A3B-Lancaster Saturday, July 12, 2003
No-Till Farming Methods Catching On Among Amish
DAVE LEFEVER
Lancaster Farming Staff
GAP (Lancaster Co.) More
Amish farmers are taking, an in
terest in no-till farming. That’s
evident from the big crowd that
visited the David F. Stoltzfus
farm for a no-till field day this
past Tuesday.
A total of 120 guests attended
the third annual field day. They
had a chance to hear stories and
see first-hand examples of how
using horse-drawn no-till plant
ers can save many hours of labor,
conserve moisture, prevent ero
sion, and help build up soil struc
ture over the years.
Stoltzfus first began hying no
till methods eight years ago.
Since then, he’s switched entirely
to no-till planting for his 70 acres
of com and alfalfa crops on the
farm.
His father Gideon and several
brothers manufacture and adapt
a variety of planters at their near
by business shop.
Stoltzfus said the main reason
he began no-tilling was to better
deal with the red clay soil found
Sjoerd Duiker shows
corn roots taken from a
field that has been no-tilled
for several years on the
Stoltzfus farm. Although
this corn was planted in
fairly wet conditions and
the soil shows some evi
dence of sidewall compac
tion, the crop is growing
pretty well.
Grant Troop demonstrates the importance of keeping
the no-till planter level in order to get a good planting job.
in some of his fields. The dense,
poorly-drained clay makes it
tough to plow and work the soil.
But no-tilling can be an advan
tage for all soil types, according
to crop specialists at the meeting.
During this wet spring, for exam
ple, no-till farmers were often
able to get their crops planted
sooner than those who plowed.
“A lot of people found out no
tilling was good this year. They
didn’t have time to plow,” said
Bob Anderson, Penn State crop
agent in Lancaster County.
Anderson pointed out that
planting com by conventional
tillage (plowing, discing, harrow
ing, and planting) takes at least
six times as long as no-tilling,
which involves only one pass
across the field with a no-till
planter.
“I find the interest (in no-till)
is growing,” said David Stoltzfus.
Some of the reasons for this, he
said, are because some Amish
dairies are growing larger and
labor is not as readily available as
it used to be.
Grant Troop, an agronomist
from Quarryville, spoke on some
of the basics of no-till planting,
including planter parts and'ad
justments.
The best way of transitioning
to no-till com is by planting into
an alfalfa field, according to
Troop. After four years of not
being tilled, soil in an alfalfa field
“has structure back in it,” he
said.
“Year after year of plowing
compromises soil structure,”
Troop pointed out.
Visitors had a chance to exam
ine one of Stoltzfus’s com fields
he no-tilled planted this spring in
fairly wet conditions. Troop and
Stoltzfus said they were con
cerned about how the com would
grow because of the risk of “side
wall compaction” that can hap
pen when com is planted in wet
soil, Troop said.
This kind of compaction is
caused by hardening of “side
walls” created by the no-till
coulters in the soil. If the com
roots cannot break through these
walls, they will only grow in a
single plane along the planting
groove, greatly reducing yields.
Troop and Stoltzfus said they
were pleased with how well the
com was growing. This .is the sec
ond year the field was planted to
no-tUI com. Prior to that it had
been in alfalfa.
Troop attributed the good-
Interested farmers gather around a com planter on the farm of Gideon and David F.
Stoltzfus farm, as Grant Troop goes over some of the essentials of good no-till methods.
In the background is a field of no-till corn.
growing com to the fact that the
field had not been tilled for sever
al years.
Sjoerd Duiker, Penn State soil
scientist, pulled up several com
stalks to show the root develop
ment. The roots showed some
evidence of sidewall compaction,
but not to the extent of causing
large yield losses.
Duiker also had soil samples
on hand for farmers to see the
difference between soils that have
been no-tilled over the years and
soils that have been tilled. Better
splatter board, rear foot winch, two
front foot winches and a full width belly
band and winch to lift the animals
weight off their feet. All winches have
heavy duty friction brakes providing
constant, positive holding action.
ALL STEEL PARTS ARE POWDER
COATED USING THE PBZ
FIVE-STEP PROCESS.
Call or write for additional information
and the name of your nearest dealer
structure and fewer signs of com
paction could be seen in the no
till soils.
As far as no-tiller planter ad
justment, Troop stressed the im-
portance of making sure the
planter is level to get the best
planting job.
“If you don’t have the com
planter level, it’s not going to do
the job you want it to do,” he
said.
Troop also went over recom
mendations on various planter
parts. Generally, 13-wave coult
ers work best for planting com,
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he said. They should not be
mounted on the planter frame,
but mounted so that depth
wheels can give direct depth con
trol.
Other Penn State personnel on
hand for the day included Greg
Roth, professor of crop manage
ment; David Sylvia, head of the
Department of Crop and Soil Sci
ences; and Mark Goodson, York
County crop agent and organizer
of the field day.
Farmers' attending the field
day were eligible to receive chem
ical application credits.
Hours
Mon - Fn 7-5