Eighty-five people attended the first meeting of the Pennsylvania No-Till Alliance in Centre County on March 4. The group included farmers, conservation district staff, farm organizations, supporting state, federal and local agencies, educational institutions and private-sector businesses supporting no-till agricultural practices.

The Alliance seeks to bring together farmers interested in improving soil quality and crop production through the promotion of no-till crop production within the Commonwealth. The main goal of the Alliance is to serve as a network for farmers interested in no-till practices as well as providing them with the most recent resources available on no-till research, technology and funding.

The Alliance also plans to facilitate input regarding sediment and nutrient management issues related to agriculture and will coordinate activities between regional no-till groups across the state. Participation in the Alliance is open to no-till farmers and those supporting no-till agriculture in the private sector. Legislative and governmental agencies will be called upon to provide support and technical guidance as needed.

The successful daylong event began with Steve Groff of Cedar Meadow Farms in Lancaster County presenting his amazing video diary of Hurricane Floyd, which visualizes the impact of short-term heavy rainfall amounts on both traditional farm fields and fields that have been improved and managed through a no-till system approach.

Following Mr. Groff’s opening comments, Robin Heard, State Conservationist of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) made remarks expressing her agency’s support.

Brief presentations regarding the background of the Alliance formation were also given by Joel Myers, State Agronomist with the NRCS; Sjoerd Duiker, assistant professor of soil management and applied soil physics for Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences; and Jay Braund, Conservation District Field Representative for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

Additionally, Dr. Dwayne Beck, research manager of the Dakota Lakes Research Farm at South Dakota State University, delivered a keynote address titled, "Parking the Plow: Preparing for the No-Till Revolution." Dr. Beck is a renowned researcher who emphasizes crop rotations in making no-till systems more effective. He entertained the crowd with anecdotal evidence from his own farm operation.

The speaker presentations were followed by group break-out sessions on farmer networking and education, research, public outreach, program support and Alliance structure. Following break-out reports and recommendations, a social hour and family-style dinner ended the day's activities. There was also a working breakfast meeting on Saturday, March 5 for those interested in serving on the Alliance's interim Board of Directors.

The formation of the PA No-Till Alliance has been the result of a great collaborative effort. Alliance organizers include: USDA NRCS; Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture; Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection; Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences; Penn State Cooperative Extension, PA Association of RC&D Councils, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Pennsylvania Farm Bureau and PennAg Industries Association.

The Alliance interim Board of Directors has planned another meeting for April 7 at the same location to finalize the group's bylaws, elect officers, review the recommendations from the meeting breakout sessions, and formalize the membership structure of the Alliance.

They will also set up short-term goals and strategies for moving forward, such as developing a website, organizational materials, as well as supporting the development of publications related to the No-Till research and outreach efforts already begun statewide. All interested participants and supporting organizations are invited to attend."

For additional information or to join the PA No-Till Alliance, contact Susan Parry at the Capital Resource Conservation and Development Area Council office at (717) 948-6633, or by e-mail at susan.parry@pa.usda.gov .

(contributed by Susan Parry)

3/18/2005