By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent

CINCINNATI, Ohio — Conventional plowing methods may still be the norm. No-tillage is gaining strength in popularity, but with this method there are plenty of skeptics, and many attended the 19th annual National No-Till Conference in Cincinnati last week.

“Me and my two sons are now using the conventional way of doing things on our 155-acre farm in southeast Ohio,” said 64 year-old John Retherford. “I’m probably set in my ways some, but I came to learn of the benefits of no-till plowing. My only concern is how the soil can replenish itself of nutrients with no turnover of the soil.”

Retherford and some of the estimated 2,200 other farmers on opening night had similar questions. Some in attendance were using a mix of conventional and no-till. But for many, it was a chance to be convinced of no-till benefits.
To answer many of those questions was The Ohio State University extension educator Jim Hoorman of Mercer County. He was one of the top keynote speakers, and electrified the audience with his facts, enthusiasm and many years of experience in dealing with no-till.

His message was simple – use no-till with a cover crop.

“Hopefully I dispelled some of the myths about no-till,” Hoorman said after his 40-minute lecture. “Tillage changes the way microorganisms decompose and recycle organic residues and nutrients. In fact, soil organic matter levels have decreased 60 to 70 percent during the last century due to tillage.
“Farmers need to finally realize that they need to build a soil ecology that recycles nutrients and improves the soil structure.”

Hoorman pointed out many downfalls of conventional methods, such as erosion, compaction from tires and loss of soil nutrients. But he spent most of his time stressing the benefits of going no-till.

“We need to leave that organic matter alone and not disturb the topsoil,” he explained. “That organic matter controls so many different processes in the soil. The more organic matter available, the more productive soil available, and the better one’s yields will be.”

Tilling the soils, Hoorman adds, simply oxidizes the organic matter. Bringing a little chemistry to his lecture, he stressed the importance of keeping nitrogen, phosphorous and carbon in any farm field.

“When you think of corn you have to think of nitrogen,” Hoorman said, “but we lost so much of that nitrogen when we till in the spring. Corn, for instance, has a high nitrogen requirement and it’s relatively inefficient at recovering the nitrogen it needs from conventional methods.

“Right now farmers are only getting 30 to 50 percent of the nitrogen out of the soil with commercial fertilizers they’re putting on the ground. That comes out to be 50 cents a pounds for the fertilizer. That’s expensive. Nitrogen and soil organic matter are linked in the soil.”

One surefire way to keep nitrogen in the ground, Hoorman said, is by using cover crops.

“One would have to use no-till for seven to nine straight years to get back the nutrients in the soil, but by using a cover crop along with no-till, a farmer could replenish that soil in about two to four years,” he said. “And with a little manure it would take a little less time than that.”

Hoorman shared statistics that show just 1-3 percent of organic matter remain in the soil after conventional plowing, while those percentages elevate from 4-6 percent using no-till.

Phosphorus and carbon are other key minerals for soil, and Hoorman stresses they are lost with conventional farming methods.

“Fifty to 75 percent of available phosphorous in the soil is organic, and phosphorous stabilizes the organic matter and forms a bridge with the clay,” he said. “Adding a cover crop with no-till will help the soil act as a biological plow that absorbs the nitrogen and phosphorous.

“When speaking of carbon, we should realize that cover crops are a good source of carbons and fungus in the soil is a good source of that carbon. Conventional tillage is like a tornado tearing a house down. With no-till your soil is 20 to 30 percent efficient with carbon. No-till leaves fungus in the soil, and fungus has a 40 to 55 percent carbon usage.”

Hoorman was questioned about no-till in a time of a drought. No problem, he replied: “Every pound of soil organic matter has the ability to store 18 to 20 pounds of water. This organic matter acts as a sponge. Remember, every 1 percent of organic matter will hold one inch of water. No-till is a win-win.”
The four-day conference included 18 general session speakers, 20 no-till classrooms and 60 face-to-face no-till roundtable discussions.