No-till Method
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No-till farming (also known as zero tillage or direct drilling) is an agricultural technique for growing crops or
pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Types of pasture Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, c ...
without disturbing the
soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...
through
tillage Tillage is the agriculture, agricultural preparation of soil by mechanical wikt:agitation#Noun, agitation of various types, such as digging, stirring, and overturning. Examples of manual labour, human-powered tilling methods using hand tools inc ...
. No-till farming decreases the amount of
soil erosion Soil erosion is the denudation or wearing away of the Topsoil, upper layer of soil. It is a form of soil degradation. This natural process is caused by the dynamic activity of erosive agents, that is, water, ice (glaciers), snow, Atmosphere of Ea ...
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 the soil, soil retention of organic matter, and
nutrient cycling A nutrient cycle (or ecological recycling) is the movement and exchange of inorganic and organic matter back into the production of matter. Energy flow is a unidirectional and noncyclic pathway, whereas the movement of mineral nutrients is cyc ...
. These methods may increase the amount and variety of life in and on the soil. While conventional no-tillage systems use
herbicide Herbicides (, ), also commonly known as weed killers, are substances used to control undesired plants, also known as weeds.EPA. February 201Pesticides Industry. Sales and Usage 2006 and 2007: Market Estimates. Summary in press releasMain page f ...
s to control weeds, organic systems use a combination of strategies, such as planting
cover crops 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 ...
as mulch to suppress weeds. There are three basic methods of no-till farming. "Sod seeding" is when crops are sown with seeding machinery into a
sod Sod is the upper layer of turf that is harvested for transplanting. Turf consists of a variable thickness of a soil medium that supports a community of turfgrasses. In British and Australian English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', ...
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. 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. 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 Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, whether pest animals such as insects and mites, weeds, or pathogens affecting animals or plants by using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or ot ...
, cover cropping, and more intensive management of fields. Tillage is dominant in
agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
today, but no-till methods may have success in some contexts. In some cases
minimum tillage Minimum tillage is a soil conservation system like strip-till with the goal of minimum soil manipulation necessary for a successful crop production. It is a tillage method that does not turn the soil over, in contrast to intensive tillage, which c ...
or "low-till" methods combine till and no-till methods. For example, some approaches may use shallow cultivation (i.e. using a
disc harrow A disk harrow is a harrow (tool), harrow whose cutting edges are a row of concave metal discs, which may be scalloped or set at an oblique angle. It is an list of agricultural machinery, agricultural implement that is used to tillage, till the ...
) but no
plowing A plough or ( US) plow (both pronounced ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses but modern ploughs are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden, ...
or may use
strip tillage 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 farming, no-till by disturbing only the portion of the soil tha ...
.


Background

Tillage Tillage is the agriculture, agricultural preparation of soil by mechanical wikt:agitation#Noun, agitation of various types, such as digging, stirring, and overturning. Examples of manual labour, human-powered tilling methods using hand tools inc ...
is the
agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...
preparation of
soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...
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. No-till farming is not equivalent to
conservation tillage 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, hoein ...
or
strip tillage 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 farming, no-till by disturbing only the portion of the soil tha ...
. 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 In geotechnical engineering, soil compaction is the process in which stress applied to a soil causes densification as air is displaced from the pores between the soil grains. When stress is applied that causes densification due to water (or other ...
; loss of
organic matter Organic matter, organic material or natural organic matter is the large source of carbon-based compounds found within natural and engineered, terrestrial, and aquatic environments. It is matter composed of organic compounds that have come fro ...
; degradation of soil aggregates; death or disruption of soil
microbe A microorganism, or microbe, is an organism of microscopic size, which may exist in its single-celled form or as a colony of cells. The possible existence of unseen microbial life was suspected from antiquity, with an early attestation in ...
s and other organisms including
mycorrhiza A mycorrhiza (; , mycorrhiza, or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plant's rhizosphere, the plant root system and its surroundings. Mycorrhizae play ...
e,
arthropod Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metam ...
s, and
earthworm An earthworm is a soil-dwelling terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. The term is the common name for the largest members of the class (or subclass, depending on the author) Oligochaeta. In classical systems, they we ...
s; and
soil erosion Soil erosion is the denudation or wearing away of the Topsoil, upper layer of soil. It is a form of soil degradation. This natural process is caused by the dynamic activity of erosive agents, that is, water, ice (glaciers), snow, Atmosphere of Ea ...
where
topsoil 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. Description Topsoil is composed of mineral particles and organic mat ...
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. A formalized opposition to plowing started in the 1940s with Edward H. Faulkner, author of ''Plowman's Folly''. 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
herbicide Herbicides (, ), also commonly known as weed killers, are substances used to control undesired plants, also known as weeds.EPA. February 201Pesticides Industry. Sales and Usage 2006 and 2007: Market Estimates. Summary in press releasMain page f ...
s such as
paraquat Paraquat ( trivial name; ), or ''N'',''N''′-dimethyl-4,4′-bipyridinium dichloride (systematic name), also known as methyl viologen, is a toxic organic compound with the chemical formula C6H7N)2l2. It is classified as a viologen, a family o ...
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.{{cite web , last=Derpsch , first=Rolf , title=A Short History of No-till , url=http://www.rolf-derpsch.com/notill.htm , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501043815/http://www.rolf-derpsch.com/notill.htm , archive-date=1 May 2011 , url-status=dead , work=NO- TILLAGE , access-date=26 March 2011


Adoption across the world

Land under no-till farming has increased across the world. In 1999, about {{convert, 45, e6ha, mi2, abbr=unit was under no-till farming worldwide, which increased to {{convert, 72, e6ha, mi2, abbr=unit in 2003 and to {{convert, 111, e6ha, mi2, abbr=unit in 2009.{{cite web , last= Derpsch, first= Rolf, date= January 2010, title=Current Status of Adoption of No-Till Farming in the World and some of its Main Benefits, url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228692232, publisher=Research Gate, access-date=23 October 2020


Australia

Per figures from the
Australian Bureau of Statistics The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is an List of Australian Government entities, Australian Government agency that collects and analyses statistics on economic, population, Natural environment, environmental, and social issues to advi ...
(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.{{cite web , last= Scott, first= Fiona, title=Zero-till adoption soaring, url=https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/content/archive/agriculture-today-stories/ag-today-archives/may-2010/zero-till-adoption-soaring, publisher=NSW Government, access-date=24 October 2020 As at 30 June 2017, of the {{convert, 20, e6ha, mi2, abbr=unit 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.


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%).{{cite web , last= Gianessi, first= Leonard P., date= 16 November 2014, title=Importance of herbicides for no-till agriculture in South America, url=https://croplife.org/case-study/importance-of-herbicides-for-no-till-agriculture-in-south-america/, publisher=Croplife International, access-date=23 October 2020 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. 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. In Paraguay, net farm incomes increased by 77% after adoption of no-till farming.


United States

No-till farming is a soil conservation practice used in the United States, with adoption increasing due to its potential to reduce costs and improve soil health. By minimizing soil disturbance, no-till farming reduces the number of passes required with machinery, leading to lower fuel and labor expenses. Additionally, the retention of crop residue helps reduce evaporation, enhances water infiltration, and improves moisture retention in the soil.
/ref> According to the 2017 Census of Agriculture, approximately 21% of cultivated cropland in the United States was managed under no-till farming practices. By 2023 this percentage had increased to roughly 30%, reflecting a continued shift toward conservation tillage methods.
/ref>


England

As of 2020, an estimated 7% of English arable land was being cultivated using no-till farming. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) offers incentives to farmers to convert to no-till farming, such as a payment of £73 per hectare of land eligible for this scheme.


Benefits and issues


Profit, economics, yield

Some studies have found that no-till farming can be more
profit Profit may refer to: Business and law * Profit (accounting), the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market * Profit (economics), normal profit and economic profit * Profit (real property), a nonpossessory inter ...
able in some cases.{{cite web , url=http://www.notill.org/KnowledgeBase/03_economics_derpsch.pdf , author=Derpsch, Rolf , title=Economics of No-till farming. Experiences from Latin America. , access-date=2010-05-09 , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727131205/http://www.notill.org/KnowledgeBase/03_economics_derpsch.pdf , archive-date=2011-07-27 In some cases it may reduce labour, fuel,
irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...
and machinery costs. No-till can increase yield because of higher water infiltration and storage capacity, and less erosion.{{cite web, title=Better Management Practices: No-Till/Conservation Tillage, url=http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/footprint/agriculture/soybeans/better_management_practices/no_till/, publisher=WWF, access-date=4 April 2011{{dead link, date=January 2018 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes Another possible benefit is that because of the higher water content, instead of leaving a field
fallow Fallow is a farming technique in which arable land is left without sowing for one or more vegetative cycles. The goal of fallowing is to allow the land to recover and store Organic compound, organic matter while retaining moisture and disrupting ...
it can make economic sense to plant another crop instead. 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. 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.{{Cite journal, last1=Osei, first1=E, last2=Moriasi, first2=D, last3=Steiner, first3=J, last4=Starks, first4=P, last5=Saleh, first5=A, date=2012, title=Farm-level economic impact of no-till farming in the Fort Cobb Reservoir Watershed, journal=Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, volume=67, issue=2, pages=75–86, doi=10.2489/jswc.67.2.75, s2cid=140727016 In spring, poor draining clay soil may have lower production due to a cold and wet year.{{Cite journal, last1=Lal, first1=R., last2=Reicosky, first2=D.C., last3=Hanson, first3=J.D., date=March 2007, title=Evolution of the plow over 10,000 years and the rationale for no-till farming, url=https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2006.11.004, journal=Soil and Tillage Research, volume=93, issue=1, pages=1–12, doi=10.1016/j.still.2006.11.004, bibcode=2007STilR..93....1L , issn=0167-1987, url-access=subscription The economic and ecological benefits of implementing no-till practices can require sixteen to nineteen years.{{Cite journal, last1=Cusser, first1=Sarah, last2=Bahlai, first2=Christie, last3=Swinton, first3=Scott, last4=Robertson, first4=G. Philip, last5=Haddad, first5=Nick M., date=2020, title=Long-term research avoids spurious and misleading trends in sustainability attributes of no-till, journal=Global Change Biology, volume=26, issue=6, pages=3715–3725, doi=10.1111/gcb.15080, pmid=32175629, bibcode=2020GCBio..26.3715C, s2cid=212730618 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.


Costs and management

No-till farming requires some different skills from those of conventional agriculture. A combination of techniques, equipment, pesticides,
crop rotation 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 pro ...
, fertilization, and irrigation have to be used for local conditions.{{Citation needed, date=July 2017


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 file:7263 Canterbury Agricultural College farm.jpg, Filling a feed-box of a seed drill, Lincoln University (New Zealand), Canterbury Agricultural College farm, 1948 A seed drill is a device used in agriculture that sowing, sows seeds for crops by ...
, to penetrate the residue. Ploughing requires more powerful
tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a Trailer (vehicle), trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or constructio ...
s, so tractors can be smaller with no-tillage. 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
weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, growing where it conflicts with human preferences, needs, or goals.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. Pla ...
s. 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 compared to tillage farming. Faster growing weeds can be reduced by increased
competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indi ...
with eventual growth of
perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...
s, shrubs and trees. Herbicides such as
glyphosate Glyphosate (IUPAC name: ''N''-(phosphonomethyl)glycine) is a broad-spectrum systemic herbicide and crop desiccant. It is an organophosphorus compound, specifically a phosphonate, which acts by EPSP inhibitor, inhibiting the plant enzyme 5-en ...
are commonly used in place of tillage for
seedbed A seedbed or seedling bed is the local soil environment in which seeds are planted. Often, it comprises not only the soil but also a specially prepared cold frame, hotbed or raised bed used to grow the seedlings in a controlled environment in ...
preparation, which leads to more herbicide use in comparison to conventional tillage. Alternatives include winter cover crops,
soil solarization Soil solarization is a non-chemical environmentally friendly method for controlling pests using solar power to increase the soil temperature to levels at which many soil-borne plant pathogens will be killed or greatly weakened. Soil solarization ...
, or
burning Combustion, or burning, is a high-temperature exothermic redox chemical reaction between a fuel (the reductant) and an oxidant, usually atmospheric oxygen, that produces oxidized, often gaseous products, in a mixture termed as smoke. Combust ...
. The use of herbicides is not strictly necessary, as demonstrated in
natural farming Natural farming ( 自然農法, shizen nōhō),1975 1978 re-presentation ''The One-Straw Revolution: An Introduction to Natural Farming''. also referred to as "the Fukuoka Method", "the natural way of farming", or "do-nothing farming", is an ...
,
permaculture Permaculture is an approach to land management and settlement design that adopts arrangements observed in flourishing natural ecosystems. It includes a set of design principles derived using Systems theory, whole-systems thinking. It applies t ...
, and other practices related to
sustainable agriculture Sustainable agriculture is agriculture, farming in sustainability, 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 ...
. The use of
cover crop In agriculture, cover crops are plants that are planted to ground cover, cover the soil rather than for the purpose of being harvested. Cover crops manage soil erosion, soil fertility, soil quality, water, weeds, Pest (organism), pests, diseases ...
s to help control weeds also increases organic residue in the soil (and nutrients, when using
legumes Legumes are plants in the pea family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seeds of such plants. When used as a dry grain for human consumption, the seeds are also called pulses. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consu ...
). Cover crops then need to be killed so that the newly planted crops can get enough light, water, nutrients, etc.{{cite web, url=http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/no-till_revolution , title=No-Till Revolution , publisher=Rodale Institute , access-date=2010-05-09 This can be done by rollers, crimpers, choppers and other ways. The residue is then planted through, and left as a mulch. Cover crops typically must be crimped when they enter the flowering stage.


Fertilizer

One of the most common yield reducers is
nitrogen Nitrogen is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a Nonmetal (chemistry), nonmetal and the lightest member of pnictogen, group 15 of the periodic table, often called the Pnictogen, pnictogens. ...
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. An innovative solution to this problem is to integrate
animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, animal fiber, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising ...
in various ways to aid in decomposition. 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, date=November 2019


Environmental Policy

A legislative bill, H.R.2508 of the 117th Congress, also known as the NO EMITS act, has been proposed to amend the
Food Security Act of 1985 The Food Security Act of 1985 (P.L. 99–198, also known as the 1985 U.S. Farm Bill), a five-year omnibus farm bill, allowed lower commodity price, income supports, and established a dairy herd buyout program. This 1985 farm bill made changes in ...
, that was introduced by Representative Rodney Davis of Illinois in 2021. Davis is a member of the
House Committee on Agriculture The United States House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, or Agriculture Committee is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The House Committee on Agriculture has general jurisdiction over federal agricultu ...
. 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.{{Cite web, last=Davis, first=Rodney, date=2021-04-14, title=Text - H.R.2508 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Naturally Offsetting Emissions by Managing and Implementing Tillage Strategies Act of 2021, url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/2508/text, access-date=2021-11-03, website=www.congress.gov 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 Donald John Bacon (born August 16, 1963) is an American politician and retired military officer who has served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Nebraska's Nebraska's 2nd congressional district, 2nd congress ...
of Nebraska. 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.{{Cite book, url=https://republicans-agriculture.house.gov/uploadedfiles/04.14.2021_noemitsactdavissummary.pdf, title=Republican Leader Glenn 'GT" Thompson NO EMITS Act Naturally Offsetting Emissions by Managing and Implementing Tillage Strategies Sponsored by Rodney Davis (IL-13), year=2021 Funding has also been proposed for Conservation Innovation Trails. Farmers within the U.S. are encouraged through subsidies and other programs provided by the government to meet a defined level of tillage conservation. Such subsidies and programs provided by the U.S. government include:
Environmental Quality Incentives Program The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is a United States government program designed to assist farmers in improving environmental quality, particularly water quality and soil conservation. Congress established the program in the ...
(EQIP) and
Conservation Stewardship Program The Conservation Security Program (CSP) was a voluntary conservation program in the United States that supported stewardship of private agricultural lands by providing payments and technical assistance for maintaining and enhancing natural resour ...
(CSP). The EQIP is a voluntary program that attempts to assists farmers and other participants help through conservation and not financially suffer from doing so.{{Cite web, date=2009, title=Environmental Quality Incentives Program, url=https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs/financial/eqip/, website=USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Efforts are put out to help reduce the amount of contamination from the agricultural industry as well as increasing the health of the soil. 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.


Environmental


Greenhouse gases

No-till farming has been claimed to increase
soil organic matter Soil organic matter (SOM) is the organic matter component of soil, consisting of plant and animal detritus at various stages of decomposition, cells and tissues of soil microbes, and substances that soil microbes synthesize. SOM provides numerou ...
, and thus increase
carbon sequestration Carbon sequestration is the process of storing carbon in a carbon pool. It plays a crucial role in Climate change mitigation, limiting climate change by reducing the amount of Carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere, carbon dioxide in the atmosphe ...
. 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. A 2020 study demonstrated that the combination of no-till and cover cropping could be an effective approach to
climate change mitigation Climate change mitigation (or decarbonisation) is action to limit the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that cause climate change. Climate change mitigation actions include energy conservation, conserving energy and Fossil fuel phase-out, repl ...
by sequestering more carbon than either practice alone, suggesting that the two practices have a synergistic effect in carbon capture. There is debate over whether the increased sequestration sometimes detected is actually occurring or is due to flawed testing methods or other factors. 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. 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." No-till farming reduces
nitrous oxide Nitrous oxide (dinitrogen oxide or dinitrogen monoxide), commonly known as laughing gas, nitrous, or factitious air, among others, is a chemical compound, an Nitrogen oxide, oxide of nitrogen with the Chemical formula, formula . At room te ...
(N2O) emissions by 40-70%, depending on rotation. Nitrous oxide is a potent greenhouse gas, 300 times stronger than {{CO2, and stays in the atmosphere for 120 years.


Soil and desertification

No-till farming improves aggregates and reduces
erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...
. Soil erosion might be reduced almost to soil production rates. Research from over 19 years of tillage studies at the
United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and producti ...
Agricultural Research Service The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the principal in-house research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). ARS is one of four agencies in USDA's Research, Education and Economics mission area. ARS is charged with ext ...
found that no-till farming makes soil less erodible than ploughed soil in areas of the
Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...
. 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 Organic matter, organic material or natural organic matter is the large source of carbon-based compounds found within natural and engineered, terrestrial, and aquatic environments. It is matter composed of organic compounds that have come fro ...
in this layer is thought to help hold soil particles together. As per the
Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, , translates ...
(FAO) of the United Nations, no-till farming can stop
desertification Desertification is a type of gradual land degradation of Soil fertility, fertile land into arid desert due to a combination of natural processes and human activities. The immediate cause of desertification is the loss of most vegetation. This i ...
by maintaining
soil organic matter Soil organic matter (SOM) is the organic matter component of soil, consisting of plant and animal detritus at various stages of decomposition, cells and tissues of soil microbes, and substances that soil microbes synthesize. SOM provides numerou ...
and reducing wind and water
erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...
.{{cite web, date=2 November 2002, title=Hold back the desert with Conservation Agriculture, url=http://www.fao.org/english/newsroom/news/2002/10502-en.html, publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, access-date=11 October 2020, archive-date=22 January 2020, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200122210617/http://www.fao.org/english/newsroom/news/2002/10502-en.html, url-status=dead No ploughing also means less airborne dust.


Water

No-till farming improves water retention:
crop residue Crop residues are waste materials generated by agriculture. The two types are: * Field residues are materials left in an agricultural field or orchard after the crop has been harvested. These residues include stalks and stubble (stems), leav ...
s help water from natural precipitation and irrigation to infiltrate the soil. Residue limits
evaporation Evaporation is a type of vaporization that occurs on the Interface (chemistry), surface of a liquid as it changes into the gas phase. A high concentration of the evaporating substance in the surrounding gas significantly slows down evapora ...
, 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.{{cite web , last= A Peiretti, first= Roberto, title=No Till Improves Soil Functioning and Water Economy, url=http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/agphome/images/iclsd/documents/wk1_c2_Peiretti.pdf, publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, access-date=23 October 2020 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. 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.{{cite web, last=Kindig, first=Wendy, title=No till/Cover Crops Articles, url=http://www.yorkccd.org/agricultural-programs/no-tillcover-crops-articles/, publisher=York County Conservation District, access-date=2 April 2011, archive-date=8 January 2019, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190108003113/http://www.yorkccd.org/agricultural-programs/no-tillcover-crops-articles/, url-status=dead


Biota and wildlife

No-tilled fields often have more
annelid The annelids (), also known as the segmented worms, are animals that comprise the phylum Annelida (; ). The phylum contains over 22,000 extant species, including ragworms, earthworms, and leeches. The species exist in and have adapted to vario ...
s, invertebrates and wildlife such as
deer mice ''Peromyscus'' is a genus of rodents. They are commonly referred to as deer mice or deermice, not to be confused with the chevrotain or "mouse deer". They are New World mice only distantly related to the common house and laboratory mouse, ''M ...
.


Albedo

Tillage lowers the
albedo Albedo ( ; ) is the fraction of sunlight that is Diffuse reflection, diffusely reflected by a body. It is measured on a scale from 0 (corresponding to a black body that absorbs all incident radiation) to 1 (corresponding to a body that reflects ...
of croplands. The potential for global cooling as a result of increased albedo in no-till croplands is similar in magnitude to other
biogeochemical Biogeochemistry is the scientific discipline that involves the study of the chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes and reactions that govern the composition of the natural environment (including the biosphere, the cryosphere, ...
carbon sequestration processes.{{cite journal , author=D. B. Lobell, G. Bala and P. B. Duffy , url=http://caos.iisc.ernet.in/faculty/gbala/pdf_files/Lobell_etal_2006_GRL.pdf , title=Biogeophysical impacts of cropland management changes on climate , author2=D. B. Lobell , author3=G. Bala , author4=P. B. Duffy , journal=Geophysical Research Letters , volume=33 , issue=6 , pages=L06708 , date=2006-03-23 , access-date=2012-07-02 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130315063028/http://caos.iisc.ernet.in/faculty/gbala/pdf_files/Lobell_etal_2006_GRL.pdf , archive-date=2013-03-15 , url-status=dead , bibcode=2006GeoRL..33.6708L , doi=10.1029/2005GL025492 , s2cid=129384794


See also

* {{annotated link, Broadfork, a tool to aerate the soil without overturning * {{annotated link, Carbon farming * {{annotated link, Conservation agriculture * {{annotated link, Conventional tillage * {{annotated link, Masanobu Fukuoka, one of the pioneers of no-till grain cultivation * {{annotated link, Natural farming * {{annotated link, No-dig gardening * {{annotated link, Permaculture *
Regenerative agriculture 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 ...
* {{annotated link, Strip-till *
Tillage erosion Tillage erosion is a form of soil erosion occurring in cultivated fields due to the movement of soil by tillage. There is growing evidence that tillage erosion is a major soil erosion process in agricultural lands, surpassing water and wind erosio ...


References

{{reflist, 2


Further reading

* {{cite book , isbn=0-85236-113-0 , title=Direct Drilling and Reduced Cultivations , last1=Allen , first1=H. P. , year=1981 , pages=1–219 , publisher=Farming Press * Monbiot, George (2022). "Regenesis: Feeding the World without Devouring the Planet". London: Penguin Books. {{ISBN, 978-0-14-313596-8 * {{Cite book , publisher = University of California Press , isbn=978-0-520-24870-0 , last = Montgomery , first = David R. , author-link = David R. Montgomery , title = Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations , location = Berkeley , date = 2007 , url-access = registration , url = https://archive.org/details/dirterosionofciv0000mont * {{Cite news , last = Philpott , first = Tom , title = One Weird Trick to Fix Farms Forever , work = Mother Jones , access-date = 2014-03-14 , date = 2013-09-09 , url = https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/09/cover-crops-no-till-david-brandt-farms * {{cite news , author=Wright, Sylvia , date=Winter 2006 , title=Pay Dirt , url=http://ucdavismagazine.ucdavis.edu/issues/win06/feature_3.html , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718052053/http://ucdavismagazine.ucdavis.edu/issues/win06/feature_3.html, archive-date=2011-07-18, url-status=dead , work=
UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...
Magazine , pages=24–27, access-date=2011-02-26


External links


Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Lubbock; along with New Mexico University Extension Service
No-till and Cover Crops for Texas and New Mexico.
VicNoTill at Horsham, Victoria
No-Till Regenerative Farming Systems Australia. {{Authority control {{DEFAULTSORT:No-Till Farming Agronomy Agricultural soil science Energy conservation Sustainable agriculture Organic farming in Asia