Should No-Till Farming Be Adopted by All to Help the Earth?
By Emily Folk, Resilience.org
Is no-till growing as great as it's made out to be? Should it be adopted by all to help the Earth? The answer is yes and no.
By Emily Folk, Resilience.org
Is no-till growing as great as it's made out to be? Should it be adopted by all to help the Earth? The answer is yes and no.
By Bryan O'Hara, Resilience.org
Tillage has become both excessively utilized and extreme in its damage to soil functions, especially with the development of more powerful equipment. Many growers are now seeking to limit this damage by being much more careful and judicious in their use of tillage equipment. This is often referred to as reduced tillage. When systems are developed that require essentially no disturbance of the soil, no-till has been achieved.
By Courtney White, Resilience.org
The organic, no-till movement is gaining traction around the world, which is a very hopeful thing. It has a long way to go, however, mostly because of the stubborn belief in the primacy of the plow, which borders on the religious among many farmers. After all, we’ve been using it for nearly 5000 years!
By Gene Logsdon, The Contrary Farmer
I read an article on the DTN/Progressive Farming website that once again shows how difficult it is to resolve differences of opinion in farming disagreements. The article was an even-sided discussion of possible overproduction of organic crops, (which I plan to write about soon) but a respondent took the occasion to launch into a rather vitriolic attack on organic farming. He was irritated about the organic stand against herbicides.
By Chris Smaje, Small Farm Future
It may be best not to till for soil, plant and human health, but perhaps the world is not so black and white that a judicious bit of tillage here and there is so impermissible.
By Courtney White, A Carbon Pilgrim
Here’s an idea: employ a farming or ranching practice that is known scientifically to increase levels of glomalin and get compensated financially!
By Courtney White, The carbon pilgrim
Many farmers consider organic no-till the ‘holy grail’ of regenerative agriculture because it combines the best of both worlds: reduced soil disturbance and no chemicals. Its development, however, came about as innovations so often do: by accident.