Source: FARM POLICY NEWS, UNIV. OF ILLINOIS, 9/27/18


On Wednesday, the USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) released a report titled, “Tillage Intensity and Conservation Cropping in the United States,” which discussed regional and crop conservation tillage practices, as well as adoption of residue and cover practices.  Today’s update highlights a few aspects of the report.

The ERS report, which was authored by Roger Claassen, Maria Bowman, Jonathan McFadden, David Smith, and Steven Wallander, stated that, “Conservation tillage—the use of tillage methods that disturb the soil less than 'conventional' tillage—was originally promoted as a soil and water conservation technology…In recent decades, farmers have increasingly adopted conservation tillage methods for a broader set of reasons. In addition to reducing erosion and preserving soil moisture, conservation tillage can reduce crop production costs by reducing the use of fuel, labor, and tillage machinery. Herbicide- tolerant crops have increased the availability of pesticides for post-emergent weed control and further reduced reliance on tillage. Increasingly sophisticated planters equipped to cut through or clear crop residue from the row have made it easier to plant directly into untilled, residue-covered soil.”

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