Sunday, November 22, 2009

ONGOING COVERAGE: WSU REPORTING PROJECT: WARMING

Some Palouse farmers turn to no-till method

Practice reduces erosion, greenhouse gases

Stephanie Teien
Special to The Spokesman-Review
December 13, 2008

UNIONTOWN, WASH. – Frank Wolf and his brother are spending less money on fuel and less time on their tractors since they incorporated new techniques on their old family farm.

They are also reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

“Our main objective was to eliminate erosion,” said Frank, a fourth-generation farmer who grows wheat, barley and other crops on 2,800 acres of sprawling farmland in southeast Washington. “Everything else has been a bonus.”

Frank and Ben Wolf are among 1 percent of farmers in the Palouse region who use a system called no-till farming, in which crops are drilled directly into the soil, leaving residue from previous harvests undisturbed.

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This technique protects valuable topsoil from erosion and reduces the amount of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide produced by farming activities. Scientists believe a buildup of these gases traps heat in the earth’s atmosphere and contributes to intensifying warming trends recorded around the world.

The Washington Department of Ecology estimates agriculture contributes more than 6 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the state, but other experts say it is difficult to measure exactly.

Traditional farming practices involve plows and tractor-drawn machines that remove weeds and cultivate fields into rows. This leaves the ground’s surface bare, increasing evaporation of moisture in the soil and accelerating erosion. Runoff allows fertilizers and pesticides to descend into the water supply and pollute lakes and rivers —this is especially true on the windswept hills of the Palouse.Frank Wolf said his two low-disturbance drills allow him to retain more than 80 percent of his soil residue. The drills also are more fuel-efficient than other farming equipment, further limiting the production of CO2 on his farm.

Dr. Hans Kok, extension specialist for conservation tillage at Washington State University, said Pacific Northwest farmers have been more reluctant to try no-till farming than people who farm on flat plains because they anticipate challenges with the landscape.

And some conventional farmers in the Northwest have been slow to adopt no-till farming practices because they feel they are putting their farms at risk.

“There’s still a stigma attached to it because some people went broke in the ’80s,” Frank said. “But that’s like comparing car emissions in the ’80s with newer cars today that are more fuel efficient. We’ve made some big improvements.”

Organizations further the no-till cause

In 2002, the Pacific Northwest Direct Seed Association located in Moscow, Idaho, became the first North American organization to register acres of no-till farmland for carbon credits.

A Louisiana energy company paid the association $75,000 to lease designated acreage from no-till farmers in order to obtain carbon offsets.

While the “carbon offset project” is currently on hold, its main objective is to increase awareness so soil will be considered a credible offset in the eyes of other industries, said Russ Evans, the association’s executive director.

He said the association closely monitored the private trading it accomplished in 2002 so it will be able to package carbon credits for farmers in the future and sell them to companies wanting pollution allowances.

Meanwhile, local organizations are working toward developing a market where farmers can easily change over to no-till farming.

“We have a lot of programs to assist farmers in transitioning to conservation farming,” said Rich Baden, executive director of the Spokane County Conservation District. “We provide low-interest loans to farmers so they can purchase no-till equipment.”

What conversion means for the farmer

Frank Wolf took a chance in 2001 and purchased a Cross-Slot drill, manufactured in New Zealand. This drill places each seed directly into the soil while dispensing fertilizer at the same time.

Conventional tillage requires separate applications of fertilizer and added trips up and down the field to cultivate the land. This cultivation destroys most of the organic matter in the soil, including protective residue and organisms.

“There are worms in the soil now,” Wolf said. “They eat decaying residue and through digestion naturally add nitrogen to the soil. The worms also help water infiltration.”

One reason farmers are reluctant to try no-till equipment is the price. Wolf said a Cross-Slot drill can run from $100,000 to $200,000 and up.

“A lot of guys already have a large investment in their conventional equipment,” he said. “And they’re worried new equipment won’t produce the same results and they’ll lose money.”

Another concern farmers have about using no-till methods is the prevalence of pests, weeds and diseases, which are eliminated by tillage. The Wolfs found no-till farming presented new challenges initially, but with time have restored balance to the ecosystem and introduced new animal species to their farm.

“Mice became a big problem,” Wolf said. “We were really worried about this influx at first, but then there was a population increase of hawks and crows that would come eat the mice.”

Ben Wolf said coyotes used to be hunted in the area, but now coyote-hunting is off limits because they help control pests.

“We also see ground-burrowing owls here which never thrived before because the plow mined their nests,” he said.

The Wolfs said their annual yield has not increased or decreased due to no-till farming, and they’re making the same money they did farming conventionally.

The brothers agreed the biggest advantage to no-till farming is the amount of time they save by not using tillage machinery.

“Right now we use half a gallon of fuel per acre,” Ben Wolf said. “With the conventional equipment, we were using four to eight gallons per acre. And it would take about 200 hours a year on each tractor.”

The Wolfs look forward to a day they will be compensated for reducing the carbon footprint on their farm. In the meantime, they’re grateful for the extra time no-till farming allows them to spend with their families.

Looking out over a bluff, Frank Wolf said he can see all the way to Montana on a clear day. As he gazed at his sun-bleached wheat fields, he said he isn’t better than other farmers for switching to no-till and doesn’t judge people who use conventional methods because he farmed the same way 10 years ago.

The unforeseen advantages of no-till farming make him glad he approached his farm’s erosion problem with an open mind.

“We could bury our heads in the sand, but I think it’s important that we change with the times,” he said. “As long as we’re going forward and not backward, I’m happy.”