No-Till Drill Rental
The Conservation District has a new addition to the family! We have a brand new 10 foot Great Plains No-Till Grass Drill. The drill is available for rental by calling Ambrose Lauer at (316) 524-7548. The drill is not on a trailer and weighs approximately 4500 pounds so those choosing to utilize this resource will have to plan accordingly. With the weight of the drill it is essential that a 20 mph speed limit be maintained.
Producing crops usually involves regular tilling that agitates the soil in various ways, usually with tractor-drawn implements. Tilling is used to remove weeds, mix in soil amendments like fertilizers, shape the soil into rows for crop plants and furrows for irrigation, and prepare the surface for seeding. This can lead to unfavorable effects, like soil compaction; loss of organic matter; degradation of soil aggregates; death or disruption of soil microbes, arthropods, and earthworms; and soil erosion where topsoil is blown or washed away. No-till farming thus avoids these unfavorable effects by reducing or excluding the use of conventional tillage. (Wikipedia, 2007)
The benefit of No-Till farming currently receiving much scientific attention
is the potential for carbon sequestration in the soil of crop fields. When soil
is tilled with machinery, carbon is released from the soil into the atmosphere.
This, in addition to the emissions from the farm equipment itself, increases the
carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere. Carbon sequestration, in soil or
elsewhere, is a proposed method of reducing these greenhouse gases. Cropland
soil is an ideal carbon sink, since in most areas it has been depleted of its
necessary carbon content. Traditional farming practices that rely on tillage
have removed carbon from the soil ecosystem. Removal of crop residues also
deprives a field of a good source of carbon. By reducing tillage, leaving crop
residues to decompose where they lie, and growing winter cover crops such as
grains or alfalfa, a farmer can slow carbon loss from a field while doing a
small part to transfer carbon from the atmosphere to the soil. (Wikipedia, 2007)
Other benefits of no-till include increasing soil quality (soil function), protecting the soil from erosion, evaporation of water, and structural breakdown. Crop residues left intact help both natural precipitation and irrigation water infiltrate the soil where it can be used. The crop residue left on the soil surface also limits evaporation, conserving water for plant growth. A reduction in tillage passes helps prevent the soil aggregates from being crushed and/or compacted. Less tillage of the soil reduces labor and related fuel and machinery costs. Less soil plowing means less airborne dust, which is a serious pollutant in some agricultural areas. No-till fields often have more beneficial insects and annelids, a higher microbial content, and a greater amount of soil organic material. As sustainable agriculture becomes more socially popular, monetary grants and awards are becoming readily available to farmers who practice conservation tillage. Some large energy corporations which are among the greatest generators of fossil-fuel-related pollution are willing to purchase carbon credits to encourage farmers to engage in conservation tillage. The farmers' land essentially becomes a carbon sink for the power generators' emissions. This helps the farmer in several ways, and it helps the energy companies meet demands for reduction of pollution. (Wikipedia, 2007)
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