Karl Kupers was an early convert to no-till wheat in the arid and erodible Palouse region of the U.S. Northwest, where wheat is dominant, says a reader-funded story on Flux. While no-till dramatically reduces soil erosion, farmers rely on herbicides and crop rotations to combat weeds. “Over the next five to 10 years, we’re going to see a lot of new crops grown here,” Kupers told author Virginia Gewin, who writes, “It’s not a trivial decision to switch from tillage to no-till.” There is the cost of equipment and weed control. But growers save on fuel.
Rising demand for biofuels – usually a Midwestern story – provided an impetus to make oilseeds such as canola and camelina into viable rotation partners with wheat in the Palouse, reports Gewin. Plantings of canola increased fourfold but is tiny compared to 2.2 million acres of wheat. “Chickpeas do great in the Palouse,” says Gewin. “These rotation crops increase soil nutrients and break pest cycles, which helps boost subsequent wheat yields.”