Zero Till Then and Now

Owen Beever

When we move slowly over a long period of time we need to look back sometimes just to reassure ourselves that we are still moving. When we look back at 25 years of zero till the distance is amazing. From little more than an idea in the minds of a few forward thinking individuals in the late 70’s it has grown to the extent that some form of reduced tillage is a common practice for many producers today. We’ve now reached the point where it is difficult to separate zero till issues from every day crop issues.

When the first few growers in Manitoba and North Dakota began developing zero till on their farms one of the biggest obstacles was to avoid being overwhelmed by the negative attitude that surrounded them. To say most people were sceptical is an understatement to say the least and it is easier to understand if we look at a few of the factors which existed at the time; 1) continuous cropping (a 70’s term) was relatively new-summerfallow still occupied 20-30 % of the cropland. 2) Double disc press drills were king 3) glyphosate was $30 per litre 4) crop variety choices were limited (no herbicide tolerant crops, etc.). 5) herbicide choices were limited.

The main issues faced by zero till growers at the time were:

    1. Equipment – there was little in the way of suitable seeding equipment

    2. Weed Control – options were limited and costs were high

    3. Knowledge base and experience were still to be developed

There were a few factors along the way over the past 25 years which have acted as a catalyst in the development of zero till namely:

    1. Drought years of the 1980’s underlined the need to save moisture

    2. The advancement in equipment for seed and fertilizer placement

    3. The reduction in glyphosate prices

    4. Development of herbicide tolerant crop varieties

    5. Improved herbicide choices

So where are we at today? There are still many issues out there to deal with although they are not always so easy to identify as purely zero till issues. Crop disease management is a major issue. Handling zero till fields in a wet spring gained some attention a couple years ago. Insect management, fertilizer placement, changing weed spectrums, crop fertility, dealing with new crops and others all have concerns that need to be answered. There’s also other difficult issues that aren’t totally agronomic in nature such as genetically modified crops.

One thing is very clear in looking back over the last 25 years. Zero till has reached this stage in its development because a few individuals took hold of an idea and were determined to find a way to make it work. Certainly some of the concepts have changed (eg/ the ideas about no soil disturbance we had back in the 70’s no longer exist) and there have been many adjustments to the changing conditions. The basic principles have remained the same.

As a last comment it has been my experience that the outstanding attribute of those individuals who have guided this workshop and the Man-ND Zero Till Assoc. over the years has been a positive attitude. It is the single most important reason why zero till has made major advancements over the past 25 years.