Tarping to Advance Reduced Tillage Systems on Small-Scale Vegetable Farms

In early October 2019, we developed and distributed an online survey (25 questions) to better understand how farmers across the region were using tarps, any challenges that they have experienced, and emerging questions that could be addressed through our research. The survey was shared through our established extension networks in NY and ME using electronic newsletters and grower lists, including our RT grower contact list in the Cornell Small Farms Program (400+). All registered workshop participants were also encouraged to complete the survey. 

We had a total of 158 respondents to the survey with from 75% from NY and ME. Of these responses, 94 (60%) were already using tarps on their farm and 64 were not using them. Those farms using tarps were generally very small, 90% were farming less than 5 acres. Almost all (98%) were using organic practices on some part of their farm. About half (49%) had a gross revenue less than $10,000/yr, while others represented a wide range of annual revenue: 20% between $10,000 and $50,000, 16% between $50,000 and $10,0000, and 15% grossed over $100,000. Sixty one percent were beginning farmers (41% farming less than 5 years and 20% between 5 and 10 year) and 39% were farming for 10 or more years. We asked respondents that were not currently using tarps what reasons prevented them from using tarps. Of these, 52% were considering using them and they were mostly concerned with their costs and/or uncertain about how they could fit in their crop rotation. 

This survey provides a better understanding the benefits, challenges, logistics, labor needs, tillage practices, weed issues, and compost management associated with tarping practices in the Northeast (Survey of Tarping Practices by Fresh Produce Growers). The survey captured a range of tarping experience, where 35% just started using tarps, 37% had found a couple uses, and 28% indicated tarps had become a big part of their farm management. Black plastic is the most common tarp material (83%) while some are using landscape fabric (13%) and clear plastic (3%).When asked where they were applying tarps, they were being used equally over permanent beds and shaped beds/open fields and were twice as likely to be placed over soil that was not cover cropped (48%) compared to cover cropped ground (20%). They were also commonly applied after harvest (over crop residue; 39%) and over sod (44%). Tarps were used across many different crop types, including direct seeded and transplanted vegetables, herbs/flower and small fruit. The most targeted crop was leafy vegetables (including lettuce, spinach, and mixed greens; 73%) followed by root vegetables (including carrots and beets; 60%) and vining crops were the least likely to be tarped (34%). Tarps were most commonly left in place for 4-6 weeks (38%) and for more than 10 weeks (30%). The use of this extended tarp duration was likely related to using tarps overwinter to hold beds/fields for the following year. 

Based on the results of the survey, farmers are using tarps as a multifunctional tool to accomplish many different goals. A large majority of farmers used tarps to reduce tillage and improve soils (87%) and they are commonly used to increase early spring field access (84%). Eighty four percent of farmers indicated they were able to reduce their tillage with tarping. Farmers ware able to reduce tillage in several different ways, using less cultivation (66%), using less intense tillage (41%), and using fewer tillage passes before planting (40%). Sixty percent indicated they were able to tarp and plant with no tillage. Tarps were clearly an important weed management tool and used to manage weeds in several different ways, including to hold beds weed-free before planting (83%), to create a stale seed bed (76%), to kill emerged weeds prior to planting (66%), and to kill weeds after crop harvest (64%). A considerably smaller number of farmers were using tarps to kill cover crops (36%). The greatest challenges associated with tarping were logistical, including moving tarps among fields (50%, moderately or very challenging), applying and securing tarps (41%), and handling water ponding on tarps (38%). Some farmers were also finding it challenging to find time in the crop rotation (28%). Farmers also prioritized research questions to help inform our research directions. Three primary research areas emerged: 1) tarping to control weeds 2) tarping impacts on soil health and 3) tarping to advance reduced-till and no-till practices.  

As members of the NE IPM Tarping and Solarization Working Group (2020-21), we shared these results with a group of researchers, extension educators, and farmers (virtual meeting summer 2020) and have worked to incorporate them into a practical online guide, "Tarping in the Northeast: A Guide for Small Farms", that was released through University of Maine Extension in 2022. Survey results have also been shared with farmers and educators in conference workshops and trainings offered throughout this project. 

In late September 2019, we announced our project and four full-day workshops, Tarping for Reduced Tillage in Small-Scale Vegetable Systems, targeting farmers interested in adopting or improving tarping practices on their farm. Workshops were advertised widely, using established extension networks in NY and ME, electronic newsletters and grower lists, social media (Instagram, Facebook), and our RT grower contacts within the Cornell Small Farms Program (400+). Workshop locations and venues were chosen to recruit farmers across the project region and in partnership with cooperative extension and non-profit partners based on location. We offered three of the four advertised workshops: 1) Northport, ME at the MOFGA Farmer to Farmer Pre-Conference on Nov. 2nd (45 participants) 3) Canandaigua, NY at Cornell Cooperative Extension-Ontario County (CNY; 39 participants) and 4) Voorheesville, NY at Cornell Cooperative Extension - Albany County (ENY; 28 participants). We cancelled a planned workshop in Springvale, ME to be held at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension of York County on Nov. 4th, based on low attendance and considering the state-wide appeal of the MOFGA Pre-Conference workshop. We registered a total of 133 participants and 112 attended across the three workshops offered. At registration, we collected information on tarping experience and asked for the most important topics/questions to inform workshop design. 

Workshops were designed with two primary goals: 1) learn how we can use tarping to overcome barriers to reducing tillage in vegetables while managing weeds and improving soil health, and 2) identify specific changes we can make to farm management in the next year resulting in reduced tillage, better weed management, and greater profitability. Each workshop agenda followed a similar general format with presentations by a combination of researchers and invited farmer presentations (2 per workshop) followed small group breakouts/activities based on topic (Example Tarping Workshop Agenda). Content was structure into three general topical areas: 1) tarping as a RT and NT management tool 2) Weed management and tarp tactics and 3) Tarps and soil building. Workshops were designed and facilitated using a Dialogue Education (DE) approach (Example Facilitation Plan) to engage farmers in new information/ideas followed by facilitated small group discussion to integrate ideas, share concerns, and identify additional information needed. We began each workshop with an inventory of current tarping practices/goals and prioritizing issues to discuss through the day. The workshop ended with an individual exercise to give farmers the opportunity to outline changes to farm management using tarping (Farmer Field Plan). Overall, this workshop approach balanced new information with discussion to gives farmer time to think though and talk about new tarping strategies. One farmer shared "This was one of the BEST workshops that I have attended—ever. So much practical information. So many examples! Both farmer AND researcher info. Interactive, so well-organized with so little fluff or distraction. This workshop was exceptionally useful". Another said "Presenters kept us engaged, informed and enthusiasm made this an interesting and informative workshop!"

Evaluations from workshops gathered feedback on knowledge gained, specific new ideas learned, and tarping ideas for the coming year. A total of 78 evaluations were collected representing 70% of attendees, with a majority (65) representing farmers (Workshop Evaluation). Sixty five percent of responses rated the overall quality of the workshops as "Excellent" and another 30% rated it as "Good". Evaluations collected metrics on the amount of knowledge gained based on farmer knowledge before the workshop. For example, in ENY, before the workshop 14% had either a moderate amount or a lot of knowledge (4 or 5 rating) on the logistics of tarping and after the workshop this increased to 75%. This dramatic change in knowledge gain was similar with other topics: reduced tillage (from 7% to 64%), weed management (7% to 80%), cover crops (11% to 72%) and crop rotation planning (4% to 62%). We had a similar impact at other workshops. On the topic of reducing tillage, farmer knowledge levels (4 or 5 rating) went from 16% to 83% (WNY) and from 24 to 88% (ME). Attendees shared the most interesting lessons learned and 1 to 2 examples of how they will use the information on their farm in the coming year, including: how they can address tarping logistics (storing, securing, moving tarps), combine tarping with winter hardy cover crops for effective termination, using tarping for perennial weed control, and tarp timing and duration for different crops and in a rotation (New Tarping Ideas and actions).

In late winter and early spring, we followed up with DE attendees via email and phone to learn about their tarping plans and ideas that had emerged since the fall workshops. All 112 DE participants were contacted in via email and about 10% (12 farmers) responded to a quick online survey sharing how they were planning to use tarps, their specific goals for tarping, and any issues or concerns (Spring 2020 planning). These responses gave us intentions for the coming year and led to follow up communications to help think though ideas and address concerns. We reached an additional 18 farmers through a combination of email, one-on-one phone consultations and online meetings to gather more detailed plans that helped us get into specific tarping applications in the season based on developing crop plans. We reached fewer DE farmers than expected in early spring, which in part could be attributed to the unprecedented challenges and uncertainties that emerged for farmers with the outbreak of COVID-19. We also recognized that our DE workshops reached some aspiring and beginning farms, many that had not yet acquired or used tarps, so they may have had less capacity to implement or trial the practice in the first year.   

We followed up on interest generated by DE workshops and engaged a wider audience with 6 additional presentations and facilitated discussions for farmers interested in learning about tarping and RT practices on their farm. Our team reached an additional audience of farmers and educators through these workshops offered in 2019-2020: 

• Maher, R. Tarping for weed control. 12/11/19. New England Vegetable and Fruit Conference. Manchester, NH. 50 farmers, 0.5 hr.
• Stewart-Courtens, C. Tarping for weed control. Catskill Regional Agriculture Conference. 01/09/20. Delhi, NY. 28 farmers, 1 hr.
• Maher, R., Rylander, H, and Bonhotal, J. Digging deep into compost: Using compost in NT production. 01/17/20. NOFA-NY Winter Conference. Syracuse, NY. 75 farmers. 2.5 hrs.
• Maher, R. Reduced tillage systems for small scale organic vegetables. 02/05/20. In partnership with Kootenay and Boundary Farm Advisors (BC, Canada). Webinar. 20 farmers. 1.5 hrs.
• Maher, R. Survey of tarping practices by fresh produce growers. 07/13/20. NE IPM Tarping Working Group. Webinar. 15 educators. 15 min.
• Maher, R. Tarping weeds in reduced tillage organic vegetables. 11/04/20. CCE Ag-Inservice: Rapid research talks. Webinar. 40 educators. 10 min.

We gathered farmer intentions for on-farm tarp applications in spring through phone, email, and a short survey (30) and then collected feedback from farmers on how they implemented tarps at the end of the season (26). We exchanged emails/texts with farmers over the course of the season and had intended to do several visits but did not travel given COVID 19 concerns and restrictions. 

In early December, we followed up with all 112 DE attendees via email and asked for farmers to share and reflect on their tarping trials this year via a short, online survey. About 25% of DE attendees (26 farmers) responded to our survey and shared how they used tarps (Year 1 Applications), what benefits they found, any issues or concerns that they had (Year 1 Problems), and if they are planning to try it again next year. Tarps provided a number of benefits based upon these on-farm applications, including:

• Less tillage. 53% used less intense tillage (e.g. shallower or gentler tools) and 31% made fewer tillage passes.
• Greater flexibility in field management. 65% found tarps helped hold beds weed-free until needed and 46% found tarps helped with spring field access.  
• Better weed management. 62% found fewer weeds and 58% spent less time hand weeding.
• Improvements in crop establishment and yields. 53% found better soil conditions for planting (e.g. moisture, tilth) and 23% found better crop yields.

The challenges shared emphasized the logistical problems with tarps, holding and securing, hauling sandbags, and moving across the field. Based on these reflections, 39% of farmers will definitely implement the same practice in the next year and another 58% will implement the practice again with some changes to improve on it. 

Through our survey, we also collected ideas on what more they want to learn to help us plan a series of webinars, TarpTalks, in 2021. Many farmers (11) expressed a strong interest in sharing what they have tried and learned with others. Based on this feedback, we planned a workshop series that addressed a broad range of targeted applications that enhance weed control with less tillage, including tarping in succession plantings, tarping with landscape fabric, and applications of tarps with cover crops.

Given their feedback on their experiences and interests in the coming year, we have completed individual email follow-ups to learn more details, gather pictures, discuss ideas, and maintain connected in the coming year. 

In March 2021, we hosted a series of lunchtime webinars, Tarp Talks, for farmers to share and learn about tarping practices with session topics and speakers guided by emerging farmer questions. This 3-week series had a total of 151 attendees and featured farmers from across the NE region and beyond sharing how tarping is being used on their farm. Topics included using tarps for holding beds, succession plantings, cover crop termination, enabling spring field entry, and handling problem soils and weeds. Farmer presenters were identified through direct outreach to those in attendance at previous in-person intensive workshops held in fall 2019 that expressed interest in sharing about their farm. Webinar registration responses (167 individuals registered; some registered for multiple webinars, 318 total registrations) provided us with information on our project reach and audience. Based on registration, 89% were from the Northeast region (10 different states) and 11% from across the US and Canada. Most registered participants were women (65%) and farming for commercial sale (64%). Twenty two percent were gardeners, homesteaders, and/or aspiring farmers and 11% served farmers. Participants represented a broad range of tarping experiences, with most identifying as exploring or just starting (32% not using tarps but considering and 31% just started tarping and experimenting), 22% having found several uses, and 16% with lots of experience where tarps have become a big part of their management. Webinars were recorded and posted on the Cornell Small Farms Youtube channel for viewing by a wider audience (total views 1,292; accessed Jan 20, 2022). 

Details on webinar topics, speakers, and recording links are included below:

• Reserving Beds With Tarps: Setting The Table For When It’s Time To Plant. Offered March 16, 2021. Presenters: Rachel Cross, Spirit of Walloon Market Garden (Boyne City, MI) and Molly Comstock, Colfax Farm (Alford, MA). 1 hr. 668 views, accessed Jan 17, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aGwjtGCUpo
• Pairing Tarping With Cover Crops: Getting Both On The Menu. Offered March 23, 2021. Presenters: Ben Stein, Edible Uprising Farm (Troy, NY) and Janna Siller, Adamah (Falls Village, CT). 1 hr. 873 views, accessed Jan 17, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVvtLKa-vVk
• You Can’t Send Back Your Soils And Weeds: Tarping The Problems You’re Served. Offered March 30, 2021. Presenters: Maryellen Sheehan, Hartwood Farm (Chittenango, NY) and David McDaniel, Earth Dharma Farm (Jackson, ME). 1 hr. 404 views, accessed Jan 17, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e31ClYQxS3U&t=5s

Webinar evaluations gathered feedback on content, knowledge gained, and specific new ideas learned. A total of 34 evaluations were collected across all 3 webinars, representing 23% of attendees. Sixty three percent rated the overall quality of the webinars as "Excellent" and the remainder, 38%, rated them as "Good". Evaluations collected metrics on tarping knowledge before the webinars and amount of new information they learned. While most had considerable knowledge (responded “A Lot” or “Some”) of how tarping can be used for improving weed management (73%) and to reduce tillage (64%), fewer (48%) had knowledge of how to plan for tarping in their crop rotation, with just over half (52%) having “Little” to “None at all”. Despite the broad range of tarping experiences and knowledge among attendees, evaluations showed that webinars provided most with valuable new information (based on those responding “A lot” or “Some”) where 64% learned how to source tarps to fit the application, 91% learned how to handle the logistics of tarping, 82% learned how to plan for tarping in the crop rotation, 91% learned how to use tarps as a weed management tool, and 85% learned how they could reduce tillage. Attendees shared that they learned how to use different size tarps and tarp materials for different uses in crop rotation and/or bed prep, how landscape fabric can be used as a tarp, and helpful tips for folding up, storing, and labeling tarps. On the topic of managing tarp logistics and using in a crop rotation, attendees shared that they valued learning how to use tarps to hold beds until they are ready to plant, fold tarps back to open new beds and hold the next, and the importance of prepping the bed (including amendments) in the fall for getting onto beds early the following spring. Farmer presenters shared how tarps can be used in many different applications and planting windows. As one attendee shared, I learned to “make your tarps work all the time”. One webinar focused on integrating tarps with cover cropping practices, where we learned that 57% of attendees had little to no previous knowledge of how to use tarps with cover crops. After the webinar, all of them (100%) indicated they learned new information. One attendee shared, “I never thought to kill winter rye with tarps”. The farmer-to-farmer webinar format also provided opportunities to talk about the missteps and challenges. One attendee shared, “I really appreciated all of the images of the struggles -- the things that didn't go exactly according to the plan. When we struggle we can feel alone. Nice to be supported and learn from other people.” Overall, evaluations showed that 88% of attendees intended to use what they learned in the coming year.

We followed up with all attendees from our in-person 2019 workshops (112) as well as those that attended our farmer-to-farmer webinar series offered earlier in the year (151). We emailed these farmers a short, online survey that asked them to share and reflect on how they used tarps in the previous year. We reached 23 farmers through this survey (about 10% of event attendees), where they shared how they used tarps, what benefits they found, any issues or concerns that they had and if they are planning to try it again next year. Common on-farm applications trialed (Year 2 Applications) included overwinter tarping for early spring crops (e.g., onions and greens), mid-season tarping ahead of fall crops including carrots, brassicas and greens, killing cover crops like rye and vetch, tarping in high tunnels targeting winter annual weeds, and full season applications to help suppress perennials or kill sod. Across all of these applications, they shared that tarping provided a number of benefits when compared to untarped beds and/or previous management, including:

• Less tillage. 52% used less intense tillage (e.g. shallower or gentler tools) and 62% made fewer tillage passes.
• Greater flexibility in field management. 76% found tarps helped hold beds weed-free until needed and 33% found tarps helped with spring field access.  
• Better weed management. 91% found fewer weeds with 86% spending less time hand weeding.
• Improvements in crop establishment and yields. 48% found better soil conditions for planting (e.g. moisture, tilth) and 33% found better crop yields.

Farmers also shared their challenges (Year 2 Problems) which included keeping tarps secure from the wind, finding the time and labor to move them around especially when they are wet and/or in the middle of the season, creating habitat for voles, and persistent weeds, often perennials. Based on these reflections, 59% of farmers will definitely implement the same practice in the next year and another 36% will implement the practice again with some changes to improve on it. We plan to use individual email follow-ups to learn more details about these farmer practices, discuss ideas and questions, and maintain communications about future plans into the coming year. 

In NY, we also actively collaborated with 3 farms to support on-farm experimentation with tarping and trialing of new practices. Partner farms/organizations, trial goals and outcomes included:

Van Noble Farms, Trumansburg, NY. Devon Van Noble manages a pastured pig operation and catering business and has recently added small fields for vegetable production. Van Noble was interested in trialing tarps to hold beds after early spring tillage and control weeds ahead of planting. A field was harrowed and tarped for 4 weeks in advance of planting potatoes in mid-May. After tarps were removed, beds were subsoiled with a tractor-led Keyline plow to create furrows for planting. Neighboring untarped beds required additional tillage passes and were difficult to access given the wet and cool spring conditions (Photo - Tarping at Van Noble). In the future, Van Noble plans to experiment with tarping overwinter to improve spring field access in his heavy soils.

Matthew 25 Farm, Lafayette, NY. We partnered with Kayo Green (Cornell Cooperative Extension-Onondaga) to implement a tarping demonstration and workshop for 4 incubator farmers in the Syracuse Refugee Agricultural Program (SyRAP) program. Neighboring beds were prepared with contrasting tillage tools (rototilled, shallow tilled, no-till) prior to applying a tarp in mid-summer. The tarp was removed, and a summer cover crop mix was seeded across the tarped area. This was a participatory workshop where farmers were introduced to the concept of tarping and how it can be used for bed preparation and improved weed control. Farmers helped remove the tarp, broadcast the cover crop, and rake beds. The host farm struggles with perennial weeds, especially yellow nutsedge, and the demonstration was specifically designed to learn if and how tarps can be used to help suppress and weaken perennial weeds.

Nook and Cranny Farm, Brooktondale, NY. Bob Tuori owns and operates a 4-acre diversified farm that uses a permanent bed system, walk behind tractor tools, and organic mulch for weed control. With funding from a 2021 Northeast SARE Farmer Grant, together we designed an on-farm experiment to trial tarping prior to planting potatoes. Tuori has developed a potato production system that includes seeding cereal rye in fall, flail mowing rye in spring, strip tilling furrows (rotary harrow) for planting, and hilling and mulching with hay at 3-4 weeks after planting. The goal was to trial tarping (3-4 weeks in spring) as a tool to terminate a cereal rye cover crop, enhance weed suppression in the potatoes, and increase soil nutrient availability and potato crop yield (Photo - Tarping at Nook and Cranny). Three systems were compared: 1) mulched, standard practice 2) tarped 3) tarped and mulched. Results showed that tarping: 1) effectively killed and suppressed cereal rye relative to the untarped, mulch treatment, 2) provided little to no additional weed control benefits given the dominance of perennials, and 3) increased crop yield in one mid-season potato variety which was associated with greater soil nitrate concentrations. Tuori plans to implement the tarping and mulch practice for future potato production and is experimenting with other tarping applications on the farm, including using them in high tunnels to suppress winter annual weeds for early spring greens and carrot production. To elevate and share the results of this collaboration, we coauthored an article with Tuori titled To Tarp, to Mulch, or To Do Both - That Was the The Question that was published in the Small Farms Quarterly (Spring 2022 edition), an online and printed publication of the Cornell Small Farms Program (combined readership 40,000). We produced a video, On-farm Experimentation With Reduced Tillage: Tarping and Mulching in Potatoes, which was designed to accompany the article and highlight the process of on-farm experimentation. The video was posted on the Cornell Small Farm You Tube channel (594 views, accessed 1/18/2022). 

We changed our plans for organizing and hosting a research station field day in 2021 due to restrictions and uncertainties in hosting events during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the 2021 field season, we shared field research updates with farmers with biweekly to monthly posts on Cornell Small Farms Program on Instagram (@CornellSmallFarms) and compiled these photos and field updates into an article "Reduced Tillage Research in Photos" featured in the Small Farms Quarterly magazine (Fall 2021 edition; 40,000 readership).

In the summer of 2022, we partnered with the New York Soil Health Program as part of their Soil Health and Climate Resiliency Field Day Series, https://www.newyorksoilhealth.org/fielddays/. One of these events was hosted at the Cornell Thompson Vegetable Research Farm in Freeville, NY, and was titled “Tools and Tactics for Soil and Weed Management in Vegetable Production” (July 25, 2022). It was attended by 40 farmers and educators who represented farm sizes from 0.5 to 20 acres. We shared research results on tarping practices and toured plots from our Long-Term Permanent Bed Experiment. We presented together with members of the Wickings Lab on Arthropod Ecology at Cornell, who spoke on the role and value of invertebrates in soils and our discussed new research directed towards measuring tarping impacts on the soil mesofauna community (Photo -  Freeville Field Day). Evaluations (13 farmers) provided feedback on the quality of the presentations and how the event impacted the practices they were implementing on their farms. Ten farmers (77%) responded that they would try using tarps on their farm or would be changing the way that they utilize tarps, e.g., to terminate cover crops, reducing tillage, or plant earlier in the season. Overall evaluations scored very high for Knowledge Gained (4.5/5), Presentation Relevance (4.8/5), and for Presentation Style (4.7/5) and all respondents shared they would be interested in attending future field days.

We shared our research results with farmers and agricultural service providers across the Northeast region through 10 virtual and in-person events from 2021-22, including specialized trainings, conference workshops, and field tours. These activities included:

• Maher, R. Tarping research in organic vegetables. 02/10/21. Glynwood Center for Regional Food and Farming. No-till roundtable. Webinar. 25 farmers. 1hr.
• Maher, R. Reduced tillage strategies for organic vegetables. 04/09/21. Cornell Soil Health Program and American Farmland Trust – Soil Health Specialist Training. Webinar. 27 educators. 1 hr.
• Maher, R. Reduced tillage strategies for organic vegetables. 04/15/21. NRCS - NY Organic Ag Training. Webinar. 45 educators. 1 hr.
• Maher, R. Tarping Research Roundtable. Tillage Reduction Innovations Session. 12/13/21. New England Vegetable and Fruit Conference. Webinar. 290 farmers. 0.25 hr.
• Ginakes, P. Using Permanent Beds in Combination with Different Mulching Strategies and Tarping to Improve Soil Health and Crop Yield: A Work In Progress. Soil Health Session, 12/15/21. New England Vegetable and Fruit Conference. Webinar. 230 farmers. 0.25 hr.
• Maher, R. Tarping to reduce tillage in small-scale organic vegetables. 2/1/22. Mid- Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Conference. Hershey, PA. Virtual. 30 farmers. 0.5 hr.
• Maher, R., Tuori, B. Using tarps to reduce tillage on small vegetable farms. 2/11/22. PASA Sustainable Agriculture Conference. Lancaster, PA. 60 farmers. 1 hr.
• Maher, R. Trials and tale of using tarps with reduced tillage and cover crops. 3/10/22. Northeast Cover Crops Conference. Virtual. 40 educators. 0.5 hr.
• Maher, R. Alvarado, M. Soil health and tarping in vegetables field tour (delivered in English and Spanish). 6/13/22. Tompkins Cortland Community College Dominican Republic Tour. Freeville, NY. 15 educators. 2 hrs.
• Maher, R. Salzl, M.  Soil health and tarping in vegetables field tour. 9/13/22. NE SARE Fellows Tour. Freeville, NY. 15 educators. 2 hrs. 

In the winter of 2022, we again followed up with farmers that participated in our project (240 individuals, including DE workshops and webinar participants) and shared a short, online survey that asked them to reflect on how tarps have changed their farm management over time. We reached 29 farmers through this survey, where they shared how they used tarps, what benefits they have found, any issues or concerns that they had and how they plan on using tarps in the future. For these farmers, farm size based on planted acres in vegetables, fruits, flowers, herbs ranged from 0.1 acres to 10 acres, with a mean of 2.6 acres. Farmers used tarps on 0.1 to 2 acres, which represented 5 to 100% of their planted acreage, with an average of 45% of acreage in production under tarps (0.7 acres). On average, surveyed farmers had been using tarps for four years with a range from 1 to 9 years.

Farmers were asked to specifically reflect on how tarping has led to changes in their soil, weed, crop, and overall farm management. They shared how tarps are used in both tilled and no-till applications, to create stale seed beds, to terminate cover crops, to create new planting areas, and as an overwinter cover crop substitute (Year 3 Applications). Based on this survey, farmers reported that using tarps led to a wide range of management changes (Year 3 Farmer Changes). These included:

• Reduced tillage. 93% of farmers used fewer tillage passes and 71% used less intensive tillage (e.g., shallower or gentler tools).
• Improved soil management. 36% found that tarps reduced water-related management problems and 39% found that tarps helped them implement more cover crops.
• Increased field management flexibility. 68% reported that tarps increased both field access and overall management flexibility.
• Enhanced weed management. 89% of farmers found tarps led to fewer weeds (including reductions in annual and perennial weeds) with 86% also reporting less weeding labor.
• Less labor. 68% found that tarps reduced both hand and equipment labor.
• Increased profitability. 54% reported increased farm profitability after using tarps.

Farmers also shared their challenges (Year 3 Challenges and Insights ) which included keeping tarps secure from the wind, finding the time and labor to move them around especially when they are wet and/or in the middle of the season, creating habitat for voles, and a desire to reduce plastic use in agriculture. Based on their experiences, 33% of farmers will continue using tarps in the same manner while 43% of farmers are looking for new uses or ways to adapt tarps.