NNTC Insights...

Balance Diversity, Intensity in No-Till Rotations

Include at least three different types of crops in your no-till rotations to control weeds and reduce disease problems, says Dwayne Beck. The director of the Dakota Lakes Research Farm in Pierre, S.D., says crop intensity and diversity need to be balanced for no-till profitability.

Beck says the best way to handle both wet and dry years is by diversifying and expanding your no-till rotations.

No-Till Keeps Brazilians Farming

Thanks to no-till, Brazilian growers like Franke Dijkstra often grow three crops a year on the same ground. The president of the Cooperativa Agro-Pecuaria Batavo, Ltd., (700 members that are 100% no-till on 330,000 acres) says there’s no way other than no-till to produce crops on the highly erodible land found in Brazil’s tropical areas.

Without keeping these soils covered and avoiding tillage, Dijkstra says Brazilian growers will lose both their soils and farming operations.

CTG February 2017 Contents