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Home , Seedbed, Soil management

Transitioning to no-till

No-till is the practice of planting and growing crops, as well as controlling weeds, without the use of . No-till emphasizes keeping the covered with maximum crop residue and not disturbing the soil outside of planting.

Benefits of no-till Considerations before committing to no-till benefits

■ Builds and reduces erosion Short-Term ■ Increases You may have to invest in new machinery depending ■ Increases water holding capacity on your current planter setup. You may also see an increase in chemical costs depending on weed ■ Increases water rates species, as tillage can no longer be used for weed ■ Increases worm counts control. ■ Allows the other living organisms in the soil Consider starting your no-till management after to thrive harvest, so crop residue can aid in earlier weed pressure. By starting in the fall, you will also have Economic benefits time to develop your fertilization plan and select ■ Reduces fuel, time and labor costs by requiring germplasm for the following year. fewer trips across the field Long-Term Overall benefits No-till will reduce by building soil ■ Increases overall farm resiliency to withstand structure over time. However, during the transition extreme weather events including floods and stage, the soil is susceptible to compaction as droughts tillage operations are reduced. Therefore, proper ■ Improves overall water quality management should take place during the transition to no-till in order to avoid creating compaction in the field. In the long-term, no-till will reduce soil compaction by building soil structure over time.

Tips for transitioning acres to no-till 1 2 3 4

Start small Try no-tilling Try strip-tilling first Incorporate cover crops In order to reduce risk soybeans first Strip-tilling disturbs the Combining cover crops with a new practice, Soybeans are more soil less than full tillage, with no-till helps reduce start with a few acres at adaptable than corn in allowing soil structure to soil compaction by a time. By monitoring terms of placement. be built up over time and keeping the soil loose these acres throughout Because no-tilling creating the seedbed and breaking up old the growing season, requires planting into you’re used to. plow layers. Cover you’ll get an idea of a different kind of crops also enhance soil how no-till will work on seedbed, many farmers microbiology by keeping your farm. find it easier to start no- living roots in the soil. tilling with soybeans.

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Change your mindset Prevent compaction Communicate your Develop a plan Remember that Use the same wheel change to your retailers Challenges are tillage and no-till are tracks for each field Confirm with your inevitable; however, completely different soil pass. Evaluate your tire retailers that you’ve you can stay one step management systems size and air pressure; purchased the correct ahead by having a plan. and that it can take larger tires and lower air products for your new Take time in the winter many years to fully pressure spread out the soil management to develop a plan before realize the benefits of weight of the machinery practice. Discuss with experimenting with no-till. Planting dates and reduce the amount your agronomist how no-till. may be pushed back of pressure applied to this management system in the beginning as the the soil surface. will change your seed, structure is changing to chemical, and better infiltrate water. inputs.

Visit soilhealthpartnership.org to learn more about transitioning to no-till.

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