Randall Reeder, OSU Extension Agricultural Engineer (retired), writes this page, with input from the Ohio No-till Council members. is “Conservation Tillage” an oxymoron? In Ohio and the Corn Belt we know that


“no-till” means no tillage is done between harvest and planting the next crop. In other parts of the country the same practice may be called zero-till or direct-seed. But what about “conservation


tillage?” The term has been used for a few decades for most tillage practices that do not invert the soil slice and leave at least 30% of the soil surface covered with crop residue. The goal is to resist the erosive effects of wind, rain and flowing water so that soil loss is kept to an ac- ceptable level. Often that means no more than five tons of soil loss per acre. “Five tons” is an arbitrary number, and is in- tended to keep topsoil from being lost from the surface any faster than it is being regenerated from below.


However, a retired USDA-ARS soil sci-


entist from Morris, Minn. has raised a seri- ous question. Why do we allow, within the term conservation tillage, a practice that leads to any amount of soil erosion? Don Reicosky (originally from East Sparta, Ohio) wonders if “conservation tillage” is an oxy- moron, perhaps comparable to jumbo shrimp and non-dairy creamer. As I write this Feb. 28, Dr. Reicosky plans to speak at our Conservation Tillage Conference March 6 and present this concept as part of his dis- cussion on the future of no-till. In 1990, I helped write a book called


“Conservation Tillage Systems and Man- agement” (and the second edition in 2000), so you might expect me to resist any change in the term. Should we change the name of our beloved CTC conference?


Healthy soils, Healthy Wallet April 10-11


Dave Brandt and the Fairfield Soil


and Water District are hosting an out- standing event that includes cover crops, planter adjustment, ECO Farm- ing and soil analysis in a pit. The same identical program will be


presented each day, April 10 and 11, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Ray Archuleta, USDA-NRCS,


North Carolina, will return to Ohio to demonstrate and speak on improving soil health to increase profitability. Barry Fisher, NRCS State Agronomist in Indiana, and Mark Scarpitti, NRCS State Agronomist, Ohio, will talk about cover crop mixes for corn/soy- bean rotations and when to use low or high carbon cover crops. Other speak-


ers are Bill Lehmkuhl, Jim Hoorman and Brian Cooley. Rick Haney, USDA-ARS, Temple,


Texas, has analyzed soil samples from Dave’s farm (40-yr. no-till with cover crops, 7-yr. NT, and conventional till) and will explain the results during the field day. There will be a wagon tour of Dave’s cover crop plots (precision planted, aerial seeded, drilled, and fer- tilizer spreader). Registration is $20 (or $25 at the


door). Mail a check to: Fairfield SWCD, 831 College Ave., Lancaster, OH 43130. The location of the field day


is 6100 Basil Western Road, Carroll, Ohio.


SPONSORS John Dignan ~ 800-633-3899


www.agcocorp.com AgriTech


AGCO Corp.


BioTill/Saddle Butte Ron Althoff/Mark Matthews www.saddlebutte.com


Bird Agronomics LLC 800-743-2473 ~ birdhybrids.com


Blue Stone Solutions Ed Cross ~ 937-605-6380


Brookside Consultants of Ohio


937-442-3202


CNMP Services LLC Roger L. Butts 937-750-3202


Art Walkden ~ 740-504-2768 Fennig Equipment


Conklin Products Gary Fennig ~ 419-953-8500


Heritage Cooperative www.heritagecooperative.com


Kale Marketing 740-943-2653


www.Kalemktg.com


Mark Wilson ~ 740-751-4703 www.landstewards.com


Land Stewards, LLC


Monsanto Company/ Dekalb and Asgrow c/o Brad Miller,


Territory Agronomist 614-370-4025


Ohio’s Country Journal ocj.com


Bob Featheringill ~ 419-426-7385


Pineview Sales and Rental


John Schartman ~ 614-847-4002 Pioneer Hi-Bred


Precision Agri-Services Bill Lehmkuhl ~ 419-628-4167 Remlinger


Manufacturing 419-532-3647


R.E. Skillings Supplies Bob and Nathan 1-800-358-8070


Chris Jeffries ~ 740-333-8644 Syngenta


Seed Consultants Bob Froelich ~ 614-507-0427


www.theseedcenter.com 800-660-8789


The Seed Center


Randall Reeder ~ 614-477-0439 www.WillRogersToday.com


Neil Badenhop ~ 419-287-4229 “Will Rogers”


419-532-3130 x-233 Valent USA


800-447-5777 www.yetterco.com Ohio’s Country Journal • ocj.com • Mid-March 2012 • Crops 21


Yetter Manufacturing Jeff Wherley, Terr. Man.


Manufacturing Jerry Ecklund


Unverferth The acceptability of losing five tons of


soil a year (and often much more) is the real issue. Consider the long-term no-till research at the USDA-ARS experiment station at Coshocton where soil loss on an 18% slope watershed was measured in a few pounds per acre most years, not tons. If a field loses 5 tons per year, uni-


formly, it adds up to an inch of topsoil lost every 35 years. So, how long does it take na- ture to form an inch of “new” topsoil? 1,000 years! Dr. Reicosky says, “Growing new soil is very much like growing a giant sequoia tree; it takes centuries.” “We need to change our vocabulary to


emphasize conservation, and de-emphasize tillage. Also, emphasize crop residue man- agement, and de-emphasize soil distur-


rutted fields? If you have fields with ruts, you are


not alone. Unless you delayed harvest until the ground froze, you probably have some compacted soils. What’s the solution? Considering the


mild winter, freeze-thaw cycles did little or nothing to mellow the soil. It is already mid-March, so deep tillage this late will likely do more harm than good. So, for this spring, concentrate on lev-


Upcoming no-Till events


April 10-11, 2012 Healthy Soils event, Fairfield County


Sept. 13, 2012 Ohio No-Till Field Day, Fairfield County


Dec. 5, 2012 Ohio No-Till Confer- ence, Plain City


bance. Do the minimum soil disturbance necessary to accomplish your goals.”


eling the rough areas enough that a no- till planter or drill will work reasonably well. For severe ruts (see photo) a disk, or even a blade, may be the best choice to create a satisfactory surface and eliminate standing water. For suspected deep compaction, post-


pone any action until after harvest this fall. And hope the weather is way better than last fall.


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