Civic Issues Post 6: To Till or not to Till?

Hello and welcome back to a final post in this agricultural/environmental issues blog series. Today we’ll be discussing a topic that comes up in almost every environmental science class, but is also almost never explained: Tillage in agricultural systems. Specifically, focusing on the concept of no till agriculture.

What Can Farmers Do About Climate Change? No-Till | National Farmers Union

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If you’ve ever taken a soils or environmental science class, or simply are just interested in sustainability, you’ve probably at least heard of no till agriculture. I know in my high school AP environmental science class the topic was covered something like this:

Teacher: “…and another thing that can be done to improve the environment is farmers can implement a no till system into their farming practices because it is better”

And while that was enough for people to do well on the exam, I’ve noticed many people still don’t entirely understand what it means and the various pros/cons that are associated with it. Is it really as good as advertised?

Definitions

Tillage refers to the agricultural preparation of soil by mechanical agitation. Historically this was done with hand tools or animal drawn plows. Currently, it is done with large tractors in most areas of the developed world. The general concept is to loosen or break up the soil prior to planting.

It should be pretty obvious then that a no till system is a system which uses no (or very minimal) tillage.

Pros of No-Till

The general concept of no till is reliant on the idea that soil naturally regulates itself because it is a living community of microorganisms which all work together to allow for various functions. Therefore, it is argued that tillage is destructive to the soil community and overall is a negative practice. Turing over the soil also increases the amount of oxygen the soil is exposed to, which can lead to the release of sequestered carbon and contributes to the greenhouse effect.

Porosity and Permeability Definition & Overview | What Is Soil Porosity? - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com

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It is also argued that although tilling initially loosens up the soil by breaking up big clumps, it also damages the soil profile and will lead to the soil collapsing back in on itself and becoming even more dense than it was before tillage. This results in soil which is compacted, that restricts root growth and water infiltration. When water cannot infiltrate the soil, it must run off the surface which can lead to the pollution of surface water and increased rates of erosion. By preserving the normal soil structure/profile, more water is able to infiltrate over time and the amount of runoff from a field is decreased.

Building Resilient Soil Systems using Residue, No-till, and Cover Crops | CropWatch | University of Nebraska–Lincoln

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Finally, no till systems typically leave the crop residue in place on top of the soil. This can help to reduce soil erosion because the root structure is still intact and able to hold the soil from washing away. The residue can also act as mulch for the next crop and reduce the need for watering by protecting the soil from the harsh sun.

Cons of No-Till

Despite all these advantages, there are still a couple things that need to be kept in mind. First, when getting a new field established, it can take several years for the soil structure to develop into a robust enough state that it can provide the water infiltration and erosion control benefits usually associated with no till.

Additionally, it is simply easier for farmers to plant and maintain crops on tilled soil, because it is looser and easier to work with.

Does Strategic Tillage for Weed Control Make Sense in No-Till Cropping  Systems? - Getting Rid Of Weeds

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Tillage can also be a way to control weed issues. Sometimes weeds establish themselves in the field before crops can be planted. If not controlled, weeds will outcompete the crop and lead to a large yield reduction. Hand weeding is only practical on a smaller scale, so larger operations typically till under the weeds before they plant the crop. However, if not tilling the field, the weeds must be controlled with an herbicide. This can have significant environmental impacts if the herbicide drifts or runs off into a waterway, and can also lead to the development of herbicide resistant weeds over time. This is perhaps the largest downside to no till is that it greatly increases the amount of herbicides needed.

Finally, although leaving crop residues on the surface can have benefits for moisture conservation and erosion control, they can also house insect eggs, bacteria, or diseases like fungal spores. Normally tillage destroys these pests by breaking them up and exposing them to the elements. Left untreated this cause issues with the next years crop. Practices like crop rotation may help with this, but some insects or diseases are generalists and can affect most common crops within a rotation.

In conclusion, while there are certainly benefits to no till farming, it also has its own set of issues. These issues vary with severity and impact from farm to farm and even year to year, so while they may not be that important one year or at one farm, they could be devastating in another scenario. Because of this, its hard to say for sure if no till is really the best option overall. In my opinion, the best approach is probably somewhere between the two: tilling when necessary but trying to limit it whenever possible and doing other things like only tilling right before planting to minimize some of the downsides like soil erosion over the winter. There are also some newer tilling methods and equipment being developed that aim to aerate  and loosen the soil enough to plant in, but not in a manner that is totally disruptive (think slicing the soil instead of mixing it up). These methods could also be used in combination. What do you guys think? Had you ever heard of no-till before, and would you consider using it on your own yard/garden?

Civic Issues Post 5: Precision Agriculture

Welcome back to another post in the civic issues series. Keeping with the environmental/agriculture theme today we’ll be discussing precision agriculture.

Why precision agriculture is essential in combating climate change

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Many of you have probably seen images like this floating around on the internet. Pictures of drones flying over fields of lush green crops or robotic arms harvesting lettuce and other herbs. The technology in these pictures is usually referred to as precision agriculture, and it is often said to be the way of the future. Precision agriculture (PA) is a “farming management concept based on observing, measuring and responding to inter- and intra-field variability in crops” Source. Articles discussing these topics often promise huge savings in time, energy, money, as well as great benefits to the environment. Often however, these articles simply make these claims without ever explaining how this might actually work. So in todays post we’re going to look into the practical applications of this technology with a little more detail.

Drones

How drones are paving a new path for precision agriculture in India -  FactorDaily

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Many depictions of precision agriculture use drones in their thumbnails. This usually consists of a drone hovering over a field of crops with some sort of substance being sprayed out of the drone into the field. This implies that drones can and will be used for applying pesticides or some other chemical to the crops as an alternative to crop duster planes.

While this is technically a possibility, many drones are limited by their weight capacity and cannot move a large tank full of chemicals. Additionally, we already have several different types of technology that can be used for this process. Despite this, drones can definitely still play a large roll in the implementation of precision ag systems. More realistically, drones can be fitted with various camera/sensor systems such as hyperspectral, multispectral and thermal sensors that can help to analyze differences in crop health, nutrition and performance across a large area. With this information, it is possible for the farmer to see that a portion of his field is growing slower than the rest of the field, or is suffering from some disease. The farmer could then calculate an increased amount of fertilizer to apply to that specific portion of the field, which would improve the overall yield, but reduce the amount of resources wasted on portions of the field with naturally greater fertility. This benefits the farmer because they can easily save money on fertilizer or pesticides while also increasing their overall yield. This can also benefit the environment, because it helps to mitigate a large environmental issue associated with agriculture that is fertilizer runoff due to overapplication. Reducing runoff helps to preserve water quality while also reducing salt buildups in the soil.

In ground sensor systems

Soil Monitoring with IoT - Smart Agriculture : Manx Technology Group

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The other main precision ag technique we’ll be discussing is the use of in ground sensor systems. This technique is exactly what it sounds like: a network of sensors that can collect specific real time data from various points in the field to help monitor crops and predict fertilizer and water needs. Sensors can detect soil moisture which can let the farmer know exactly when/where the field needs irrigation. In places such as California, there are high level of agricultural production, but very little natural rainfall. Because of this, farmers need to irrigate their fields, but knowing exactly when to irrigate is difficult because water leaves the soil at different rates depending on a number of factors like sun exposure, air temperature, wind, humidity, etc. The use of sensors can give the farmer real time data that will let them know exactly where, when, and how much to irrigate. This ensures the farmer doesn’t suffer any crop loss to drought, but also makes sure they conserve the limited water resources as efficiently as possible. Similar systems can be used for fertilizer needs, as well as monitoring changes in soil temperature that can prompt developmental changes (like flowering) in certain crops. This gives the farmer a sort of heads up that the flowers are going to form soon, and allows them time to prepare whatever treatments they may be applying come bloom time.

Again, the more efficient use of resources, the lower the environmental impact and the higher the profitability. Because of this, precision ag could have significant implications on improving our cropping systems moving forward. However, at this time the main barrier is cost. All of these high-tech sensors, drones, cameras, etc. all cost money, and right now its a lot of money. Additionally, testing is still needed to calibrate the equipment and find the best ways to implement it. That being said, I’m still confident that we’ll be seeing more of this in the future. In fact, this summer I am participating in an internship program at the University of Florida, working with a professor who specializes in using both soil sensors and drone technology to improve crop productivity while optimizing water and fertilizer use.

I’m interested to hear your thoughts however, do you think this is the future of agriculture, or more of just a fad that will never become a widespread staple?