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- Just Say No to Till
- No-till improves profits, soil quality, and yields
- By Steve Groff
Cedar Meadow Farm
- I started no-tilling in the early 1980s on about 15 corn acres because we had some erosion problems and I didn’t like having to fill in gullies before harvesting corn and I felt that wasn’t right. In 1991 I began using a rye cover crop as another soil conservation measure. In 1994 we stated no-tilling tomatoes and in three years, all of our 175 acres of 15 different crops were no-tilled.
This “New Generation Cropping System” is done successfully by using cover crops, intensive crop rotation, and long-term no-tillage. I can’t say enough how these three components are the foundation to make this system work. No-till is not the “magic bullet.” It is an equal partner with cover crops and rotation. I use this system to increase profits, enhance soil quality, and reduce pesticide use.
Increase profits
The economics of this system are positive. Total savings when no-tilling pumpkins can be up to $470 per acre. Nearly $400 of the cost reduction is from material, labor, and timesaving when eliminating the use of plastic mulch. A saving in tillage is $50 an acre and $20 an acre for pesticides (average of the last four years). Increased costs are $40 an acre for establishment and seed of a cover crop, and $10 an acre for controlling the cover crop.
It’s hard to put a dollar value on the other benefits of cover crops such as erosion control, better soil quality, increased organic matter, and cleaner fruit, but it has to be factored in at least indirectly. On my farm I’ve been able grow my own cover crop seed and use a rolling stalk chopper to control the covers. This allows me to further reduce expenses. Our yields have increased the last several years and this adds to the profit.
Enhanced soil quality
Soil erosion is the most detrimental aspect of agriculture. We can’t turn our backs on soil erosion and call ourselves sustainable. No-till has some very attractive attributes especially when combined with cover crops. Soil was meant to be covered! Soil erosion on Cedar Meadow farm has been cut from 14 tons per acre per year to almost nothing. With the ground covered by plant residues and not loosened by vigorous tillage, the soil stays rather than getting washed away during heavy rainfall. With an average soil loss in Lancaster County of nine tons per acre per year on the typical farm, you begin to realize the importance of keeping this valuable soil resource in place.
The combination of cover crops and no-tilling does more than cut erosion - it improves soil tilth, increases organic matter levels, enhances water infiltration and lessens pest problems. Organic Matter has gone from 2.7% to 4%. Soil aggregate stability in fields tilled recently (less than 10 years) is 16% and fields that have not been tilled for over 10 years is 67%. Soil microbial biomass has tripled. These results are proof to me that this system is working. Yields have increased 10% over the last several years.
Reduced pesticides
A good thick mulch helps control weeds and has really cut down on my herbicide bill. It’s very important to have a consistent cover crop to make this work. Herbicide use for corn and beans has dropped from $25 an acre to$18 an acre. Total pesticide usage on the whole farm has decreased 50%. Beneficial insects have increased.
How the system works
The foundation of this system is the establishment of a cover crop in the fall. My favorite for transplanted vegetables right now is a three-way mix of hairy vetch (25 lbs.), crimson clover (four lbs.), and rye (30 lbs.). For direct seeded crops like pumpkins, it’s a vetch (30 lbs.) and spring oats (1 bu.) mix or rye (two bu.). This past year I’ve gone mainly to a rye/vetch mix (25 lbs. vetch and 30 lbs. rye). I have successfully no-tilled vegetables into corn and soybean residue with excellent results, however more herbicides, fungicides and fertilizers are needed to control weeds and diseases. I credit rye/vetch giving 50 lb. of N and straight vetch 75 lb. of N. Vetch seed is expensive so I grow my own with rye. Next year I plan to have seed to sell.
I wanted to control covers mechanically and in a way that flattens them near the soil to help their decomposition. I ended up buying a 10-foot Buffalo Rolling Stalk Chopper in 1996. It’s designed to flatten and chop cornstalks, on a scale between a flail mower and a disk. The machine has two rows of rollers, four in front and four in back, with eight 23-inch blades per roller. The turning rollers crimp up the cover and push it right down. It can run at eight to 10 miles per hour, so it’s fast and economical. I added parallel linkage so each roller floats independently.
The versatile machine has been used on 350 acres in three years. I roll the covers with it, and get good control of hairy vetch and rye if it has flowered. Vetch that hasn’t bloomed yet, will give some regrowth and needs a low rate of post emergent spray. Then after the pumpkin harvest, I use the machine to chop and disperse the remaining pumpkins.
A customized Holland transplanter is used for no-till transplanting of vegetables into killed cover crops. Ron Morse, Virginia Tech, developed the No-Till Sub-Surface Tiller Transplanter. The transplanter has a spring-loaded 20-inch, straight-bladed coulter, followed by a subsurface tiller that gently opens a slot to place the transplant in. The package leaves virtually no soil showing after the crop is planted, giving good full coverage mulch for the whole season. Work is being done on making a new planter to further improve the performance.
Fertilizer management evolves as you have become more committed to the use of no-till, cover crops and the overall concept of sustainable ag. Any synthetic N I use is mainly ammonium sulfate. I need the sulfur it supplies, as well as its low volatility. I side dress and have gone back to broadcasting dry rather that dribbling liquid N. I tend to credit my higher organic matter soils of giving me 25 lb of N or so from release of additional N. Manure is all surface applied and is spread as fine as possible. I have the manure tested and use that as a guide to determine additional fertilizer needs. I do some foliar feeding as well.
Soil compaction is to be avoided at all costs! However, once you’ve no-tilled for several years the soil becomes noticeably less susceptible to compaction. Cover crops are key to this in building soil structure. I’m real fussy about when lime and manure trucks can get on my fields. If you ever need to alleviate compaction, do so with as little surface disturbance as possible. I like the DMI no-till shanks with the berm tuckers to go through my field driveways after harvest.
Controlling perennial weeds can be a challenge in no-till but have found that with intensive crop rotation and occasional spot spraying, weeds can be managed effectively. Perennial weeds are not a problem on our farm.
I have had success no-tilling tomatoes, pumpkins, sweet corn and peppers, as well as fall broccoli. Pumpkins, in particular, are a lot cleaner, because the soil doesn’t splash up on them when it rains. The University of Maryland is doing all its pumpkin research using the no-till method. Eggplant, melons and even snap beans can even be no-tilled.
Some organic farmers are no-tilling tomatoes and pumpkins. In 1997 I left one acre of pumpkins unsprayed with herbicides and had excellent results. The cover crop of hairy vetch kept weeds from growing. Then this past year I did the same test and got unsatisfactory weed control. The problem was that the cover crop was not thick enough. I think no-tilling can be done organically on a small scale with a good cover crop and for later planted vegetables.
We have held an annual field day at Cedar Meadow Farm since 1994. In 1998, 250 people attended to view the “New Generation Cropping System” as well as see various agri-businesses and equipment dealers demonstrate their machinery.
We have produced a video titled, “No-Till Vegetables: A Sustainable Way to Increase Profits, Save Soil, and Reduce Pesticides.” It covers the basics of sustainable no-till vegetable production. Cost is $21.95 plus $3.00 S/H. To order call (717) 284-5152, e-mail: sgroff@epix.net, or visit www.cedarmeadowfarm.com.
These examples of the use of cover crops, crop rotation, and long-term no-till are what sustainable agriculture is all about. Don’t try and adopt exactly what I have done. You need to adapt these principles to your operation in accordance to the resources, equipment, and experience you’ve attained. Start small. Learn as you go. Network with researchers, Extension agents, and other growers who have been successful. Go to field days or research tours. At the very least, think of one idea you can implement on your farm to make it more environmentally friendly, yet still maintain profitability.
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