No-Till Conference Meets in State College

CHRIS TORRES
Staff Writer

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Environmental stewardship and the potential to make more money were two recurring themes that came out of this year’s Pennsylvania No-Till Alliance Conference held here this week.

The third annual meeting of the state’s no-till farmers drew more than 200 people to the Ramada Inn on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Tuesday’s session featured a roundtable discussion on the latest issues no-till farmers face in building their business.

On Wednesday, Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Dennis Wolff spoke to the conference and called no-till critical for farmer profitability and the environment. “You’ve come a long way, baby,” is how Wolff described the industry’s advances in technology and yield production.

Wolff said no-till is critical to Gov. Ed Rendell’s energy independence initiatives, as it promotes better efficiency through the use of less fuel. “This is about cutting energy bills,” he said.

He also said it is important to saving the Chesapeake Bay as no-till decreases soil run off that can result from tillage.

Two keynote speakers attempted to help farmers “connect the dots” to successful no-till farming.

Dan Towery of Ag Conservation Solutions in Lafayette, Ind. compared the struggles many farmers had in the early days of no-till to our country’s intelligence failures leading up to the Sept. 11 terror attacks. “We didn’t connect the dots,” he said.

The key to being successful in no-till is patience and paying attention to details, Towery said. Understanding soil biology is also important.

Converting from tillage to a continuous no-till system consists of four phases: initialization, transition, consolidation and maintenance. Getting through all the phases can take up to 20 years. But in the end, Towery said a good no-till system will have a continuous, natural flow of nitrogen and carbon and will have an abundance of water that can get farmers through drier years.
“You can’t do this in one year. It takes time,” he said.

Instead of working the soil, Towery said farmers should let the soil work for them. He said a good system will improve nutrient and moisture uptake and will allow more oxygen to get to the roots. “We can make it work,” he said.

Success also hinges on attention to detail, Towery said. And that means watching what soil type you are planting in, rotating various cover crops and having a good weed management program.

Towery said a good cover crop will reduce weeds and insects. But make sure you select varieties that yield well and have a good, early vigor.

Weed control starts with a fall seeding of winter annuals and crop rotation for specific weed problems.

A successful operation can generate high yields, just as one farm he pointed to in Virginia that has been farming no-till for 18 years and last year saw an average yield of 334.8 bushels per acre. “Farmers, you are in the business of making money. And continuous no-till can help with that,” he said.

Speaking of attention to detail, Ed Winkle of Hymark Consulting, LLC in Martinsville, Ohio challenged farmers to take a closer look at their soil management, seed quality and crop rotation.

Winkle said farmers should have soil tests done when deciding which land to no-till. “Don’t guess. Soil test and back it up with a tissue test,” he said.

Know your seed salesperson. Winkle said some seeds can vary in the yields they produce by as much as 30 bushels per acre. So picking better seeds is important. “I ask you, does your supplier buy the best seed available? Quality seed is very important,” he said.

When it comes to crop rotation, Winkle said stretch it out and diversify. He said rotating crops can increase yields, just as it did on his farm in Ohio.

Jeff McClellan, senior extension associate at Penn State and coordinator of the Pennsylvania No-Till Alliance, said he was pleased with this year’s show and sees no-till growing by leaps and bounds in the coming years. “There are so many ways we can make a positive impact in our state and that’s pretty encouraging,” McClellan said.

More on the no-till conference is scheduled for an upcoming issue.