Organic vs. No-Till Movements

1
Organic vs. No-Till Movements

• Sowhat exactly are they?

2
Organic Farming

• Farming method implementing natural methods to
  feed soil and reduce pests
• Ideally producing good crop yields with minimal
  impact on the environment and on ecological
  factors
• Use of synthetically-produced fertilizers,
  pesticides, growth hormones and growth regulators
  is prohibited
• Biological, mechanical and cultural management
  techniques
• Government approved certifiers inspect farms and
  handling companies

3

No-Till Farming

• a.k.a. conservation tillage or zero tillage once
  called chemical farming
• growing crops from year to year without
  disturbing the soil through tillage the soil is
  left intact and crop residue is left on the field
• Helps to retain carbon in soil
• Regular tillage agitates the soil in various
  ways, usually with tractor-drawn implements
• Tilling is used to remove weeds, mix in
  fertilizers, create furrows for irrigation and
  for seeding
• Leads to unfavorable effects
• Soil compaction
• Loss of organic matter
• Degradation of soil aggregates
• Death or disruption of soil microbes, arthropods,
  and earthworms
• Soil Erosion topsoil is blown away

4
HistoryThe Organic Movement

• Rudolf Steiner
• Biodynamics
• Sir Albert Howard (1873 1937)
• Organic farming pioneer
• Lady Eve Balfour
• The Living Soil
• Walter Northbourne
• Term Organic Farming
• Jerome Rodale 1942
• Popularized organic farming in U.S.A.
• Rachel Carson
• Silent Spring

5
HistoryThe No-Till Movement

• International and
• national development
• of techniques
• - USA, Latin America, Africa, Australia, New
  Zealand, Asia, Europe

• Indigenous cultures
• Ancient Egyptians and Incas
• Great Plains (1930s)
• Dust Bowl!
• Edward Faulkner (1940s)
• Plowmans Folly
• Paraquat (UK - 1955)
• Pesticide

Ravages of the Dust Bowl on a Ranch in Texas in
the 1930s gtgt
6
Methods
7

Bibliography Organic farming label
http//www.organic-europe.net/europe_eu/default.as
p John Deere no-till tractor http//ag-america.o
rg/prod02.htm history of organic farming
http//www.westonaprice.org/farming/history-organi
c-farming.html Silent spring pic
https//fifthseasongardening.com/catalog/index.php
?cPath648_649 no-till history
http//www.rolf-derpsch.com/notill.htm Texas
dust bowl http//www.legendsofamerica.com/WE-Slan
g8.html Organic Farming definition
http//www.worldhungeryear.org/fslc/faqs2/ria_609.
asp?section9click9 No-till Definition
http//researchnews.osu.edu/archive/notill.htm Or
ganic Tomatoes http//organicday.blogspot.com/ S
teps Toward a Successful Transition to
No-Till Better Soils with the No-Till
System Organic Farming Methods
http//www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/06
-103.htm

8
Organic Farming

• Effects on Productivity and Environmental Issues

9
Agricultural Productivity

• Similar yields to conventional farming
• Produce is often of better quality
• In drought conditions, organic crops can have
  higher yields than conventional farming
• Better soil conditions lead to healthier crops
• Less time consuming, more acres can be tended

10
Environmental Impacts - Soils

• More organic matter in soil
• Increased biodiversity, above and below surface
• Reduced soil erosion
• Thicker topsoil
• Reduced nutrient leaching
• Greater water retention
• Helps to build soils, instead of degrading them
• However, organic farming still involves tillage

11
Environmental Impacts on Water Resources

• Decreased runoff reduces pollutants in rivers and
  oceans
• Nitrate pollution in groundwater reduced
• No chemical treatment means less nutrient runoff
• Decreases algal blooms
• Reduction in dead zones

12
Environmental Impacts Climate Change

• Organic fields retain carbon, reducing carbon
  dioxide in the atmosphere
• Organically grown crops require less fossil fuel
  energy to produce, reducing carbon emissions

13

• http//amethyst.epa.gov/revatoolkit/images/pic1038
  0.jpg
• http//www.nitrate.com/potting_soil.jpg
• http//www.hcrs.calpoly.edu/images/students/depart
  mentFacilities/organic-farm-collage.jpg
• http//www.actnow.com.au/files/115/earth.jpg

14
No-Till Movement
15
No-till

• A system for planting crops without plowing,
  using herbicides to control weeds and resulting
  in reduced soil erosion and the preservation of
  soil nutrients.

16
No-till Equipment

• No plows or tillage equipment is needed for true
  No-till.
• No-till Drills are used to plant seed
• The drill is specialty planter that efficiently
  cuts through residue, opens the seed bed, seeds,
  and closes the trough.

17
No-Till Effects

• Production Benefits and Risks
• Environmental Benefits and Risks

18
Production Benefits

• Increased Soil Organic Matter
• Increased Water Capacity
• Increased Night Crawler Population
• Improved Soil Structure
• Reduced Field Time

19
Production Risks

• Cooler and Wetter Planting Soils
• Increase In Perennial Weeds
• Increase In Chemical Costs
• Potential For Disease Increase
• Some Crops Do Not Tolerate Competition

20
Environmental Benefits

• Decreased Erosion Potential
• Increased Carbon Sink
• Higher Biodiversity Level

21
Environmental Risks

• Increased Use of Pesticides and Herbicides
• Disease Bed Potential

22

• http//dictionary.reference.com/browse/no-till
• http//www.montana.edu/wwwpb/ag/baudr136.html
• http//www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/jul07/soil07
  07.htm
• http//www.greatplainsmfg.com/images/NoTillImages/
  notill.jpg
• http//www.gpa.notill.org/images/nt_corn.jpg
• http//caseih.com/files/tbl_s54PageItems5CImage35
  85C3695CSDX40-008-04.jpg
• Betters Soils with the No-Till System
• Steps Toward a Successful Transition to No-Till
• A Conservation Catalog