Trends in conservation tillage use

CONSERVATION tillage is any planting and tillage system that retains at least 30 percent crop residue cover on the soil surface after planting. These systems include no-till or slot planting, ridge-till, strip-till, mulch tillage, reduced tillage, and minimum tillage. A recent U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) survey of more than 11,000 farmers nationwide—the 1983 Farm Production Expenditure Survey (FPES) conducted in the spring of 1984—provided some national and regional insights into the use of conservation tillage practices. Covered were such aspects as the extent and location of use, crops grown, size of farm, cropland slope, tenure, reasons given for use of conservation tillage, and government assistance received. Extent and location of use Farmers in various regions of the country are adopting conservation tillage at different rates. For the United States generally, about 21 percent of the farmers …