No-till farming

No-till farming (also called zero tillage or direct drilling) is a way of growing crops or pasture from year to year without disturbing the soil through tillage. No-till is an agricultural technique that increases the amount of water that infiltrates into the soil, the soil's retention of organic matter and its cycling of nutrients. In many agricultural regions, it can reduce or eliminate soil erosion. It increases the amount and variety of life in and on the soil, including disease-causing organisms and disease organisms. The most powerful benefit of no-tillage is improvement in soil biological fertility, making soils more resilient. Farm operations are made much more efficient, particularly improved time of sowing and better trafficability of farm operations. Tillage remains relevant in agriculture today, but the success of no-till methods in many contexts keeps farmers aware that multiple options exist. In some cases low-till methods combine aspects of till and no-till methods. For example, some approaches may use a limited amount of shallow disc harrowing but no plowing. Tillage is the agricultural preparation of soil by mechanical agitation, typically killing the plants earlier in place. Tilling can create a flat seed bed or one that has formed areas, such as rows or raised beds, to enhance the growth of desired plants. It is an ancient technique with clear evidence of its use since at least 3000 B.C. The effects of tillage can include soil compaction; loss of organic matter; degradation of soil aggregates; death or disruption of soil microbes and other organisms including mycorrhizae, arthropods, and earthworms; and soil erosion where topsoil is washed or blown away. The idea of modern no-till farming started in the 1940s with Edward H. Faulkner, author of Plowman's Folly, but it wasn't until the development of several chemicals after WWII that various researchers and farmers started to try out the idea. The first adopters of no-till include Klingman (North Carolina), Edward Faulkner, L.A. Porter (New Zealand), Harry and Lawrence Young (Herndon, Kentucky), the Instituto de Pesquisas Agropecuarias Meridional (1971 in Brazil) with Herbert Bartz. No-till farming is widely used in the United States and the number of acres managed in this way continues to grow. This growth is supported by a decrease in costs related to tillage; no-till management results in fewer passes with equipment for approximately equal harvests, and the crop residue prevents evaporation of rainfall and increases water infiltration into the soil. Studies have found that no-till farming can be more profitable if performed correctly. It reduces labour, fuel, irrigation and machinery costs. No-till can increase yield because of higher water infiltration and storage capacity, and less erosion. Another benefit of no-till is that because of the higher water content, instead of leaving a field fallow it can make economic sense to plant another crop instead. As sustainable agriculture becomes more 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 may purchase carbon credits, which can encourage farmers to engage in conservation tillage. Under such schemes, the farmers' land is legally redefined as a carbon sink for the power generators' emissions. This helps the farmer in several ways, and it helps the energy companies meet regulatory demands for reduction of pollution, specifically carbon emissions.