conventional tillage

       tillage as we used to do it in the conventional form of plowing, discing , planting. is the style of planting and tilling we used to do years ago and i still do think it has its benefits. it improves the tilth  of the soil or the way it breaks apart when plowing . it also incorporates organic material into the soil at a level nature would have a hard time reproducing. effectively this increases your growing zone or your ability of your plants roots to extend greatly. it also serves to increase the moisture holding capacity of the soil , when you increase organic material. 

     having water at critical times is important in the plants growth processes. the increase in organic matter also feeds the plant in lieu of commercial fertilizers. the only addition  to the soil i add as an amendment  is bone meal or lime as needed to enhance ionic exchange capacity of the soil . it is a sweetener allowing a more neutral type soil , more conducive to your plants needs. i add this in place of fertilizer in my drill on a yearly basis or as i plant field. 

       this field for the last four years has had alfalfa hay w/ timothy, first year. second was same , third year was oats, and fourth will be rye as green manure crop with fall seeding of winter wheat. initially we had this as a pasture for many years and then a neighbor plowed and planted in soybeans , then it went back to briers and wire grass. and then i started planting alfalfa. the first year i plowed the soils was tight . kind of a shaley loam but was compacted and grew good weeds and briers first year. second wasn't much better so i decided to plant in oats the third year and soil was braking up better. and today being the fourth time i have plowed it can see rotted organic material in furrow being turned under as well as green manure crop being turned to bottom of furrow with the mold board plow. the soil has a more uniform texture and breaks apart easily , and was easy to plow for most part. 

       with no till i would have one trip with a brush hog over the field to knock down any large weeds. second pass would be to apply herbicide , third would be planting with a no till planter , and a follow up spray approximately a month into growing cycle. a commercial  herbicide applicators license is required as well as extensive training on new planters , gps , and learning how to pay for all this . also include in both is harvesting of your product . 

      conventional tillage includes plowing or discing or chiseling the soil to mix the organic material into the soil profile . next is discing or smoothing of the seed bed to assure good seed / soil  contact. and then planting.  i tend to stay away from corns as weeds are not much of a problem with the grass grains such as oats and wheat. if your crop is healthy it will usually drown out weeds in its growing cycle. i have found it useful in planting a field to prep the field early and then let weeds sprout and then do a final seedbed preparation as it seems to stunt the weeds. 

       chemicals whether in herbicide or insecticide, or applied in the form of fertilizers are not natural ways of growing anything. these chemicals have tendency of not staying where you put them or in some case staying way to long. or requiring more applications of other chemicals, or using a gmo, genetically modified seed , to be able to grow corn soybeans etc.. we are creating sterile fields and the problem is,  we are eating this crap. 

     and so instead of feeding some one in our area , farmer smith sells to the local grainery who has a contract with a California company who sells to china. the wheat or corn is packed into shipping containers or loaded on to bulk carriers to be transported to china to make products to send back home. and every time some one handles that product is getting more expensive. till it ends up back at home as you favorite cereal or food product. 

      i guess at times i would say i have my doubts that we will be able to feed the worlds population in another 30 years as sporadic shortages and changing climate will take its tole on human life and we will  struggle to provide minimum nutrition to the poorest. we need to reduce our energy requirements and can save substantial amounts in selling and marketing of our ag products by first selling locally. and in second place selling a more healthy product free of chemicals. excesses would still be then offered on world markets. 

      it would still be dependent on everyone the consumer the farmer and the marketer of ag products  that what we produce is of high quality as we have to eat it. no till or conventional may be a modification of both to include the best parts of each in the future as we move along. both are both energy dependent , and require a cost analysis to find the better performer. considerations in organic versus commercial fertilizers should also be evaluated. then the most important variable and that is you. , and i and human race as well as our planet. we need to figure out where e are going before we get somewhere we don't really want to be. 

         these are a couple of pics of last years hay feeding area for my cows and now the site of my new compost pile . by feeding the cattle in the area where i was going to compost i saved myself considerable expense of moving from barn to here. the cows don't care where they go to crap as long as there is something there to eat. this is what is left of 30 bales over a winter. this i will push into pile and stir every 30 days for a total 90 days , breaking the manure down  or composting it. and then mixing it back into the soil to replace the commercial fertilizers. manure that is composted will not rob your soil of nutrients like fresh manure would. it takes nitrogen out of your soil to break down the fresh manure in your soil. effectively weakening your soils ability to raise crops . this is why i let it rot before it goes back to the field.