Sanet,
I wanted to get in on this no-till/cover crop discussion earlier, but
due to our field day preparations and constant irrigation requirements,
I was unable to do so.
My 100% no-till system is unique in that I use little pesticides. Cover
crops, crop rotation, and long-term no-till are the keys to making this
work. I personally believe the trade off of using some herbicides is
more sustainable then tilling my soil for weed control and subjecting it
to erosion. (I have some slopes up to 17%) The other documented benefits
are increased OM- 2.7%-4.0%, soil aggregate stability has tripled, soil
microbial biomass has tripled as well, and a whole host of other
improvements we are just begining to understand. I'm continually amazed
at the dozens of organic farmers and the 100's of others who have seen
my soil and rave about the "life" in it.
Matt Kline wrote:
> I had the opportunity to visit Cedar Meadow Farm yesterday for the
> Field Day. The Groff family (Steve is a Saneter), and supporting
> agencies hosted an informative display. As an organic farmer I do not
> agree with the practice of herbiciding cover crops, but the soil pit
> profile exposed in the no till field was far healthier than any I have
> seen in conventional farming.
Dr Ray Weil, and Joel Gruver, (U of MD) have opened my eyes to the realm
of the underground. At the field day we dug this soil pit in a
processing tomato field and found tomato roots 40" below the soil
surface! Many earthworm channels were seen and the quality of the
subsoil was remarkable, according to Dr Ray Weil.
> The rolling stalk chopper and no till vegetable transplanter (family
> labor intensive) had impressive improvements over conventional
> equipment. This was a positive multi-cultural event, with good
> discussions and exchange of information.
We had 357 people at our field day, which is truly a statement to the
interest of sustainable agriculture. Was real pleased to have SARE's
National Director, Jill Auburn as one of the speakers.
> Rodale Institute also had one soybean trial field - cover crops
> without herbicides.
I no-tilled this food grade soybean trial into a cover of hairy vetch
and rye, rolled it twice and planted 15" beans. The plot received no
herbicides and was almost weed free.
Some of the techniques I use are applicable to organic farms. I sure
have learned alot from organic farmers! I also aggressively try and
influence conventional agriculture. Conventional agriculture needs to
SEE something that works, rather then hear an idealistic theory.
For more info, check out our website: http://www.cedarmeadowfarm.com
-- Steve Groff"Enhancing the Environment" http://www.cedarmeadowfarm.com/ Cedar Meadow Farm 679 Hilldale Road Holtwood, PA 17532 USA
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Sanet,
I wanted to get in on this no-till/cover crop discussion earlier, but due to our field day preparations and constant irrigation requirements, I was unable to do so.
My 100% no-till system is unique in that I use little pesticides. Cover crops, crop rotation, and long-term no-till are the keys to making this work. I personally believe the trade off of using some herbicides is more sustainable then tilling my soil for weed control and subjecting it to erosion. (I have some slopes up to 17%) The other documented benefits are increased OM- 2.7%-4.0%, soil aggregate stability has tripled, soil microbial biomass has tripled as well, and a whole host of other improvements we are just begining to understand. I'm continually amazed at the dozens of organic farmers and the 100's of others who have seen my soil and rave about the "life" in it.Matt Kline wrote:
I had the opportunity to visit Cedar Meadow Farm yesterday for the Field Day. The Groff family (Steve is a Saneter), and supporting agencies hosted an informative display. As an organic farmer I do not agree with the practice of herbiciding cover crops, but the soil pit profile exposed in the no till field was far healthier than any I have seen in conventional farming.Dr Ray Weil, and Joel Gruver, (U of MD) have opened my eyes to the realm of the underground. At the field day we dug this soil pit in a processing tomato field and found tomato roots 40" below the soil surface! Many earthworm channels were seen and the quality of the subsoil was remarkable, according to Dr Ray Weil.The rolling stalk chopper and no till vegetable transplanter (family labor intensive) had impressive improvements over conventional equipment. This was a positive multi-cultural event, with good discussions and exchange of information.We had 357 people at our field day, which is truly a statement to the interest of sustainable agriculture. Was real pleased to have SARE's National Director, Jill Auburn as one of the speakers.Rodale Institute also had one soybean trial field - cover crops without herbicides.I no-tilled this food grade soybean trial into a cover of hairy vetch and rye, rolled it twice and planted 15" beans. The plot received no herbicides and was almost weed free.Some of the techniques I use are applicable to organic farms. I sure have learned alot from organic farmers! I also aggressively try and influence conventional agriculture. Conventional agriculture needs to SEE something that works, rather then hear an idealistic theory.
For more info, check out our website: http://www.cedarmeadowfarm.com
--
Steve Groff"Enhancing the Environment" http://www.cedarmeadowfarm.com/
Cedar Meadow Farm
679 Hilldale Road
Holtwood, PA 17532 USA
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