California farmers see conservation tillage success stories

 

California farmers visiting conservation tillage farmers and researchers in Alliance, NE

California’s farmers face increasing challenges in terms of labor and water availability, environmental regulations, and competition. Cheaper and more resource-conserving systems that rely on less labor are needed for profitable and sustainable production. Reducing tillage may be a significant means for cutting fuel use, labor, and costs in intensive production systems. However, most California farmers have little experience with these techniques.

 

 
UC’s Conservation Tillage (CT) Workgroup -- a diverse association of more than 1,000 University researchers and extension educators, farmers, USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service and private sector partners -- organized a four-day tour of irrigated regions in Nebraska, South Dakota, Colorado, and Wyoming where farmers have developed a wide variety of successful no-till and strip-till production systems to address these goals of developing more efficient, cost-effective production systems.

In June of 2007, eleven CT Workgroup members took part and were hosted by several farmers and South Dakota State University (SDSU) and University of Nebraska researchers during the 1,400 mile tour. Participants learned first-hand about the mechanics of successful no-till and strip-till planting, the important role surface residues have played in water conservation and weed management in systems in this region, and benefits of merging or coupling conservation tillage technologies with overhead, low-pressure center pivot systems as a means to save water, reduce labor and cut costs.

One of the hosts of the California CT farmer tour was Dwayne Beck, Manager of SDSU’s Dakota Lakes Research Farm and recent inductee into the state’s Hall of Fame. Beck demonstrated the reasons why in the early 1990’s after switching to no-till, residue-conserving systems, South Dakota farmers were able to conserve more water and thereby diversify and intensify their crop rotations. This change ultimately led to their being able to farm profitably and sustainably.
 

 
Participants in the Workgroup’s first CT farmer tour received first-hand and very practical information on successful no-till and strip-till systems and strategies. They learned how such residue-preserving production approaches may be useful in reducing costs typically associated with tillage and how, over time, these practices may improve soil structure and conserve water.

They have now committed to implementing sustained CT production systems at their farms, and UC researchers are beginning long-term economic and soil-quality monitoring at their farms to gauge the performance of their CT approaches. The knowledge gained by these California farmers is being amplified by presentations they are making at a series of CT Workgroup conferences and field days throughout the Central Valley and this is expected to greatly contribute to the University of California CT Workgroup’s ongoing efforts to increase the adoption of cost-cutting and resource-conserving CT production systems.
 

Supporting Unit: Department of Plant Sciences Department of Plant Sciences, UC Davis
 
Jeff Mitchell
mitchell@uckac.edu
Telephone (559) 646-6565
Mobile Telephone (559) 303-9689