Studies Reveal Zero

Tillage Can Save

Government Billions

Exapta Solutions, Inc

Retrospective studies on agricultural methods show that one major drawback of

conventional farming is it cultivates topsoil erosion. Tillage makes the surface of the

ground vulnerable, leaving it bare as the plow pushes the soil. As a consequence, the soil

becomes thin over time.

Farmers and institutions sought alternatives to conventional farming practices to

conserve resources for the future generation, hence, no-till systems. Studies reveal that

this new method not only decreases soil erosion, but it can help the government save

billions of dollars on undoing the damage caused by erosion.

Mitigating Erosion

Plowing and tillage are the primary causes of soil erosion all over the world. They were,

in fact, the main culprit behind the Dust Bowl that occurred in Kansas, Oklahoma, and

Northern Texas in the 1930s.

To reduce erosion and other adverse effects of tilling such as high greenhouse emissions,

the number of American farmers as well as policymakers that started to embrace no-till

farming saw a spike in the 1980s.

According to a study conducted at the University of Kentucky, no-till methods curbed

erosion by 98%. A recent study by scientists at the University of Tennessee, meanwhile,

showed that no-till tobacco cultivation reduced soil erosion by 90%, compared with

traditional methods. Zero tillage, moreover, is an economic boon, as it saves farmers time

and money while increasing their yields.

Saving the Government Billions of Dollars

A Cornell University study conducted in the mid-1990s estimated that undoing soil erosion

damage could cause the US $44 billion per year. To bring the erosion rates in the

country’s cropland in line with soil production, it would moreover cost the government a

yearly investment of about $6 billion.

Sources:

https://www.exapta.com

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-case-for-no-till-farmin/

https://www.nrdc.org/experts/claire-oconnor/farmers-reap-benefits-no-till-adoption-rises

For every dollar invested in soil conservation, the Cornell University study estimates that

the society can save more than $5.

It is forbiddingly expensive to put the soil back once it leaves the fields. The conclusion,

then, is that the most cost-effective conservation strategy is to keep it on the fields

through no-till farming methods.