Farmers encouraged to keep the stubble during ‘No-Till November’
HAMER, Idaho (KIFI) – The Natural Resources Conservation Service is encouraging Idaho farmers to ditch the tillage equipment during 'No-Till November.'
This NRCS project is a conservation twist on the 'No Shave November' campaign that encourages people not to shave during the entire month. The 'No-Till November' campaign encourages farmers to “keep the stubble” on their harvested crops fields.
The campaign has reached more than two million people nation-wide.
Justin Place is a local farmer in Hamer, Idaho who has made the no-till conservation practice his standard practice for a little over five years.
He said, "As we all know, here in Idaho, the wind blows on a regular basis and sometimes really hard. So, we were looking for a way to conserve that top soil... When we did that, we found that we had less water usage... and we're saving the soil as well."
The no-till practice helps improve soil health, which is important for a great crop, conserves water and saves time and money.
"We reduced how much we were using our tractors, so, our equipment cost was lower. We only burned about half as much fuel, so, our fuel cost was lower. All the wear and tear on the tillage equipment went to zero," Place said.
Not much planting happens in November, but this "No-Till November" campaign can encourage farmers to think about exercising this practice for when the planting season comes back around in late March or early April.
"You're never going to take a mindset change in April... 'Cause you're all in full swing again. Personally, I think 'No-Till September' would be a better catch phrase because, in September, that's when everybody is out there thinking about working dirt... I had the epiphany in the dead of the winter to go to no-till," Place said.
But Place thinks the efforts and purpose of 'No-Till November' spread a great message to farmers and is willing to help others who may want to switch to the conservative practice.
