Question

No-till agriculture vs traditional tiled agriculture. What are the pros and cons? In what ways do they benefit and it what ways do they not?

Answer 1

No-till farming (also known as zero tillage or direct drilling) is an agricultural technique for growing crops or pasture without disturbing the soil through tillage. No-till farming decreases the amount of Tillage is dominant in agriculture today, but no-till methods may have success in some contexts. In some cases minimum tillage or "low-till" methods combine till and no-till methods. For example, some approaches may use shallow cultivation (i.e. using a disc harrow) but no plowing or use strip tillagesoil erosion tillage causes in certain soils, especially in sandy and dry soils on sloping terrain. Other possible benefits include an increase in the amount of water that infiltrates into the soil, soil retention of organic matter, and nutrient cycling. These methods may increase the amount and variety of life in and on the soil. Typically, no-tillage systems require the use of very large amounts of herbicides to control weeds.

Advantages

• Reducing fuel, labor, and equipment costs are the biggest benefits of not doing any tillage. The price of diesel alone is something to consider. That’s also fewer hours on a tractor meaning more value at trade-in time, and less wear and tear on tillage tools.
• Improved soil structure is another big benefit. Tillage disrupts the natural structure of soil and disperses some of the carbon that it needs into the air. No Till means you are keeping more of the nutrients your soil desperately needs right where it belongs
• Erosion can be reduced by leaving more residue on the surface in the months when there are no crops growing. Allowing the rain or melting snow to not run off, but instead work its way down into your soil bringing beneficial nutrients into it.
• Minimizing the compaction of your soil. Soil gets compacted any time equipment drives over the surface. This means the air and water pockets present in soil that allow for the movement of water, crop roots, and soil organisms get squeezed out by the weight of the equipment. Since no-till reduces the amount of equipment used, the threat of compaction is reduced.  

Disadvantages

• With no-till a farmer has lost the ability to mechanically control weeds through tillage.
• There is a risk of carrying over plant diseases when crop residue is not incorporated into the soil after harvest. This can act as a host for disease and can infect the following crop. However, farmers can combat this situation by rotating crops that are not susceptible to the same diseases.
• It takes time to see the benefits of no-till. One can’t take a farm that has been tilled for 50 years or more and hope to see big gains in yield after one season. Patience is important. Soil needs time to regain structure, and that doesn’t happen overnight

Tillage is the agricultural preparation of soil by mechanical agitation of various types, such as digging, stirring, and overturning. Examples of human-powered tilling methods using hand tools include shoveling, picking, mattockwork, hoeing, and raking. Examples of draft-animal-powered or mechanized work include ploughing (overturning with moldboards or chiseling with chisel shanks), rototilling, rolling with cultipackers or other rollers, harrowing, and cultivating with cultivatorshanks (teeth).

Tillage that is deeper and more thorough is classified as primary, and tillage that is shallower and sometimes more selective of location is secondary. Primary tillage such as ploughing tends to produce a rough surface finish, whereas secondary tillage tends to produce a smoother surface finish, such as that required to make a good seedbed for many crops. Harrowing and rototilling often combine primary and secondary tillage into one operation.

"Tillage" can also mean the land that is tilled. The word "cultivation" has several senses that overlap substantially with those of "tillage". In a general context, both can refer to agriculture. Within agriculture, both can refer to any kind of soil agitation. Additionally, "cultivation" or "cultivating" may refer to an even narrower sense of shallow, selective secondary tillage of row crop fields that kills weeds while sparing the crop plants.

Producers must consider the advantage and disadvantages of a tillage system before changing systems. The most important advantage of conservation tillage systems is significantly less soil erosion due to wind and water. Other advantages include reduced fuel and labor requirements. However, increased reliance may be placed on herbicides with some conservation tillage systems. The herbicide labels do not change the recommended rates based on tillage system, but tillage may not be an option for weed control in some tillage systems.