Hot Topic Thursday - Using No-Till

It's Hot Topic Thursday and today we want to talk about No-Till.

Many corn farmers have implemented conservation tillage, such as no-till or minimal tillage practices on millions of acres.  No-tilling means that remnants from the previous year's crop are left untouched.  No-till improves soil over time because of the increase in organic material and also helps to reduce soil erosion during snow melt and heavy rains.  The USDA has noted that corn farmers have cut soil erosion 44% in two decades by using various conservation methods, such as no-till.

Eliminating soil run-off keeps not only the soil but also helps keeps crop nutrients and moisture in the soil during the growing season.

And farmers are traveling across the field less often, which reduces the use of diesel fuel and compaction in the soil.

Here is an example of what a farm employing no-till looks like:

(Photo courtesy of Pioneer.com)