We are always talking about black and white which one is right. Does any
one think maybe gray is the right answer? Steve mentioned that the
moldboard plow has done a lot of damage, but is our only alternative
No-Till? Could a shallow disking do the job? Just curious!
Floyd
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Date: Thu, 20 May 1999 22:24:16 -0400
From: Steve Groff <sgroff@epix.net>
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Organization: Cedar Meadow Farm
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To: Pat Elazar <Pat_Elazar@cwb.ca>
CC: Roberto Verzola <rverzola@phil.gn.apc.org>, lonrom@hevanet.com,
sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu
Subject: Re: No-till (Formerly FW: Farmers Part of the Global WarmingSolution)
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Pat Elazar wrote:
> <Roberto wrote:
>
> <I'm just curious: is it possible that this campaign against tillage is
> <part of the pesticide industry effort to sell herbicides?>
Who have you seen or heard campaigning against tillage?
Of course companies who manufacture herbicides will promote them to no till farmers,
but as you see below, long term no till will reduce the need for herbicides. It
certainly has on my farm.
If you talk with any soil scientist, he will tell you that most tillage has a
detrimental effect on the soil. Tilling the soil might benefit the farmer in some
way, but not the soil and the critters who live in it.
> the no-till/low-till guys who'd been doing it for a while generally used less
> chemical than anybody else. If they survived the first couple of years, they
> learned how to walk their fields, map their fields & widen rotations to reduce
> weed problems systemically. The no-till guys also used half-rates, one third
> rates & spot applications when they did spray. They also chose more competitive
> varieties & tinkered combine settings to maximize crop residue (we usually call
> that mulch on this list). After 10 years of no-till, they usually had more
> organic matter, less weeds, less disease problems than their neighbours & maybe
> even a few worms!
>
> <After nearly 10,000 years of tilling the soil, I would imagine farmers would
> have
> <known if it made the soil less productive.>
Alot of farmers (especially the conventional) are aware of this and are doing
something about it now. I've found the detrimantal effects of tillage to be an issue
that a good many sustainable farmers ignore. The moldbord plow has caused
significant damage to the quality of soil.
Steve Groff
-- "Enhancing the Environment" www.cedarmeadowfarm.com Cedar Meadow Farm 679 Hilldale Rd Holtwood PA 17532 USA Ph. 717-284-5152
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