Project Overview
Commodities
Practices
- Crop Production: no-till
- Natural Resources/Environment: soil stabilization
- Production Systems: organic agriculture
- Soil Management: organic matter, soil analysis, soil quality/health
Proposal summary:
We are proposing a research project comparing mixed vegetable production that uses conventional tillage versus one that does not use tillage (no-till) on our organic farm. We would measure four indicators of system viability including: Soil health, crop productivity, moisture retention and total cost. We plan to repeat the study in year two for more accurate data analysis and also to compare no-till costs in year one and year two of production. The soil health benefits of reducing or eliminating tillage is well documented, but there is a lack of data on the economic implications of making the switch to no-till for a small-scale organic mixed vegetable operation. Through our research we will not only be able to provide small-farmers with a template of our methods in switching to no-till, but also what costs and benefits to expect from using no-till methods on a mixed vegetable farm.
Project objectives from proposal:
The objective is to research the economic and soil health implications of transitioning from conventional tillage to no-till on a mixed vegetable operation. Recognizing that previous research on no till has been conducted primarily on large monoculture systems and does not reflect the constraints that small-scale organic mixed vegetable farms face. Our goal is for the results from this study to give farmers the information they need to see if transitioning to no-till is a viable option for their farm without incurring unnecessary cost and risk.