Tillage Survey News Release

For use October 1993 - September 1994

For more information, contact: Editor at CTIC: (765) 494-9555

National Survey: Conservation Tillage, Putting the Plow to Rest

West Lafayette, IN - A nationwide survey shows more farmers are abandoning the plow for the economic and environmental benefits of conservation tillage. The 1993 National Crop Residue Management Survey indicates the number of planted acres that benefit from less tillage could soon outpace the acres that are plowed or tilled clean of crop residues.

Farmers who practice conservation tillage, either no-till, ridge-till or mulch-till, leave 30 percent or more of the residues from previous crops on the ground after planting.

According to the survey, this soil-protecting and labor-saving practice has been adding an average of about 9 million acres for the last 2 years and is now less than 11 million acres away from the number of acres that are clean tilled. Survey coordinator Jerry Hytry, executive director of the nonprofit Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC), predicts the acres of conservation tillage will overtake the number of acres clean tilled next year. "Economics are driving this transition and I fully expect conservation tillage to exceed clean tilled acres in 1994," says Hytry.

The survey, which includes more than 3,000 counties nationwide, shows conservation tillage accounted for over 97 million acres or nearly 35 percent of total cropland acres planted in 1993. Almost 39 percent or nearly 108 million acres are being clean tilled, leaving little or no residue.

The remaining planted acres show up in a 15-30 percent residue category which is not a form of conservation tillage but may represent a positive system for soil erosion control. Combined with other conservation practices like strip cropping, terraces, and rotations, 15-30 percent residue levels can provide adequate erosion control. Adding the 15-30 percent category to conservation tillage acres, more than 170 million acres or 61 percent of the 278 million planted acres in the U.S. utilized some form of crop residue management system (see graph, bottom of this page).

Conservation tillage categories

Mulch-till is the largest among the conservation tillage categories, adding 1.6 million acres this year for a total of almost 59 million acres. No-till continues to post the largest annual increases in the conservation tillage categories, growing more than 6.7 million acres this year to encompass almost 35 million acres in 1993. Ridge-till grew by 100,000 acres this year, it now accounts for about 3.5 million acres nationwide.

Regional/State highlights

Regions with the greatest conservation tillage acreage are: Corn Belt - 37 million acres, Northern Plains - 24 million acres, and the Great Lakes States - 9.5 million acres. No-till is most prominent in the Corn Belt with 18 million acres, followed by the Appalachian region with 4 million acres. The largest mulch-till state is Iowa with 6.9 million acres, followed closely by Illinois with 6.3 million acres. Mulch-till is the strongest of the conservation tillage types in the Southern Plains, Mountain and Pacific regions. Ridge-till's top state is Nebraska, with nearly 1.5 million acres. Minnesota, a distant second, has 600,000 acres. Ridge-till is most practiced in the Northern Plains with 1.9 million acres, followed by the Corn Belt with 700,000 acres, and closely behind are the Great Lakes States with 600,000 acres.

Crop-related highlights

No-till corn has more than doubled in 5 years from 7 percent to 17 percent of all planted acres in 1993. No-till full season soybeans have increased over 5 times in the last 5 years, from 4 percent of total planted acres to 22 percent this year. Use of conservation tillage for full season soybean production now exceeds 47 percent of planted acres, half of which is mulch-till. No-till cotton has increased more than 3 times in the last 3 years, with Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and Mississippi leading the way.

Crop Residue Management is:
Profitable!
Saves time
Saves fuel
Saves machinery
Conserves water
Provides cost-effective
    weed control
Increases management
    flexibility
Crop Residue Management:
Improves the Soil!
Adds organic matter
Decreases soil
   compaction
Improves soil tilth
Increases earthworms
Crop Residue Management is:
Environmentally Sound!
Protects soil
Reduces surface water
   pollution
Reduces air pollution

The National Crop Residue Management Survey is produced annually by the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC), in cooperation with the USDA Soil Conservation Service. CTIC is a nonprofit, ag-based technology transfer center that promotes environmentally beneficial and economically viable natural resource systems.

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