Conservation Tillage in
Western Crops Boosts Profits, Cuts Erosion
In western Colorado, as in other arid Western
farming regions, most farmers irrigate in
furrows between crop rows plowed clean to
facilitate water flow. Using a moldboard
plow, however, accelerates the erosion that,
in windy Colorado, can blow unprotected soil
like dust.
Aided by a Sustainable Agriculture Research
and Education farmer/rancher grant, Randy
Hines, a crop farmer in Delta, CO, was determined
to find a better way. Hines built a new tillage
tool that leaves vegetative residue on the
soil, ripping the earth simultaneously to
create irrigation furrows every other 30-inch
row.
Not only did Hines save soil, thanks to
the blanket of corn stalk residue he left
on the surface, but he also reduced by half
his number of tractor passes before planting
corn, saving between $35 and $50 an acre.
Corn yields remained similar to the previous
year's crop grown under conventional tillage.
In 2001, Hines planted yellow beans in the
corn stalks, using the same minimum tillage
practices, comparing conventional plowing
on an adjacent field. Hines noticed fewer
weeds, used less water, and experienced no
yield reduction in his bean harvest. In fact,
in just 2 years, Hines doubled the organic
matter of his soil.
Hines' efforts have sparked interest among
other area farmers who have planted winter
wheat in minimum-till corn, onions in hay,
and other combinations.
“Before our project, there was little
minimum tillage done in our valley,” Hines
said. After other farmers saw his results,
every year there have been “more acres
not being plowed.”
Converting farmers who prefer clean tillage
practices is indeed becoming an easier sell,
thanks to research by Hines and others, said
Wayne Cooley, a soil and crop extension agent
at Colorado State University.
“We've worked together with producers,
trying to promote reduced tillage wherever
we can make it work for this area,” he
said. “Randy is an innovative producer
looking for ways to save money.”
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