NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE

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NATURAL RESOURCESCONSERVATION SERVICE

• Role Provide Technical Assistance To Private
  Landowners To Identify And Solve Resource
  Problems.

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Accomplished By

• On-site
• Develop conservation plans with the producer
• Identify resource problems
• Identify conservation practices systems to
  address problems
• Assemble in a conservation plan.

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Conservation Practices

• Building block of the conservation plan
• Conservation Practices - BMP
• Defined by the practice standard

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Practice Standard

• Defines the practice
• Criteria
• Where the practice applies
• How it is implemented
• How it is maintained

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Conservation Practices And Carbon Sequestration

• 3 Practices/BMP
• Residue Management - No-Till
• Residue Management - Direct Seed
• (Interim practice for Idaho, Washington, Oregon)
• Residue Management - Mulch Till
• Criteria soil surface disturbance

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Criteria

• No-Till
• Tillage not allowed from harvest of the previous
  crop to placement of seed fertilizer of the
  next crop.
• Placement of seed fertilizer results in lt 33
  soil surface disturbance.

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Criteria

• Direct Seed
• Tillage not allowed from harvest of the previous
  crop to seed fertilizer placement of the next
  crop
• Seed fertilizer placement results in gt 33 but
  lt 66 soil surface disturbance

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Criteria

• Mulch Till
• Full width tillage allowed (100)
• Acceptable soil erosion rate (RUSLE)
• High residue conventual system

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Definitions

• Full width tillage disturbance of 100 of the
  soil surface.
• Plow, disk, chisel, cultivator
• Soil Surface Disturbance surface area
  disturbed by placement seed placement implement.

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Determination Of Soil Disturbance

• Width of the seed placement tool 1 in. / row
  spacing disturbance

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Kind of Equipment

• Specialized Drills
• Most are 1 pass operations that place seed and
  fertilizer at the same time
• Some 2 pass operations
• shank fertilizer
• drill
• Manufactured Home Made

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Relation To Carbon Sequestration

• Objective Of Residue Management Practices
• Maintain residue from previous crop on the soil
  surface
• Reduce number of tillage operations needed to
  establish a crop

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Intensive tillage systems

• physically breaks down residue
• incorporates or buries residue
• accelerates residue decomposition
• tillage residue decomposition releases C02

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Pros

• Increase soil condition and tilth (Soil Condition
  Index)
• Reduce soil erosion
• Once system is established yields costs lt
  conventual system

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Cons

• Specialized equipment.
• Requires a change in farming practices.
• Long term commitment.
• Establishment of the system takes 3-5 years.
• first 2 - 3 years are hardest
• pests (weeds)
• soil reconsolidation
• change in attitude

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What Does It Look Like

• No-Till

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What Does It Look Like

• Direct Seed