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  • From: "Art Corbit" <art_c@cox.net>
  • To: "Healthy soil and sustainable growing" <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] No-till cotton
  • Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2006 12:28:35 -0500

They have got to brush hog the stalks or something to get then down or they would be in the way of the next crop. When we raised cotton we had a stalk chopper that bent the stalks over and cut them in about 8 inch pieces. Even then and plowing them under they would still cause problems planting the next crop.
 
If these people are not tilling their soil after the harvest they would have to be loading it down with commercial fertilizer and weed killer. I know from my farm days if you don't keep row crops plowed what rain falls on it mostly runs off and this will carry a lot of the good stuff with it. There is no way this could be good for the soil. To let crop waste decay on top of the ground and not plowing it in is not the same.
 
They may be raising cotton but you can be sure they are not getting the yield they should be and they are damaging their land. I guess it wouldn't be the first time lazy farmers tried to rob their land and not put back what they took from it. Mother Nature will let you take just so much from the land and then she stops giving.
 
Art
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, August 02, 2006 11:42 AM
Subject: [Livingontheland] No-till cotton

Anyone who wants to see no-till cotton just come to Lubbock TX.  One farmer has been at it almost 25 years now.  Another one started four seasons ago and could not be happier.  I know these men personally.   Steve Groff, PA, [spoke at his farm day] who has been no-till corn, etc for over 30 years. The guru  of no-till in the USA.
 
Proven Practices for Profitable Cotton Production [abbreviated]
 
These are based on the internet, US & international agriculture magazines, experiences teaching organic, no-till in many countries, research data and farmer experiences in those countries and a demonstration garden.  They are ecologically sustainable, environmentally responsible, socially just and economically viable.  There is unlimited, documented proof.  No-till reduced production cost 30% the first year and tripled profits in five years.  Over 50% of the farms went no-till in only ten years. [Argentine].  No-till farming requires a no-till planter and/or drill.  There are 200,000,000 no-till acres worldwide.
 
1985-2000, Dr. Morrison, TX research station, proved that permanent beds, with permanent tracks, increases yield 15%.  In 2002, A D Hughes [806-866-5667] decided to go no-till [cotton] and purchased a no-till planter.  He planted the cotton, harvested the cotton, planted wheat, knocked down the wheat and he was ready to plant again.  His cost went to the basement.  Buster Adair [806-755-2532] has been no-till [cotton] for over twenty years.  Steve Groff [cedarmeadowfarm.com] has been no-till [vegetables, corn] for 30 years.  It works!
 
No technique yet devised by mankind has been anywhere near as effective at halting soil erosion and making food production truly sustainable as no-till (Baker)
 
1.      Open mind.
2.      Willing to make changes [first, in the mind and then, in the cotton field]
3.      Increase the soil organic matter every year
4.      Manage the cotton for highest profit per acre; not highest yield per acre]
5.      Little or no external inputs [Not necessary to buy anything, from anybody, for the farm.  Certain things are recommended] 
6.      Leave all crop residues on top of the soil
7.      No-till:  no plowing, no disking, no cultivating.
8.      Permanent cotton beds
9.      Permanent tracks [for tractor wheels to plant & harvest.  15% yield increase.]
10.   Tractor [small] & no-till planter and/or drill [ no lister, no plows, no tandem disks, no cultivators]
11.   Soil always covered
12.   Use mulch/green manures/cover crops.
13.   Alternative cotton  [naturally colored varieties from India and Peru]
14.   Imitate nature. Most farmers fight nature. ¡Nature always wins!
 
If you would like a list of website, DVDs, etc for further research, etc. request it from minifarms@gmail.com. 
 
Ken Hargesheimer
 
DVD:  BT Cotton in Andhra Pradesh – A three year fraud.  ddsrural@sanchamet.in  Send $3 [ppd] to Ken Hargesheimer, Box 1901, Lubbock TX.

 


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