If you’re in the South Central PA Region and are looking for ways to cut down on your diesel fuel bill or wish you could find some extra time to get things done …we may have the answer, because no-till farming can do both as well as keep soil where it belongs- on the field.

“Park the Plow for Profit” is a new no-till assistance program that is now taking applications from farmers in the South Central PA region.

The objective of the program is to encourage the adoption of continuous no-till cropping systems in the lower Susquehanna Valley, specifically Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lancaster, Lebanon and York counties. This is the area covered by the Capital Resource Conservation and Development Area Council, administrators of the project.

Park the Plow for Profit was designed to address some of the barriers to no-till adoption such as equipment costs as well as education and technical information. The need for technical knowledge to make the transition to no-till successful will be included in the form of a landowner payment for the services of a Certified Crop Adviser, to develop a “transition plan” for the acreage enrolled in the program. A fundamental principle of the program is that no-till farming has to be done by managing a total cropping system in order to be successful.

According to John Rowehl, Extension Educator in Agronomy, “Decisions about crop varieties, manure and fertilizer application, pest control tactics, crop rotations and the use of cover crops all need to done in recognition that no-till systems are not simply the same as tilled systems without the tillage.”

To help address the issue of the costs to convert to no-till, there will be a per acre payment made available for technical services throughout the transition period, as well as a payment for the practice, if so desired by the farmer. Many farmers who are successful in no-till have expressed that no-till works best when it is continuous no-till. Consequently, continuous no-till is the ultimate goal of this program and participation in it means that a grower will need to commit the acreage to no-till for three to five years.

No-till cropping is a very cost effective soil erosion control practice. It is also a way to significantly reduce fuel use. Now, more than ever, we face tighter and more expensive supplies of petroleum as world consumption continues to grow. There has never been a better time to conserve. No-till: Save fuel…..Save time…..Save soil.

The Capital RC&D Council has partnered with the Department of Environmental Protection, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Penn State Cooperative Extension and participating county conservation districts to develop the program.

For more information or your county’s contacts for the program, call the Capital RC&D Council office at 717-948-6633.

9/29/2006