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No-till farming is great—it protects soils from
erosion, builds organic matter and saves the lives of
millions of earthworms every year. But weed management
depends on herbicides—which are prohibited in
organic farming, cost money and can harm the environment.
Jeff Moyer, farm manager at The Rodale Institute, teamed
up with neighboring farmer John Brubaker in 2002 to
build a front-mounted roller-crimper that can kill cover
crops mechanically. To provide organic farmers a giant
step forward, we are focusing on a one-pass system doing
the rolling and planting at the same time.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service is funding
the Institute to lead a project that evaluates the potential
of this tool to save time, lower costs and improve sustainability.
This page describes the work of researchers and farmers
here on our research farm and seven other regions around
the country to learn how the roller might fit in their
farming systems.
May 11, 2005: A collection of photos
of cover crop crimper/roller tools from around the United
States—and beyond.
One
step closer to production
June 21, 2005. Auto-CAD drawings of
the cover crop roller nearing completion.
WHERE
IT ALL BEGAN ...
New
Tools for Organic No-Till
Introducing
a cover crop roller without all the drawbacks of a stalk
chopper
November 28, 2003: Here’s
the story of how good neighbors designed and constructed
a front-mounted cover-crop roller that allows you to
knock down a weed-suppressing mat and plant through
it, all in one quick pass!
SLIDESHOW:
The long road to no-till
A pictoral history of building and using a tool that
makes organic no-till a reality
Key publications from ATTRA's
National Sustainable Ag Info Service
• Pursuing
Conservation Tillage Systems for Organic Crop Production
• Conservation
Tillage
Conservation
System Research Team
Maintained by the USDA-ARS National Soil Dynamics Lab
this site has lots of no-till info, including research
on alternative kill strategies for cover crops.
Conservation
Tillage Information Center
A non-profit info clearinghouse based at Purdue University.
European
Conservation Agriculture Federation
A European conservation tillage site, including many
additional links.
No-Tillage
& Sustainable Agriculture in the New Millennium
An extensive website maintained by South American no-till
& sustainable ag researcher Rolf Derpsch. Includes
publications, statistical profiles, equipment and cover
cropping info.
No-till.com
This site features active links to no-till organizations
from around the world, including Australia, Canada,
and the U.S. Great Plains.
No-till
Farmer The online home of the monthly no-till
newspaper from Lessiter Publications. Includes a discussion
board, a directory of no-till equipment suppliers and
details on the annual National No-Till Conference.
No-Till
on the Plains
Includes a section on working with cover crops.
Southern Conservation Agricultural
Systems Conference
A project of the Southern Extension and Research Information
Exchange Group 20, the SCTCSA hosts an annual conference
on conservation tillage in the South.
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Questions?
Visit our
No-Till
FAQs for answers to frequently
asked questions.
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No
Till + quick wrap
NEW! March
15, 2007: Where we’ve been and where
we’re going.
Researchers
roll out the details of 2006 no-till organic corn numbers
NEW! March
15, 2007: In this above-average rainfall year,
using a rolled-down cover crop worked better than tilling
organic plots or non-organic comparison fields.
NE-SARE
roller research
newsletter debuts
NEW! March
15, 2007: Regional farmers and Penn State researchers
are working with The Rodale Institute to develop best
management practices for use of the no-till cover-crop
roller in the Northeast. This regional focus is funded
by the USDA’s Northeast SARE program. Details
in a
new newsletter.
dr paul's research perspectives
Year
2006 is breakthrough for organic no-till corn yield;
tops standard organic for first time at Rodale Institute
January 12, 2007: Roller system creates
moisture-saving mulch from cover crop to suppress weeds
and build soil as it slashes fuel and labor inputs.
No-Till
Plus Project first cropping season wraps up
December 14, 2006: Farmer and researcher
collaborators take stock of what worked and what didn’t
and prepare for improvement in 2007.
Get
to know the no-tillers
December 14, 2006: A regional guide
to the participants in The Rodale Institute's No-Till
Plus project.
Farmers
gear up cover-killing rollers for spring no-till planting
season
February 16, 2006: Interest in chemical-free
crop systems lead more farmers to seek high-value alternatives.
Pennsylvania
farmer links organic, conventional farming communities
November 10, 2005: No-Till+ project
cooperator Kirby Reichert grows no-till corn, organic
hay and specialty rye straw, among other crops—and
keeps an open mind.
Choosing
cover crops for no-till organic soybeans
October 13 , 2005. The more biomass the better
for weed suppression—but you do have to be able
to plant through the stuff. Of the three cover crops
used rye, shown above, provided the most biomass.
Organic
no-till research spreading across the Midwest
June 2, 2005: From Pennsylvania
to Michigan to Illinois, organic no-till is gaining
ground as part of a revolution in weed management research
and extension.
It's
planting time—do you know where your earthworms
are?
May 11, 2005: Pennsylvania no-till
farmer Steve Groff counts the many, wriggling benefits
of no-till.
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Emerging
trends surface at national no-till conference
April 19, 2005 Cover crops were
among the hot topics under discussion at the 13th annual
National No-Tillage Conference, reports No-Till Farmer
editor Ron Perszewski.
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no-till |
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Frontiers
in conservation tillage
April 19, 2005 International no-till
expert Rolf Derpsch shares his views on the current
state and future possibilities of reduced tillage systems
worldwide.
Getting
started with cover crops
April 19, 2005 Cover crops can
build tilth, stem erosion and deliver nutrients to primary
crops. TRI research agonomist Dave Wilson shares selection
and establishment tips for on-farm cover crop research.
one farm to another
These
are exciting times!
March 17, 2005: Those were the sentiments
of a group of researchers and farmers who met during
the first week of March at The Rodale Institute’s
farm in southeastern Pennsylvania to initiate plans
for further research into organic no-till.
Planting
soybeans into rye, round two
November 23, 2004:
In northwestern Minnesota, Robin Brekken, Lee and Noreen
Thomas and other organic farmers are working to perfect
a system for no-till planting soybeans into a standing
rye cover. Despite ongoing unpredictable weather, the
strategy is showing promise.
Perfecting
organic no-till systems nationwide
September 28, 2004: The Rodale Institute
Experimental Farm receives NRCS Conservation Innovation
Grant to build, distribute and test 10 organic no-till
assemblies tailored to regional production needs.
Choosing
the best cover crops for your organic no-till vegetable
system
January 29, 2004: A detailed guide
to using 29 species
Organic
no-till for vegetable production?
January 12, 2004: It can be done--Virginia
Tech professor Ron Morse has been trialing a wide range
of cover crop species for no-till planting of organic
brassicas, cucurbits, solanaceae and more.
Rye
lessons learned here
at The Rodale Institute
September 12, 2003: We describe our
own variation on planting soybeans into rye cover.
Weed
FREE! An ode to rye
September
12, 2003: Minnesota researcher Paul Porter
is working with five farmers to figure out the best
way to use a rye cover crop as an effective weed suppressant
for soybeans. No-till planting in rye is looking really
strong as a strategy.
Let's
talk about soil
January 6, 2003: We want soil to work
for us, says soil scientist Ray Weil. We want it to
hold water, recycle nutrients and keep diseases at bay.
But we pulverize it with plows and expose it to evaporation
and erosion. Now, does that make sense?
dr don research update
Organic
no-till with cover crop roll-down is viable in Kentucky
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