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market-farming - Re: No-till method research?

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  • From: "Jeffery Blake" <echoecho AT bedford.heartland.net>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: No-till method research?
  • Date: Wed, 14 Mar 2001 19:03:05 -0600


my two cents on the no-till thing.
I must say that in most farming circles I am the radical sustainability
advocate, not here it would seem. From my perspective no-till has some
advantages and some disadvantages. I think organic has some advantages and
some disadvantages. a lot of this may depend to a degree upon scale. And
I'm not talking about huge section size vs. postage stamp scale.
No-till is merely a tool. Many commercial growers implement it into their
already-chemical-dependant production practices. In these instances it CAN
reduce soil erosion.
Used in a sustainable rotation, with cover crops and rotations it can
minimize herbicide and insecticide use and maintain soil saving residues and
tilth.
Used in an organic situation with winter killed or mow killed crops it can
be an effective way of weed control and soil management.
Personally I think a producer who works with rotations and covers in an
effort to protect their resources shouldn't be castigated. I also don't
think a responsible, limited and judicious use of some herbicides would be
very detrimental to the environment.
Herbicide drift is something that occurs at spraying and has little to do
with incorporation. Roundup bonds with dirt and organic matter, it has a
half-life of 47 days. Blowing dust should have no effect on the health of
nearby vegetation, but I don't know if those plants will test positive for
round-up. I agree that drift at spraying could be a serious problem. There
are legal avenues to explore if your crop is killed, but it should be well
documented as I understand it. I know of farmers that have gone through
this. Contamination of a organic crop should make a neighbor liable, but I
don't think that happens. I think it is the responsibility of the organic
grower to maintain separation distances, I also think this is wrong.
Weeds are less likely to develop resistance to roundup than many/most other
herbicides. And this shouldn't matter unless you are a regular user of
herbicides.
No-till does not have to be a monoculture tool it can be a tool for all
growers especially those in diverse rotations. check out Steve Groffs
website. No-till can work for small grains, large seeded crops like corn
and beans, squashes and transplanted crops.
Unless a farmer uses extensive use of cover crops in a till system and a
no-till farmer doesn't I think soil quality is better in no-till systems.
I think it is unfortunate that many conventional farmers don't make the
attempt to utilize more sustainable methods, but I think it is equally
unfortunate that many organic growers are just as un-understanding about
larger scale farmers who make a genuine attempt to reduce chemical use. My
inner dilemma is utilizing what I feel is a truly more sustainable
integrated crop/livestock system with a limited use of burn down herbicides
vs. a totally organic certified system. I like what Steve groff says but I
also like the idea of being part of a recognizable (environmentally
friendly) certification system.
others have said some of this here,but these were my thoughts as I read the
days discussion.





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