Technology driven world of Agriculture, Zero-till or No-till farming has been the direction many producers in the state have been heading.
(Alan Ness, Manitoba-North Dakota Zero Tillage Association) “Zero Till used to be a practice that you’d do on an annual basis now zero till has really turned into a system.”
A system that started as a way to conserve top soil and help guard against run-off and groundwater contamination
Now it’s a viable, economically driven system that pairs technology with science to help farmers produce better crops while sustaining the viability of their land.
(Alan Ness, Manitoba-North Dakota Zero Tillage Association) “Where it’s bunch of crop rotations, rotating the proper crops for disease and insect control, rotating crops for nutrient management and those types of things. So consequently we’re looking at a bigger picture than we used to look at.”
That big picture is also on the agenda of the United Nations
Theodor Friedrich with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization says zero till is a proven practice
His mission is traveling the world and showing how conservation agriculture helps sustain farm land while feeding the world.
(Theodor Friedrich, UN Food and Agriculture Organization) “We are promoting world wide as part of our strategy to combine sustainability of farming with the high production. Because we are facing still an increasing number of hungry people around the world.”
Friedrich says the zero till practice is catching on around the world but is still in the minority in farming practices
He says more underdeveloped countries tend to adopt it quicker with the lack of fertilizer available and big machinery to till land.
(Theodor Friedrich, UN Food Association Organization) “The laggers on Europe. Europe is actually the last area to catch up not because they wouldn’t have technology in theory but they don’t have it in practice and there’s a lot of resistance.”
And Friedrich says much of that has to do with mis-information about zero till.
For farmers in North Dakota group like the Man-Dak Zero Till association continue to promote the idea here
With tried and true results of sustainability, economic and environmental benefits, it’s a practice that is showing a win-win for farming in the future.
(Alan Ness, Manitoba-North Dakota Zero Tillage Association) “Bottom line is from our organizations standpoint as long as there’s cover on the field, we’ve taken care of the erosion problem, increased the efficiencies and we’re happy.”
