TEMPLE, Texas — The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is encouraging Texas farmers to keep the tillage equipment in the machine shed during No-Till November.
First launched in 2017, the NRCS campaign encourages farmers to “keep the stubble” on their harvested crops fields. The campaign has reached about 2 million people nationally through Twitter and local media since 2017.
“No-till farming is a cornerstone soil health conservation practice, which also promotes water quality while saving farmers time and money. It is also a key climate smart practice, that helps store more carbon in the soil,” said Kristy Oates, NRCS state conservationist for Texas. “One of the first soil health principles is ‘do not disturb.’ This campaign is a fun way to remind farmers about the important relationship between tillage and soil health.”
Improving soil health increases soil biological activity, which provides erosion control, nutrient benefits, and can simulate tillage.
Technical and financial assistance is available through the USDA-NRCS for no till conservation practices improving soil health, increasing crop production, minimizing inputs and many more environmental benefits. The Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) applications are taken continuously but ranking date is Feb. 11, 2022, to be considered by FY2022 funding.
No-till conservation efforts can also be applied for under the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) for producers who want to take their conservation efforts to the next level. Most CSP applicants have already been applying conservation practices to their land. Through CSP, they can give those practices a boost with conservation activities called “enhancements.” Enhancements take conservation practices to a higher level of stewardship. CSP applicants work on-one-one with their NRCS conservation planner to select enhancements that best fit their management goals and address resource concerns on the enrolled operation.
For more information about soil health and no-till, please read what Texas farmers are saying. Conservation at Work video on No-Till.
–USDA NRCS Texas