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Plowing for NV Dave
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mhagny
Posted 7/17/2006 10:17 (#27357 - in reply to #27101)
Subject: RE: further comments on plowing


A few have chosen to take some shots at me, alleging that I think myself to have all the answers, "infinite wisdom," etc.  I really don't see how any of my comments in this thread can be seen as attempts to micro-manage Jay, but whatever.  My role was more as the devil's advocate (and some of you will take that quite literally -- Wink ).
 
As for the "It's different here" crowd, there really are some universals in agriculture.  A quick review:
 
1) Tillage is damaging to soils, regardless of soil type or climate.  This is pretty much beyond dispute by anyone seriously studying the subject, and it is easily evident for anyone willing to pay attention.  Plowing is one of the most damaging methods.  Soil degradation is a major problem on a global scale.
 
2) No-till with adequate surface mulch can halt soil degradation and even partly reverse it.  Again, this has been adequately shown by scientists and farmers in a wide diversity of soils and climates.
 
3) No-till is viable economically.  Again, this has been shown by actual producer experience in wide diversity of climates and soils, on most major crops and a bunch of 'minor' ones.
 
I agree with Dave that no two pieces of land will ever be exactly the same, and two localities will never have exactly the same climate (nor will any single spot ever have it the same in any two years!).  The argument that "it's different here" has been bandied about for much too long, and really is only relevant to a few of the details of how the crops are grown, not the ability to do no-till (or some other scheme).  Since every parcel of land is just a tiny bit different from nearby ones, people will go on arguing that no-till can't be done on their farm, and apparently nothing short of actually taking over their farm and doing it for them will ever convince them (and just trying talking them into that!).
 
With excessive focus on differences rather than universals, it's a wonder some people ever implement anything.  Imagine these scenarios:
 
That (tractor size, tire lug design, brand of seed, fertilizer source, herbicide, etc) has never been proven on my soils!  It's different here!  We better not make any changes until we have better information.
 
Or to your accountant or banker:  My operation is unique!  My cash flows are different!  Those (ratios, analyses, warning signs, laws) don't apply to me! 
 
Or to your physician:  My physiology is unique!  No one has ever tested that (drug, treatment, surgery, therapy, diagnostic tool) on me!  It might not work right!  I'm not doing anything!
 
To be sure, there are significant differences and many subtleties (and some of them have dire consequences if ignored).  But our world appears to have considerable regularity to many phenomena, which is quite useful for us hominids to find our way.  Please don't lose sight of the rules by excessive focus on minor variations.   
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