction of soil.
Recently, researchers at the Agricultural Research Service found that no-till farming makes soil much more stable than plowed soil. Their conclusions draw from over 19 years of collaborated tillage studies. No-till stores more carbon in the soil and carbon in the form of organic matter is a key factor in holding soil particles together. The first inch of no-till soil is two to seven times less vulnerable than that of plowed soil. The practice of no-till farming is especially beneficial to Great Plain farmers because of its resistance to erosion.[19]
Crop residues left intact help both natural precipitation and irrigation water infiltrate the soil where it can be used. The crop residue left on the soil surface also limits evaporation, conserving water for plant growth. Soil compaction and no tillage-pan, soil absorbs more water and plants are able to grow their roots deeper into the soil and suck up more water.
Tilling a field reduces the amount of water, via evaporation, around 1/3 to 3/4 inches (0.85 to 1.9 cm ) per pass.[8] By no-tilling, this water stays in the soil, available to the plants.

-from wiki
 
southernblues said:
Actually quite contrary ---

Soil and water
No-till improves soil quality (soil function), carbon, organic matter, aggregates,[17] protecting the soil from erosion,[18] evaporation of water,[8] and structural breakdown. A reduction in tillage passes helps prevent the compaction of soil.
Recently, researchers at the Agricultural Research Service found that no-till farming makes soil much more stable than plowed soil. Their conclusions draw from over 19 years of collaborated tillage studies. No-till stores more carbon in the soil and carbon in the form of organic matter is a key factor in holding soil particles together. The first inch of no-till soil is two to seven times less vulnerable than that of plowed soil. The practice of no-till farming is especially beneficial to Great Plain farmers because of its resistance to erosion.[19]
Crop residues left intact help both natural precipitation and irrigation water infiltrate the soil where it can be used. The crop residue left on the soil surface also limits evaporation, conserving water for plant growth. Soil compaction and no tillage-pan, soil absorbs more water and plants are able to grow their roots deeper into the soil and suck up more water.
Tilling a field reduces the amount of water, via evaporation, around 1/3 to 3/4 inches (0.85 to 1.9 cm ) per pass.[8] By no-tilling, this water stays in the soil, available to the plants.

-from wiki
Click to expand...

Something to ponder from Corn & Soybean digest on the advantage of loosening the soil.

http://cornandsoybeandigest.com/deep-tillage-crushes-hardpan
 
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I'm sure we can find debating commentary anywhere on the web. It's an alternative and depending on soil/geography/goals -- it may be an option.

Here is SEKansas we like most of midwest was hit with drought. I think you'll see a big difference for those who committed to no-till yrs ago (5+) where the organic matter, nutrients and root system has a chance to make a difference. Couple of posts I was reading on a "No Till Forum" thought would make good points - of course coming straight from the horses mouth --


"I have been doing a wheat-wheat-milo-soybean rotation for the last 5 years and in this year of drought and extreme heat the continuous no-till milo really shined. I had a side by side comparison of two fields that had everything done the same except one field has been in complete no-till for 5 years and the other field was 1st year no-till ground that I just started farming that was previously conventional wheat 5 years in a row. The 5 year no-till milo made 85 bu. and the 1st year field made 43 bu., same variety, same planting date, and same fertilizer.
My dad no-tills his milo, but he tills ground and puts on anhydrous for his wheat ground. His milo average was about 20 bushel/acre less than mine with the only difference being he plants his 30" and I drill mine on 20". I think the extra wheat stubble saved more moisture and kept the ground cooler and closer rows helped shade the ground also keeping the ground cooler.
I still can't believe how many guys still plant conventional milo in this area, it's fine if it rains every 10 days, but this year most of it was put up for hay or it only made 25 bushel/acre."

mthomp

Posted 11/4/2011 5:58 PM (#3770 - in reply to #3767)
Subject: Re: Continuous no-till makes big difference


Member

Posts: 5

I agree that no-tilling long term is the only way to go. Here in Northeast Norton County we got the rains and most peoples crops looked good, however in the drier years is where no-till shines. The soil microbes really start working for you in zero till field, alot of guys around here just plant row crops of corn/milo into stubble but still bring out the disk when planting wheat. They really do not give those microbes and beneficial fungi time to work when they always bring out the disk. I think you are seeing the effects of mycorrhizae in your long term no-till, they colonize on the roots and help make more of the nutrients in the soil available to the plant. Also you probably had more moisture in your soil profile due to the increased porosity in no-till soils. I see alot of great things happening in our fields and try to read alot about how to improve them further.
 
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