Friday, March 16, 2012

No-till farmers doubled soil carbon levels

Farmer Ray Harrington was a founder of the West Australian No Till Farmers Association. WANTFA celebrates 10 years this month."The soils on our farms have become more fertile and we've doubled our organic carbon levels on pretty mongrel soils."
No-till farmers report that the technique has doubled their soil organic matter - that is a 100% increase. Yet research repeatedly fails to detect a statistical difference in soil carbon sequestration between no-till and conventional cultivation. Both scientists and farmers should be concerned about this issue because - as the no-till adoption rates prove - farmers are always willing to forge ahead alone. Friction between the parties over this can lead to poor allocation of resources, ie. research funds

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