Farmers encouraged to keep the stubble during no-till November
NASHVILLE, November 1, 2022 — The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is encouraging Tennessee farmers to keep the tillage equipment in the machine shed during No-Till November.
- First launched in 2017, the NRCS project is a conservation twist on the national cancer awareness No-Shave November campaign that encourages people not to shave during the entire month.
- The NRCS campaign encourages farmers to “keep the stubble” on their harvested crops fields and give their farm a more rugged, natural look. The campaign has reached more than two million people nationally through Twitter and local media since 2017.
- Leave the tillage equipment parked in the shed this fall. Consider the benefits of no till, which is a way of growing crops or pasture from year to year with minimal soil disturbance.
- Soil is like the skin of the farm: it’s a nourishing barrier for what grows above and beneath. But whereas a shaving razor stops at the surface of the skin, tillage rips into the soil and can inflict harm.
- No till improves soil health by not disturbing soil microbiology. Beneficial soil microbes are essential for growing food, fiber and fuel.
- Repeated tillage undermines soil structure and reduces aggregate stability; it breaks down organic matter and releases carbon stored in the soil.
- No till is a key climate-smart farming practice, helping healthy soil store more carbon sequestered from the atmosphere to mitigate climate change.
- No till improves the soil’s water holding capacity and keeps soils in place, preventing harmful runoff and erosion.
- Still not convinced to #keepthestubble? No till saves time, money (fuel) and wear on equipment. It’s an economically-sound choice.
Please visit the new NRCS Tennessee website here for more information about soil health, no till, and other conservation concerns.
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