No-till Farming
Many farmers always wonder about newer, more efficient ways to farm. Farming becomes more and more precise every day; farmers struggle to keep up with moisture loss caused by dry-spells, soil and nutrient run-off caused by erosion, and trying to raise better yields. Although it may seem as if there is no answer, many farmers are turning to no-till as the solution. Some farmers stand against no-till, saying it keeps the ground too cold for too long in the spring, or that it will not allow them to get their crops up, but much research proves these beliefs wrong. No-till is an advantage over conventional-till for three main reasons: conserves moisture in the soil, reduces erosion by wind and rain, and increases the quality of the topsoil.
One way no-till can prove an advantage is that it conserves moisture in the soil. By not turning up the soil, more moisture remains underneath, allowing crops to hold a supply of water during dry periods of little or no rain. Since more water remains in the ground, it benefits the crops because in hot months like July when there is little rain, crops need water, and no-till helps to supply that water. Crops like corn pollinate in July when it is the hottest and the driest, and a little extra water in the soil never hurts. During dry spells while conventional farmer’s crops burn up, crops that were no-tilled have extra water to drink and can often survive through these dry periods. Since stubble and trash remains behind to shade the ground, the earth remains unexposed to the sun and is less vulnerable to evaporation. As one no-till farmer, Darnell Poage says, “The cover on the field holds the moisture in from the sun and wind.” Because the sun is not shining directly on the groun...
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...e give it a shot. No-till has been proven many times, over and over again. Many farmers find no-till as an advantage because it conserves moisture in the soil, reduces erosion by wind and rain, and increases the quality of the topsoil.
Works Cited
Al-Kaisi, Mahdi and Mark Hanna. “Research Supports No Till.” Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2011.
Al-Kaisi, Mahdi. “Tillage in 2001: No-till.” Integrated Crop Management. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2011
“CropWatch: Tillage/No-Till Systems.” Water.unl.edu. University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2011. Web. 20 Oct. 2011
Horowitz, John; Robert Ebel, Kohei Ueda. “U.S. Farmers Increasingly adopt ‘No-Till’ for
Major Crops.” Amber Waves 8.4 (December 2010): 9. Web. 25 Oct. 2011
Poage, Darnell. Personal interview. 6 Nov. 2011
Voss, Jim. Personal interview. 6 Nov. 2011
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As you walk to the other end of the stage and look out into the sea of blue and gold corduroy, you realize this it! This is the moment you’ve worked toward for the last four years. You’ve stayed long hours after school working on you record book, spent grueling hours memorizing speeches, experienced the joy of winning first place at a state CDE contest, and best of all you met so many amazing people and doors were opened to opportunities you never imagined. Finally, after all of your hard work, you’re receiving your State FFA Degree! All of this from making one simple decision your freshman year of high school, signing up for the FFA. What you didn’t realize at the time was that this wonderful organization would help you build leadership skills and teach life skills that you are going to need in the coming years.
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Traditional agriculture requires massive forest and grassland removal to obtain land necessary to farm on. Deforestation and overgrazing has caused erosion flooding, and enabled the expansion of deserts. But with drainage systems, leveling, and irrigation provided by the Green Rev, all this terra deforming will unlikely happen again. We can retain clean air and lessen the global warming effect caused by deforestation.Many people argue that a revamp in agriculture will be way too expensive and unrealistic especially for those poor farmers in third world countries. However many times, they exaggerate the price.
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Soil is the most important non-renewable resource on any farm. Healthy soil is key to a good
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