What is No-Till farming? – 5 Top Resources
ADMIN | 30 Oct 2020
“No-till” is one of several farming systems used to grow crops. No-Till systems encourage microbial activity and organisms such as earthworms to thrive naturally, in turn working the soil to provide increased infiltration and favourable conditions for crop growth. As the name suggests, there is no-tillage, which means that you don't work the ground. Crop residues (stubbles) are also left standing to decompose on top of the soil. The standing stubbles will have seeds planted into them, and then the weeds will be controlled using chemicals.
The system improves soil structure which prevents soil erosion which can happen due to wind and rain events. Furthermore, over time, soil health will improve with increased levels of organic material. The soil will become friable, which allows roots to easily penetrate and quickly establish to intercept deeper moisture and nutrients; this is particularly useful when cropping in limited soil moisture.
Top No-Till Resources
In this post, we show some of the best resources for information which can help you understand the practice of NoTill farming. The below is a list of the top No-till resources.
1. Vic No-Till
Based out of Victoria (Australia), Vic No-Till is a leading voice in Australia for the use of no-till farming and regenerative agriculture systems. Vic No-Till began in 2002 after a group of Wimmera farmers joined forces to discuss the benefits they were seeing from using no-till farming techniques. Due to the group's endeavours, they have become very successful as farmers have seen the benefits of no-till and zero-till farming. Vic No-Till has paved the way for the next generation who want to learn these practices and improve their farm. Vic No-Till is now thriving and has nearly two decades of experience working with farmers and tackling challenging issues. They also deliver regular no-till farming events for the community.
2. WANTFA
The Western Australian No-tillage Farmers Association (WANTFA) is the largest agronomic grower group in Western Australia. WANTFA supports the adoption of sustainable and profitable broadacre cropping systems by sharing grower experiences and innovative research. WANTFA was formed in 1992 and built on the ethic of growers helping growers. It is the only WA group solely focused on conservation agriculture (no-tillage and zero-tillage).
3. SANTFA
The South Australian No-Till Farmers Association (SANTFA) is a non-profit farmer-driven organisation that is led by a committee of volunteers. SANTFA has been successfully promoting the benefits of no-till farming systems and conservation farming.
4. No-Till On The Plains
Based out of Kansas (USA), No-till on the Plains, Inc. is a non-profit educational organisation providing information for producers to adopt high-quality continuous no-till systems, and to develop those systems further.
5. No-Till Farmer
Based out of Winconsin (USA), No-till farmer is a leading source in global No-till information. They offer a magazine and website for No-till Farmers, which includes news, suppliers, a store, and publications.
