Cover soil, minimize tillage

 

Under NOP Standards, cover crops need to be part of your plan to build the soil. Section 205.203 of the Standard clearly states that plant materials must be managed to maintain or improve soil organic matter.
 
Covered fields conserve topsoil and nutrients. Here in Pennsylvania, a winter crop of vetch or rye works well with our principal crops of corn and soybeans: Vetch provides nitrogen for the corn, while rye soaks up nutrients and helps manage weeds in the soybeans.
  
Much of what you know about tillage from non-organic farming also applies to organic farming. Most conscientious farmers are careful to restrict tillage activities. However, because of the explicit NOP requirement to protect and build soil quality, organic farmers must plan their tillage regime before the season begins and document the actual tillage that occurs.
 
Tillage is like fire in a forest. Both have to be managed wisely, and both generate inevitable physical changes to achieve their benefits. However, tillage has risks in that it:
 
•        Accelerates the rate and extent of decline in soil quality
•        Increases subsoil compaction
•        Increases fossil fuel use and labor costs
•        Can lead to soils that are too wet, and crusting of bare soils
 


 

  

 

Plowing tips

Plowing fields that are too wet or too dry can produce dense soil clods that are difficult to manage and prevent good seed-to-soil contact. Even after careful tillage that leaves lots of residue on loosened soil, a heavy rain can badly impact the quality of your soil bed.

 

To plan your tillage, you have to use your best judgment to factor soil type, field slope, depth of loosened soil, field drainage and the weather forecast in balance with the benefits you hope to achieve.

 

"Tillage tools that are most damaging to soil structure are those that shear soil particles, such as moldboard and disk plows, while sweeps and chisels cause less damage."

  

~Barbara Bellows
"Soil Management:
NOP Regulations"