The No-Till Permanent Cover The No-Till Permanent Cover Crop SystemCrop System

As Practiced By Steve GroffAs Practiced By Steve GroffBy llan BrandvainBy llan Brandvain

For the Penn State Agroecology On-Farm Internship For the Penn State Agroecology On-Farm Internship ProgramProgram

Summer 2005Summer 2005

Steve Groff & Cedar Meadow Steve Groff & Cedar Meadow FarmFarm

• Steve is a 3rd generation farmer• Farms 200 acres in southern Pennsylvania• Farms mostly tomatoes, sweet corn, pumpkins, squash, fields corn, soy beans, and hay.• Does it all 100% NO TILL

The No-Till Permanent Cover The No-Till Permanent Cover Crop SystemCrop System

Plant Cover Kill Cover

Plant CropHarvest

• Steve began no-tilling in the mid 1980’s because he wanted to reduce erosion.• Soon learned about the benefits of cover cropping.• Developed his own permanent cover crop system through years of seeing what works best.• The conversion to 100% no till was about a decade long process

Cover CroppingCover CroppingSteve uses many different cover crops and often mixes two

or more in the same field. Some covers used on Cedar Meadow Farm are:

Oat, crimson clover, rye, hairy vetch, and wheat Some Benefits:• Hold soil in place• Fix and sequester nutrients• Add organic matter to the soil• Arthropod habitat• Weed control• Conserve soil moisture

Photo Courtesy Steve Groff

Cover CroppingCover CroppingThings to consider when planting a cover crop:• Nitrogen fixing• Biomass Production• Decomposition Rate• Root Depth• Planting Time• Over-wintering ability• Cost• Next Years Crop Requirements

Crop Total N (lb /A)

Dry Matter (1000Lb /A)

Erosion fighter*

Lasting Residue*

Cost ($/A)

Oats 2-10 3 2 14.2

Rye 3-10 4 4 6.75

Wheat 3-7 3 3 13.5

Crimson Clover

70-130 3.5-5.5 3 2 26

Hairy Vetch

90-200 2.3-5 3 1 22

* 0 = poor 1= fair 2 = good 3 = very good 4 = excellentAll info from Managing Cover Crops Properly 2nd Ed. Sustainable Agriculture Network 1990.

Covers used at Cedar Meadow and some of their characteristics

Killing the CoverKilling the CoverIn the spring, before the cash crop is planted, the cover must be killed. This is generally done with a Roller. If the cover has not yet gone to flower, some herbicide is needed to aid in the kill.The killed cover is left on the soil surface to decompose and act as a mulch for the rest of the season. It adds nutrients and organic matter to the soil, and suppresses weeds throughout the season.

Planting the Cash CropPlanting the Cash Crop• Planted directly into the cover residue• Corn, Squash, and pumpkins are planted from seed using a no-till planter (A).

- 4 rows at a time- Fertilized during planting

• Tomatoes are planted with a modified carousel transplanter (B).

- 2 rows planted at a time- Requires 2 extra workers - Transplants are purchased

A

B

See the Crops Grow!See the Crops Grow!

Steve began no-till to prevent erosion, Steve began no-till to prevent erosion, but there are many more benefitsbut there are many more benefits

No-till benefitsNo-till benefits ↓ ↓ ErosionErosion ↑ ↑ Aggregate stabilityAggregate stability ↑ ↑ Carbon Carbon

sequestrationsequestration ↑ ↑ Water infiltrationWater infiltration ↑ ↑ Microbial BiomassMicrobial Biomass ↓ ↓ Bulk densityBulk density

From Drinkwater et al. 1995

From Seybold et al. 2002

Soil loss under different tillageOrganic matter and aggregate stability under different tillage

From Brady and Weil 2002

No-till and Cover-Crops and No-till and Cover-Crops and Aggregate StabilityAggregate Stability

My Research:• Soil sampled from fields no tilled for 3, 23, and 30 years• For each year, 2 fields.• For each field, 2 samples. • Measured % water stable aggregates > 250 um on field-moist and dried samples using Standard Soil Science Society of America Slaking method•Fields no-tilled & cover cropped for 23 & 30 years had significantly higher percentage of water stable aggregates than fields no-tilled & cover-cropped for 3 yrs