By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent

PLAIN CITY, Ohio — Cutting no-till costs, improving soil quality, growing profit margins with cover crops: These will be the topics of conversation during this year’s No-Till Conference Dec. 7 in Plain City.

A professional panel that includes a conservation agronomist, crop researcher, soil scientist and plant pathologist will highlight this one-day event, which includes a wealth of information and even a no-till soil demonstration. Cover crop research results will be revealed as well.

But perhaps the speaker who will likely convince attendees that no-till is the way to go will be David Brandt, a farmer from Carroll County, Ohio. Brandt, who is also a member of the Ohio No-Till Council, has been no-till farming for 39 years and has no plans of ever going back to conventional plowing.

“I began with no-till in 1971 and have been at it since,” said Brandt, who added his farm has been 100 percent no-till since 1984.

While other speakers will share their fact-finding research with the gathering, Brandt will share years of firsthand experience in dealing with no-till. Today he tends 1,150 acres in Carroll County (450 in corn and beans, another 150 in wheat) – all using no-till.

“With no-till I’ve noticed an increase in organic matter in the soil,” Brandt said. “There’s so many benefits with no-till, I now have more earthworms than I ever had, so when we have a rain the water moves through the soil much better.”

The use of no-till is on the rise. Statistics from the USDA show that between 2005-09 the use of no-till increased rapidly. Roughly 35.5 percent of U.S. cropland planted to eight major crops (or 88 million acres) had no-till operations in 2009.

Last year’s figures indicated that soybean farmers had the highest percentage of planted acres with no-till. For corn, that was at 29.5 percent. Cotton farmers practiced no-till on 23.7 percent of their land, while rice farmers had the lowest percentage of planted acres with no-till, at 16.3 percent.

And then there’s the other benefits advocates list. No-till allows the soil to retain more organic matter, which stores or sequesters carbon, which is not available to contribute to global warming as carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. Greenhouse gas benefits are largest when no-till is practiced over a prolonged period.

Experts say the benefits of no-till are as varied as the many aspects of farming itself. Agriculturally, water infiltration and soil holding capacity increase, so plants are less affected by dry spells. Ecologically, soil quality and soil life improve. Conservation-wise, there’s less soil erosion.

“And, there’s the economics involved,” Brandt said. “We don’t have any erosion so we’re able to reduce our input on fertilizers or chemicals. That’s a huge savings.”

Cover crops play a key role in successful no-till ventures. Brandt, for example, plants peas and radishes in his wheat rotation. Cover crops with no-till will be a major thrust at the upcoming conference.
“With our cover crops we’re lowering our fertilizer costs by 50 to 60 percent each year,” Brandt said. “Cover crops loosen the soil with the root mass from the cover.”

Ohio State University extension educator Alan Sundermeier and OSU soil scientist Rafiq Islam will discuss cover crops research results.

Extension plant pathologist Pierce Paul will discuss how to manage vomitoxin with no-till, while conservation agronomist Ray Archuleta of USDA’s National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will discuss ways to improve soil function through crop diversity. A cover crop farm panel will be in place as well.

The conference will include the No-Till Awards, which honors the industry’s top educator/researcher, business/industry and no-till farmer.

The program will be at Der Dutchman Restaurant, 445 S. Jefferson Avenue in Plain City. The program runs from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Registration is $30 before Dec. 2 and $35 at the door. This includes refreshments, lunch and conference materials. Participants may receive Certified Crop Advisor credits.

The conference is sponsored by the Ohio No-Till Council in cooperation with OSU extension and the NRCS. For more information, log onto http://fabe.osu.edu/notill or contact Randall Reeder by calling 614-292-6648 or e-mailing reeder.1@osu.edu
Mail registrations to: Mark Wilson, Land Stewards, 1122 Somerlot Hoffman Road East, Marion, OH 43302. Checks should be made payable to Ohio No-Till Council.