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Texas | Wow, just wow. Who seems to be showing the one size fits all theory here, tillers or no tillers. Everyone around me said no till wouldnt work. I started it 5 years ago and my yields are getting better. I am a several miles away from Dutch(I don't know him personally) but am very familiar with the types of soils he works and the problems he has. I don't know if he uses no till or not but I know either way is what works for him. He and farmers in our area have unique situations we have to deal with and each of us deals with them in their own ways.
In my situation I use no till on irrigated, conventional tillage on drip, and conservation tillage on dryland. I don't run a moldboard plow because it is simply not economical. I treasure organic matter and do everything I can to keep it on the top of the ground to keep my soil from blowing away. I also use the organic matter to catch every drop of water I can. I plant a cover crop of rye or wheat knowing that I will probably have to water it up and to get it to grow. We have about 15 to 20 inches of rain a year and most of that comes in May, June and August and September. So if I have the organic matter in may I will probaably catch more with very little runoff where I have organic matter.
I have also found that the organic matter and cover crops protect my young cotton plants from high winds, blowing sand, and thunderstorms. It helps me get off to a better start. After 5 years of no-till I have found that my yields are going up and are doing better than those around me with more tillage. It gives me more money to spend on fertilizer and water. I also do not plow out moisture.
Finally, I will try strip till on a pivot this year. I have seen some good results from others and want to try it. I don't believe it will kill my soil borne organisms like convential tillage. I want to see what it will do for volunteer plants seedling emergence and water penetration. | |
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Recreational tillage ... feel better already
