No-Till Acreage Increases Significantly In PA During 2009

The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service Pennsylvania Field Office reported this week no-till farming was practiced on 56.8 percent of major crop acreages in the Commonwealth and other conservation tillage practices on the remaining 21 percent.

Conventional tillage was used on 22.8 percent of farm acreage during 2009, down from 30.1 percent in 2008.

No-till farming practices reduce nutrient and sediment runoff and are much more fuel efficient than conventional tillage.

Corn and soybeans are the two crops with the highest acreages. Conventional till was used on 23 percent of the corn acreage, no-till was practiced on 57 percent of the acreage, and the remaining 20 percent of the corn acreage used other conservation tillage practices. In soybeans, conventional till was used on 10 percent of the acreage, no-till was practiced on 70 percent of the acreage, and the remaining 20 percent of the acreage was cultivated using other conservation tillage practices. Barley showed the biggest change, with conventional tillage decreasing from 33.3 percent of the total acres planted to only 16.7 percent of the acres planted.

For information on no-till farming, visit the Rodale Institute No-Till Revolution webpage.