No-Till = Better Soil Quality

[@oksoilwater]

the few trees now found in the American plains (besides those found in creek bottoms) are here because settlement reduced the prevalence of fire which regularly swept the plains prior to settlement. Prior to 1910 there were fewer trees than are now found. The reason the Landscape is brown in the video is because it was the middle of winter! Of course, we are in an epic drought now going into our third year, yet the soil shown in that video produced around 50 bu/acre during the 2012 harvest?

[@amandaz8337]

Great video! Farmers need to do a better job of communicating with people about how our technologies, such as GMOs, are feeding the world and protecting our planet! Farmers are the REAL environmentalists!!

[@JamesTyreeII]

These guys are so far behind. Don't till don't spray and don't become dependent on companies and their products!

[@Dollapfin]

I can speed the process up by starting with a deep till then using a diverse range of cover crops. Lay them down and plant on top.

[@deannelson9565]

No you can't because your constantly compacting the ground with the tillage.

[@zachooper3153]

this was so riveting i love a good dramatic action film

[@tjtradrs]

@johncarteroz Trust us, we (farmers) are taking note and working towards making agriculture more sustainable and better for the enviroment. It's all about learing from our mistakes in the past and turing those mistakes into an opportunity to improve our practices.

[@bigal25938]

How is pumping spray into the soil better?

[@1926mymy]

you need to buy a farm and see the sponsorship!!!! You could learn a lot in one year.

[@johncarteroz]

extremely interesting! Wish farmers would take note.... this makes so much sense!

[@mogges1]

That whats wrong with my soil, it hard as a rock.I have thought about sowing cowpeas and rye grass. then instead of tilling it just mow it all and let it lay there over winter.Would doing that help my soil.I have the right soil PH just no green manure are plant matter

[@rocket8351]

not sure you're aware, but the great plains did not have trees originally. Why would you expect them to be planted now? This is oklahoma, it almost is a desert.

[@rocket8351]

Anybody know if anyone has done the same thing in some Wisconsin clay? and if it works anywhere near as well. This makes perfect sence in the great planes but the soil up here can be very heavy.

[@farmermatt629]

I no till in central Illinois and our soils are as heavy as they come

[@1926mymy]

50 Bu of what green Beans?

[@chokkan7]

Scientific methodologies and a holistic approach are by no means mutually exclusive concepts. It's important to keep in mind that one of the reasons 'science' has gotten such a bad rap is that it was so often linked to plans which were intended to expand corporate hegemony. If science were not effective, would corporations have taken this approach? Not likely....

[@1926mymy]

we need more tree's to help stop the wind erosion.

[@1926mymy]

HOW do you know? You a wizard.

[@1926mymy]

Easy, we buy tons of fertilizer and trace minerals, we have learned so very little until you see set a side acres, I am sure you don't set a side nothing?

[@redddbaron]

No till is part way there. However, it is not even close to cutting edge. Kinda embarrassed that OSU is so antiquated in their teaching since I farm in Oklahoma. But if anyone is actually interested in a real benefit, look here: milkwood.net/2010/12/07/why-pasture-cropping-is-such-a-big-deal/ That's especially beneficial for Western OK. Not only better soil management, better crop production AND a side benefit of beef! All on the same land! Now in central to easter OK where the rain is better, you do need to watch out though. Real easy for the land to recover and turn into tallgrass prairie. You can still do corn this way though, and even better for the cows.

[@BillDeWitt]

Is "tallgrass prairie" a bad thing? Will cows not eat it or maybe will buffalo help?

[@redddbaron]

***** As forage for cows it is great. Ideal really. But for pasture cropping it is too great...lolz. Pasture cropping relies on an annual grain crop to be planted in a perennial pasture to get a "head start" and produce the grain and afterwards the pasture is grazed. This gives two or more crops on one piece of land...one animal and one grain. But tall grass prairie can get over 4-6 feet tall when healthy. Hard for most grain crops to grow in that for sure. Now I have grown sweet corn in pasture right here in OK. It works just fine. No reduction in yields at all and the corn plant is actually healthier with far less pests and disease just naturally. But might be difficult to grow a modern short stemmed wheat, oats or rye using pasture cropping in tallgrass prairie. I guess you'd have to just try it and see.

[@BillDeWitt]

Oh... I didn't get the term "pasture cropping" at first... it makes sense though.

[@farmermatt629]

Sounds great if your goal is to grow grain for feed not to practical to grow grain to sell... especially if your a grain farmer and don’t have livestock.... or live in a area that usually gets to much rainfall...

[@Lawiah0]

NO-TILL .. but .. keep buying and using all those Chemicals from our paid sponsors.

[@Dollapfin]

Rye=no weeds

[@apb5f24]

Thats bullshit. Weeds come up in rye just as they do on non cover crop fields.

[@farmermatt629]

apb5f24 yep I tried it still had to spray

[@johnmoore3377]

My friend 'originally' doesn't mean from 1910 onwards...This is a man made disaster

[@cormus1]

@rocket8351 actually we have some heavy soil that everyone said that notill wouldn't work, and we have seen improved yields and crop health and easier pulling equipment through the soil after we started no tilling it. It has the same soil type as the red river valley soil of southeastern Manitoba and northeastern North Dakota.

[@NatureIsInfinite]

Tilling is not good. However, neither is using glysophate, other herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers and genetically engineered crops. Not even to mention the devastating effects of this type of mono crop large scale agriculture.

[@jimmartindale]

Take a look at non-invasive tillage with CurseBuster some time.

[@Northern_Farmer]

A lot of the farmers that no tilled here are going back to a at least a minimum til since using to chemicals more often with no till has caused weeds to become resistant now.

[@ignasanchezl]

No weed is resistant to steel

[@Northern_Farmer]

Cant until about 6 years.

[@ignasanchezl]

Will Yerburgh What about the seeds produced by the cover crop? Imagine rape ripens and leaves your field full of seeds

[@countrygent4]

+oilerman9406 - no resistance to weeds develop if you rotate your chemicals and your crops. Plus we have used winter cover crops since 1988 and NO chemical resistant weeds have show up.

[@Northern_Farmer]

Yea it still does cause you have to spray so many times.... should only have to spray once and thats it

[@JamesTyreeII]

Look at how nature does it...no weeding, no chemical, no tillage and no worries. All plants coexist and only disturbance causes problems.

[@farmermatt629]

So are you saying farmers should surrender all the private land that they have bought and return the land to nature and let people forage for food and starve?

[@lazybear83]

The "surface residue" your talking about is the accumulation of herbicides you sprayed on field. Oh this is great science. Thumbs down

[@farmermatt629]

Hmmmm that’s funny what is your soil science background? Are you involved in agriculture... I no till myself took soil science classes in college... and have 20 years exp farming and your above statement shows your ignorance....

[@Elifius]

no till sounds good but next to till organic farming its fails to make the mark the amount of weed killer like roundup that has to be used can no way be good for the environment... here again we see big company pushing an idea that is well intentioned and using it to their advantage.... y is it that so little is said about how the cover crops are killed ?????hhhmmmm???/

[@farmermatt629]

So what would you suggest as a substitute that a farmer can make a living and profit without cultivation while continuing to no till or strip till... I myself as a strip till/no till farmer use same about of chemicals I always have not more

[@trevorbostwick7677]

How are you supposed to plant crop rows without tillage? I see the benefits but idk how it will work if you have so much organic matter build up covering the surface..

[@svetlanikolova7673]

watch the BTE FILM !!!!

[@svetlanikolova7673]

use compost in the fall, and you plant right in in the spring. Piece if cake. I have been doing it 2 years now.I mulch after my plants are 10/12 inches tall. DO THIS.. IN THE FALL PUT 10 INCHES OF COMPOST 10 INCHES OF MULCH. LET IT ROT ALL WINTER IN THE SPRING, MOVE TJEMULCH ASIDE AND PLANT IN TE COMPOST. EVERY 2 Years, lower the compost layer by 2 incges, while you keep the mulch layer the same to keep soil life happy and soil moist see? Very easy

[@TreyNitrotoluene]

Thank you!