Just as we blend, cut, and fold ingredients together to follow a recipe, farmers use equipment to stir together soil and crop residue (stalks and roots of previous crops) before planting.
Just as we blend, cut, and fold ingredients together to follow a recipe, farmers use equipment to stir together soil and crop residue (stalks and roots of previous crops) before planting. This mechanical action is called tillage.
Similar to our kitchen cupboard with a blender, mixer, and beater, farmers have access to a variety of tillage equipment. Farmers choose the “right” piece of tillage based on many factors, including location, soil type, crop, and landscape.
Tillage has been around for thousands of years. “It is difficult for nearly anyone to grow a crop, or even a garden, without unconsciously going through the motions of tillage,” says Aaron Daigh. “I see it as a near equivalent to muscle memory or a natural reflex.” Daigh is a researcher and professor at North Dakota State University.
Modern conservation tillage practices protect the soil and environment. For example, they can reduce erosion from water or wind and keep nutrients in the right place.
Read more at American Society of Agronomy
Image: Strip till (left) and chisel plow (right) strips for on-farm research. (Credit: Aaron Daigh)
