Abstract:

In conservative agriculture, there are alternative methods to restoring soil back to health. Just like our bodies need rest when they are tired or hungry, soil acts the same way. How do farmers know that? Fields don’t produce the same amount of yield, or diseases infect plants. The soil can lack nutrients needed to grow good crops. It may be more prone to erosion or have other physical problems.

Giving a field rest means the field is empty for a season or more. While this field does not provide income for the grower, continued fertilization is expensive. A bare field also runs the risk of erosion.

Research performed by Lars Munkholm at Aarhus University studied the impact of conservation agriculture techniques over a span of 11 years on two different farms. They combined the use of these techniques:

• Creating very little soil disturbance
• Ensuring permanent organic soil cover
• Diversifying the crops grown on the farmland

The fields they studied are in Denmark, and have sandy loam soils. An ideal soil for farming is usually a type of loam, with a good mixture of sand, silt, and clay particles. But sandy loam soils have less clay to hold the soil together. The typical Danish farmer needs to successfully grow food and feed on these soils, making this study important for the nation's agribusiness industry.

This study found that in fields with less tillage, leaving crop residue on the soil was a good solution. In addition, growing permanent cover crops kept roots growing in the soil. This broke up soil clumps and made room for air and water. It also created a beneficial environment for soil microbes, fungi, and other organisms.