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Benefits of high-residue farming

Wildlife and water quality

More wildlife High-residue crop production systems can provide food and shelter for wildlife at critical times. For example, North Carolina researchers have found that crop residues on the soil surface are important for providing food which quail chicks need to survive their first weeks of life (see table 3). Lack of quality habitat and sparse nesting cover are a problem for several bird species. That's why high residue farming is attractive and valuable for helping several forms of wildlife (pheasants, ducks, etc.) thrive in agricultural areas. Planting field borders and managing roadside ditches can also provide habitat. Water quality Conservation tillage systems reduce soil erosion and usually reduce water runoff of pesticides, both the sediment-adsorbed pesticide (attached to soil particles) and the dissolved pesticide (pesticide dissolved in runoff water). In fact, no-till has sometimes resulted in complete elimination of pesticide runoff from fields. A comprehensive comparison of tillage systems shows that, on average, no-till resulted in 70% less herbicide runoff, 93% less erosion, and 69% less water runoff than moldboard plowing-a real boon to improved water quality.

Table 3. Foraging time requirements for quail chicks by field type or border. Many rice growers are using new management techniques to avoid burning residue. They're also reflooding fields after harvest to provide habitat for migratory waterfowl.

Leaching, not a likely problem Conservation tillage has been criticized for one of the possible "side-effects" of the benefits it provides. Because crop residues tend to hold water on fields and reduce runoff, they also increase the amount of water that soaks into the soil. Some are concerned that this could cause nitrates and pesticides to leach into groundwater more readily. While this could be a concern where the water table is quite shallow (within 10 feet of the soil surface), research indicates that movement of chemicals deep into the soil is not a likely problem. The exception, as with virtually any tillage system, is when a heavy rainfall event occurs shortly after application of pesticides. Scouting for the correct time to spray is crucial to avoid potential groundwater problems.