The Ohio State University Extension , in conjunction with the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Ohio No - Till Council , has developed an alternative to established and no - till systems .
The method , known as ECO Farming , is a new concept for land in the 21st one C , say Jim Hoorman , OSU Extensioncover cropsspecialist . The acronym stands for “ Eternal No - till , uninterrupted - life screen and Other best - management practice . ”
“ In other words , dead trying to eliminate tillage as much as possible , ” Hoorman tell .
Hoorman , along with Ray Archuleta of NRCS ’ East National Technology Service Center ; Dave Brandt , Ohio No - till Council president ; and Mark Scarpiti , Ohio NRCS agronomist , collaboratively defined the ECO Farming conception . The team first stick in it to Fannie Farmer at a series of field days in August 2011 .
“ uninterrupted - living cover means husbandman attempt to keep a living crop on the soil 100 percentage of the time , ” Archuleta say . “ The goal is to protect the stain from soil erosion , increase urine percolation and decrease nutritious runoff . ”
Examples of continuous - living top include grain crop , address crop , pasture or hay systems , or perennial plant .
Other best - management practices include the concept of controlled traffic , water - table management where applicable , manuremanagement andintegrated pest direction .
“ The goal is to use an integrated system of rules of preservation practices to solve environmental nutrient issues associated with hypoxia and eutrophication to improve water timber , ” Scarpiti says .
Brandt has been practicing ECO Farming on his farm for 15 eld and say he has reduced his plant food inputs by 50 to 70 percent and herbicide costs by 50 percent . He also has cut his fuel consumption . In the process , he added dirt organic affair , which has improved ground wellness and increased craw yields .
Hoorman tell the ECO Farming scheme closely mimics natural cycles in virgin soils by give the microbes . “ You have 1,000 to 2,000 time more microbes associated with live root . ”
Plants hold 25 to 40 per centum of their saccharide supply for feed the microbes , which in routine recycle nitrogen , phosphorus and body of water back to the works roots . This born process improves soil structure and increases body of water infiltration and water storage .
The ECO Farming groundbreaker importune that for Fannie Merritt Farmer to accept this system , it must be economically feasible and be ecologically levelheaded and environmentally sustainable in the recollective running . The researchers say it appear to be all three .
“ For 100 to 200 years , farmers have been tilling the soil and basically mining it of nutrient , destroying soil structure and turn a loss 60 to 80 percentage of dirt organic matter , ” Archuleta say . “ Now we can utilize advanced knowledge of soils , soil wellness and ground bionomics to workwithMother Nature rather than against her . ”
