The Citizen, 1996-03-20, Page 40TAKE A SPIN
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April 30.
1996.
PAGE A-16. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 1996.
Agriculture 1996
Popularity of no-till increases over decades
By Janice Becker
The combination of environmen-
tal concerns, high input costs and
the quest for a better way have led
to the ever-increasing popularity of
no-till farming until, almost two
decades after its inception, many
counties are seeing 50 per cent of
the soybean acreage in no-till and
10 per cent of corn, across southern
Ontario.
Having been involved with no-
till since 1981, Don Lobb of the
Clinton area, along with his broth-
er, Murray, have accumulated sev-
eral years of valuable information
for the analysis of the cropping sys-
tem.
A comprehensive study complet-
ed in 1989, with the assistance of
several government agencies and
conservation authorities, detail the
improved output of Lobb's sandy
clay loam and silty clay loam
acreage.
After experimenting with differ-
ent planter attachments to deter-
mine the best results in the no-till
fields, Lobb compared the average
costs and yields for a soybean/com
rotation. (The harvest time, com-
bine time and combine fuel were
not considered in the equation.)
The fuel cost per acre, averaged
over the two year rotation of corn
and soybeans, for no-till (NT) was
$1.68. For conventional tillage
(CT) the cost rose to $5.29 due to
the increased amount of time spent
preparing the land for planting.
Labour cost per acre for CT were
more than double the level for NT,
sitting at $11.90 as opposed to
$5.32.
Machinery costs per acre, includ-
ing maintenance and overhead,
were $17.22 in NT and $35.54 for
CT.
In looking at the crop returns
over allocated costs per acre, NT
outeamed CT by $41.09, $160.12
compared to $119.03. When factor-
ing in the average soil loss variance
between NT and CT, Lobb says the
advantage to NT increased to
$47.17 per acre.
When calculating in the fuel cost
with gross crop returns, the vari-
ance is much greater. NT comes
out on top at $170.21 while CT
dips to a low $51.71.
"The average gross returns per
acre were $12.41 higher in NT corn
and soybean," says Lobb, "particu-
larly due to the slightly higher NT
yield on both crops."
In the years that followed the in-
depth study of 1989, Lobb contin-
ued to track the yield of NT and CT
crops.
The 1991 statistics for Murray
Lobb's soybeans found the adjusted
yield in bushels per acre at 53.3 for
NT and 47.88 in CT.
Soybeans for Don Lobb pro-
duced 162.2 bushels per acre on
sandy loam soil on six year NT,
157.2 on three-year tilled, 149.3 on
11-years tilled and 159.8 for 11
years NT.
In clay loam the results were:
141.7 in 11-year tiled and 166.5 for
11 years:
On the Don Lobb property, in
1993, corn was planted again, for
the second year of the rotation. The
results for nine-year NT were 112.8
bushels per acre while the CT was
111.7.
In the same year, Murray Lobb
planted soybeans after a corn crop
with the yield coming in at 42.3
bushels per acre for NT and 31.6 in
CT.
The 1994 soybean crop of Don
Lobb was affected by severe white
mold, quackgrass control and a
seeding depth problem, which may
have altered the results, to some
degree.
Murray Lobb completed a 15
year comparison for corn on sandy
to sandy loam soil with NT out-
yielding CT by 11 bushels per acre.
The comparative tillage trials on
the Lobb farm have been ongoing
since 1982, showing NT yields
exceeding CT each year, as report-
ed to the Ontario Ministry of Agri-
culture, Food and Rural Affairs,
Continued on A-17