COLUMBUS, OH - As Ohio farmers plan for this coming spring planting, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) urges them to consider making conservation tillage their primary seeding technique.
Conservation tillage is the single best practice a crop farmer can use to save soil and protect groundwater, said Larry Vance, chief of the ODNR Division of Soil & Water Conservation. We need to continue to build on the great legacy our state has as a leader in the development and use of this resource-protecting practice.
Conservation tillage involves leaving at least 30 percent of a crops residue on the surface as a protective cover for soil. Popular variations are known as no-till, strip-till and ridge-till farming. Compared to conventional tillage, these mulch tillage methods reduce soil erosion by 50 to 90 percent and pesticide movement by up to 70 percent.
While Ohio is a leader in conservation agriculture, recent surveys show that conservation tillage is practiced on only 56 percent of Ohios nearly 10,000,000 acres of cropland.
We have many accomplishments to be proud of, but there is still much work to do, Vance said. Were still losing too much soil. In 1993 alone, Ohio lost enough soil to fill more than 400,000 dump trucks. Thats enough trucks to fit six across, bumper to bumper, from Cincinnati to Cleveland.
Vance points out that conservation tillage isnt practiced just for its many environmental benefits. A farmer planting 500 acres this year can save as much as 225 hours and 1,750 gallons of fuel in just one planting season. Fewer trips across the field mean less soil compaction and savings of up to $2,500 on machinery wear alone.
I urge Ohio farmers who have not yet adopted this highly practical and soil-saving measure to contact their local soil and water conservation district for expert assistance, said Vance.