Farm Progress

NRCS encourages farmers to “Keep the Stubble” during its monthlong campaign.

Mindy Ward, Editor, Missouri Ruralist

November 6, 2017

2 Min Read
LET IT GO: The USDA NRCS wants farmers to join them for No-Till November and leave the cornstalks standing.Stockbyte/Thinkstock

Under the category “What will they think of next?” I present “No-Till November.” The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service is asking farmers to keep their stubble — on the field.

The USDA NRCS is calling on men and women across the country to put their tillage equipment in the shed and let the land remain full of cornstalks and soybean stubble. Worried that your field may be unsightly, with uneven growth patches? In November, there is no judgement. Just let the land do its thing. Sit back, relax and allow the soil to rejuvenate.

This latest campaign may not become an internet movement that sweeps the urban nation — shoot, many don't even know what no-till means — but every good campaign needs a nifty slogan. I think NRCS nailed it.

For J.R. Flores, Missouri state conservationist, it is about bringing soil health awareness to farmers and ranchers. “No-till farming, especially in conjunction with using cover crops, is the best thing that farmers can do to improve soil health, ” he says.

Flores cites four basic principles for soil health:

1. Keep the soil covered as much as possible.
2. Do not disturb the soil.
3. Keep plants growing throughout the year to feed soil organisms.
4. Use plant diversity to increase diversity in the soil.

No-Till November meets all of those requirements.

However, Flores would like to see the campaign last throughout the year. He says that managing for healthier soils leads to increased organic matter, more soil organisms, reduced compaction, and improved nutrient storage and cycling. Healthy soils absorb and retain more water, making them less susceptible to runoff and erosion, which means more water is available for crops when they need it.

“No-till is the basic management tool behind building healthier soils,” Flores says. “The other principles are important, too, but making the decision to limit fall tillage is the key first step for farmers to take to improve soil health. No-till November is a good place to start.”

This may be the one campaign where you will not hear complaints about stubble all month long.

About the Author(s)

Mindy Ward

Editor, Missouri Ruralist

Mindy resides on a small farm just outside of Holstein, Mo, about 80 miles southwest of St. Louis.

After graduating from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural journalism, she worked briefly at a public relations firm in Kansas City. Her husband’s career led the couple north to Minnesota.

There, she reported on large-scale production of corn, soybeans, sugar beets, and dairy, as well as, biofuels for The Land. After 10 years, the couple returned to Missouri and she began covering agriculture in the Show-Me State.

“In all my 15 years of writing about agriculture, I have found some of the most progressive thinkers are farmers,” she says. “They are constantly searching for ways to do more with less, improve their land and leave their legacy to the next generation.”

Mindy and her husband, Stacy, together with their daughters, Elisa and Cassidy, operate Showtime Farms in southern Warren County. The family spends a great deal of time caring for and showing Dorset, Oxford and crossbred sheep.

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