As a part-time farmer I have learned of ways to reduce my environmental impact. Is there more that can be done? Certainly but they don't come without expense that I could not afford.
For example, when I started out I was doing all my fall plowing with a Farmall M tractor with about 25hp on the ground. That's all I had at the time. I used a 14" 3-bottom mold board plow that covered about 42" of ground on each pass. On average it took me about an hour per acre and about 1/2 gallon of gasoline. Eventually I got an opportunity to buy my father-in-law's Allis-Chalmers 190XT diesel tractor with about 100hp and a 16" 4-bottom plow. Now I could cover about 64" with each pass and I had enough power to pull it a little faster. My plowing time was cut to about half. Not only is it faster but the diesel tractor runs far more efficient than that old M gas. I estimate I now use about a third as much fuel by comparison, which translates into less time in the field and lower emissions. That tractor is a 1968 model and obviously, newer equipment is even better but it would take about 20 years worth of the income I generate to pay for it, which is not feasible for me.
But I didn't stop there. I also learned that soybean ground is easily tilled using a chisel plow instead of a mold board plow. Chisel plowing is more beneficial with regard to soil management and I am able to pull a 10' wide plow compared to the 64" 4-bottom. I pull it at the same speed but now I'm cutting my plowing time down even more and that translates into even lower emissions.
I won't lie. Part of the motivation is cost and time but I also appreciate that I am able to get the same work done with less environmental impact. This is the kind of thing farmers are doing all the time but it goes unnoticed.
For example, no-till practices are not only beneficial for controlling erosion and cutting costs. It also reduces the number of passes over a farmer field and that translates into lower emissions. It is also known that tilling the soil is hard on the microorganisms and no-till is less intrusive.
Unfortunately, for us here in central Minnesota where we have long winters to deal with, no-till has not proven to be a feasible option. We need to till our soil in the fall so the fields are black as this helps them warm up quicker in the spring so we can get our crops in earlier to give our plants a little edge on competing weeds and the shorter growing season.
GPS technology is changing the face of farming and reducing the amount of wasted passes on the fields which again translates into reduced emissions. The farming industry is not sitting on its hands but with the lower commodity values we see now, progress is likely to slow down because changes such as I mentioned above are not without cost.
For example, when I started out I was doing all my fall plowing with a Farmall M tractor with about 25hp on the ground. That's all I had at the time. I used a 14" 3-bottom mold board plow that covered about 42" of ground on each pass. On average it took me about an hour per acre and about 1/2 gallon of gasoline. Eventually I got an opportunity to buy my father-in-law's Allis-Chalmers 190XT diesel tractor with about 100hp and a 16" 4-bottom plow. Now I could cover about 64" with each pass and I had enough power to pull it a little faster. My plowing time was cut to about half. Not only is it faster but the diesel tractor runs far more efficient than that old M gas. I estimate I now use about a third as much fuel by comparison, which translates into less time in the field and lower emissions. That tractor is a 1968 model and obviously, newer equipment is even better but it would take about 20 years worth of the income I generate to pay for it, which is not feasible for me.
But I didn't stop there. I also learned that soybean ground is easily tilled using a chisel plow instead of a mold board plow. Chisel plowing is more beneficial with regard to soil management and I am able to pull a 10' wide plow compared to the 64" 4-bottom. I pull it at the same speed but now I'm cutting my plowing time down even more and that translates into even lower emissions.
I won't lie. Part of the motivation is cost and time but I also appreciate that I am able to get the same work done with less environmental impact. This is the kind of thing farmers are doing all the time but it goes unnoticed.
For example, no-till practices are not only beneficial for controlling erosion and cutting costs. It also reduces the number of passes over a farmer field and that translates into lower emissions. It is also known that tilling the soil is hard on the microorganisms and no-till is less intrusive.
Unfortunately, for us here in central Minnesota where we have long winters to deal with, no-till has not proven to be a feasible option. We need to till our soil in the fall so the fields are black as this helps them warm up quicker in the spring so we can get our crops in earlier to give our plants a little edge on competing weeds and the shorter growing season.
GPS technology is changing the face of farming and reducing the amount of wasted passes on the fields which again translates into reduced emissions. The farming industry is not sitting on its hands but with the lower commodity values we see now, progress is likely to slow down because changes such as I mentioned above are not without cost.
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