Organic Low/No-Till
Organic Low-Till/No -Till is the practice of growing crops or pasture without any or very little soil disturbance. The benefits of this practice include a lack of erosion, higher organic matter retention, better nutrient cycling, and greater water absorption. This blog includes articles that cover the frameworks of a no-till system and will help those who are interested in cover crops and soil health to understand how this system functions. Read below to learn ways to incorporate this time-tested, restorative practice on your farm!
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, better known as SARE, is a great first place to get started on your low/no till journey. The No Till Search SARE is a collection of all the No Till resources they have on their website. There are over 180 farmer-led resources available from farmers across the country. One of the best resources to learn more about utilizing less tillage is Building Soils for Better Crops, Chapter 6: Minimizing Tillage. This chapter goes over the history of tillage, the benefits and limitations of different tillage systems, and how they compare to help you make a choice for your farm. SARE has also released A Practical Guide to No Till and Cover Crops, which is a great overall resource on the basics of no till, how to transition, and troubleshooting. This resource also goes over cover crops, including seed selection, application, and termination. This is a strong foundation to learn more about transitioning to no-till, to see if it's a practice of interest to you and your farm! The Rodale Institute has done some great research on Organic No-Till. In their article, they go over what tillage is, how it works, and some of the nuances of conventional practices versus organic practices.
Offrange has an article about the realities of making No-Till operate for larger, more conventional farmers. Can No-Till Farming Go Big? asks hard truths about the realities of implementing these systems on a larger scale. It goes over what has and has not worked for farmers across the country, but also the benefits that can come from these adaptations.
Research done by the Kellogg Biological Station reveals long-term data on no-till agriculture can increase crop yields and environmental gains over the long haul. Long-Term No Till illustrates the value of long-term research on no-till and what decades of research have discovered about the practice.
ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture has done a study on whether no till can benefit the bottom line. No Till Case Study - Browns Ranch: Improving Soil Health Improves the Bottom Line breaks down how Brown’s Ranch has been using no-till and cover crops to influence crop production.
Farms that would like to transition to an organic (non-chemical) no-till, whether they are seeking organic certification or not, should research and plan to make the change as smooth as possible. These links are only some of the many informational articles that are available. We hope this starts you on a journey to restorative organic-style no-till practices!
To learn more, check out these links below:
This resource was funded in partnership with the Transition to Organic Partnership Program