Organic farmer perceptions of reduced tillage: A Michigan farmer survey

Abstract

A common critique of organic farming is that it is very tillage intensive, and therefore deleterious to soil quality. However, little information is available on the tillage practices currently employed by organic farmers, as well as organic farmers’ attitudes toward reduced tillage (RT). To address these knowledge gaps, a detailed written survey of Michigan organic field crop and vegetable farmers was conducted to investigate their current tillage practices, as well as their perceptions of the barriers and benefits to adoption of RT. Respondents reported a wide range in tillage frequency and intensity, both across and within production of specific crops, with operations split evenly between field preparation and cultivation. Compared with field crop growers, vegetable growers were generally smaller scale and relied more heavily on a limited set of tillage (e.g., rototiller) and cultivation tools. Interest in adoption of RT practices among respondents was low to moderate with median Likert scale ratings (0–7 scale with 0 representing no interest and 7 extreme interest) of 4 or less for all forms of RT. Vegetable growers were most interested in permanent beds, rotational tillage and strip tillage, whereas field crop growers were most interested in rotational tillage and strip tillage. The greatest perceived benefits to adoption of RT were improved soil quality and fuel savings. Both groups ranked weeds, impacts on yields, residue management and crop establishment as high barriers to RT adoption. Vegetable growers also cited lack of scale appropriate equipment as a major barrier. Survey results suggest that future research efforts should focus on overcoming key barriers to adoption, such as weed management and access to low-cost adaptable RT equipment rather than reiterating relatively well-known soil quality benefits. Our results also suggest that promotion of incremental reductions in the frequency and intensity of tillage operations on organic farms may be more realistic and equally valuable compared with promotion of more extreme forms of RT such as no-till.

Which management practices influence soil health in Midwest organic corn systems?

“…While 53% of respondents did not report using cover crops, an overwhelming majority of those farmers (78%) reported growing some type of perennial crop during the four-year crop rotation. An overwhelming majority of respondents (92%) also implemented tillage at least once during the fouryear rotation, which is unsurprising since organic farmers typically rely on tillage to control weeds (Lowry & Brainard, 2017).…”

“…Given that this dataset consists of farms that have implemented a wide range of management practices over a four-year period, these analyses needed to go beyond analysis of variance to fully explore the relationships amongst the various management practices in addition to the relationship between management practices and individual soil health indicators. For instance, a consistent critique of organic agriculture is that it heavily relies on tillage intensity for weed control, which has the potential to reduce soil health (Bhardwaj et al, 2011;Lowry & Brainard, 2017;Osterholz et al, 2020). Thus, we were particularly interested in understanding the relationship between tillage frequency and crop diversity in addition to tillage frequency and use of perennials (Figure 4).…”

Strip Intercropping of Rye–Vetch Mixtures: Effects on Weed Growth and Competition in Strip-tilled Sweet Corn

“…Preventive and cultural weed management strategies that act to decrease weed emergence and increase crop competitiveness must be integrated into organic systems for reduced tillage to be a viable option (Barberi 2002; Brainard et al 2013; Mirsky et al 2013). Surveys of organic growers in Michigan demonstrate that they are well aware of soil-related benefits of reducing tillage but are hesitant to adopt reduced-tillage practices, in large part due to concerns that weed management will become a greater challenge (Lowry and Brainard 2017a). Two cultural strategies that may increase crop competitiveness and reduce weed management costs are use of cover crop mulches and targeted placement of nutrient amendments.…”

A “Win‐Win” for Soil Conservation? How Indiana Row‐Crop Farmers Perceive the Benefits (and Trade‐offs) of No‐Till Agriculture

“…Other research has demonstrated that no‐till increases soil organic matter and carbon sequestration—a major benefit in a time of growing concern over industrial agriculture’s contribution to the release of greenhouse gases (Lal 2004; Bayer et al 2006; Baker et al 2007). Several studies also highlight that no‐till and reduced tillage have gained acceptance among farmers because of perceived reductions in operating costs—including lower fuel and labor expenses—in addition to the aforementioned environmental benefits (Sattler and Nagle 2010; Vitale et al 2011; Lowry and Brainard 2019; Bavorová et al 2020).…”