2000 Crop Residue Management Survey
News Release - Southeast Version
NEWS RELEASE __________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Dan
Towery
November
3
, 2000
(765) 494-6952
No-till
on the upswing
Results of tillage system usage survey released
WEST
LAFAYETTE, Ind. More farmers are just saying “no” to tillage. A survey of
tillage system usage in the U.S. released today reports that since 1990,
the number of U.S. cropland acres planted without tillage has increased
more than 200 percent to 51 million acres today.
Southeast states planted 39% of the corn, 20% of the cotton, and
58% of the soybeans using no-till systems, which plant seeds into a
cover crop or the stem, stalk and leaf residue of a previous crop
without using tillage.
The
2000 Crop Residue Management Survey, released today by the Conservation
Technology Information Center (CTIC), collects information from each
county in the U.S. to assess tillage system usage by crop. “These
survey results verify that more farmers are discovering the benefits of
no-till, especially in cotton and soybeans,” says Bruno Alesii, chair
of CTIC, a public/private partnership in West Lafayette, Ind. In
addition, these conservation tillage farmers are increasing their soil
organic matter and sequestering carbon which is part of the Core 4
Conservation strategy of a systems approach for “better soils, cleaner
water, greater profits and a brighter future.”
By
leaving last year’s crop residue on a field, farmers using
no-till/strip-till systems make fewer tractor trips, use less fuel,
reduce soil loss, improve soil quality and water quality of nearby
streams and lakes. This year’s survey shows that no-till and other
conservation tillage systems make sound economic and environmental sense
to
farmers, according to Dave Schertz, national agronomist with U.S.
Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service.
“Conservation
tillage is a cornerstone of a producers farming operation,” Schertz
says. “By eliminating or significantly reducing tillage trips,
planting cover crops and leaving residue on the soil surface, farmers
are using a more environmentally friendly production system that reduces
input costs and improves profitability.
They are also reducing soil erosion, improving soil structure,
and increasing the organic matter content or carbon content of their
soils.”
Tennessee
and Kentucky both planted 55% of the corn acres no-till. Cotton in the
Southeast jumped from 12.6% of the acres planted no-till in 1998 to
19.9% this year. Tennessee planted 45% of the cotton acres no-till.
Improvements in weed control options including GMO cotton contributed to
this increase. 49% of all
crops in Kentucky were planted no-till.
Georgia planted almost 7% of the state’s peanuts
no-till/strip-till. A few
years ago it was thought that it was impossible to grow peanuts without
multiple tillage operations. In
Alabama no-till cotton increased from 18.5% in 1998 to 34.7% this year.
Alesii
attributes the upward trend in no-till to the efforts of partnership
groups working to increase adoption of conservation tillage practices in
the Southeast. “ The increase in no-till acres in these states is very
gratifying,” he says. “The public/private partnership working
together with farmers can transfer site-specific solutions such as
strip-till. I expect to see a substantial increase in no-till acres in
future years.”
No-till
usage nationwide has increased nearly 7 percent in the last two years to
the current level of 17.6 percent of 290 million acres of annually
planted cropland. Other conservation tillage system usage numbers: 18
percent of acres use mulch-till (full-width tillage that leaves more
than 30 percent residue) and 1.2 percent use ridge-till (planting on
ridges formed during cultivation the previous year). Conservation
tillage usage was 36.8 percent nationally this year, a slight decrease
since 1998. This decrease was a result in significantly less mulch-till
acres and was primarily due to an improved residue measuring procedure
utilized by USDA/Natural Resources Conservation Service personnel and
other conservation partners, according to the survey report.
For
more information about the 2000 Crop Residue Management Survey or Core 4
Conservation, please contact Dan Towery, natural resources specialist
with Conservation Technology Information Center, at 765-494-6952 or e-mail
towery@ctic.purdue.edu
. Website :
www.core4.org
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