Just 3 percent of California’s crop land is in no-till, compared to a national average of 35 percent, says Comstock’s business magazine, based in Sacramento, citing UC Davis research. “Farmers in California’s central farmlands have been using large disks and tills to rip and turn their soil for almost a century,” creating dust, the magazine says. State officials say particulate matter is the most common form of air pollution.
Advocates say no-till farming maximizes soil health, reduces farm equipment costs and can improve yields. Comstock’s cites Jeffrey Mitchell, cropping system specialist at UC-Davis, as saying lack of knowledge and a reluctance to change farming techniques are two key reasons for the low adoption rate.
“According to Mitchell, tilling came into fashion in California in the 1930s – ironically, about the same time tillage methods were being blamed for the Dust Bowl in the Midwest – when irrigated farming began in the valley,” says Comstock’s. “Tilling, which is used to create irrigation furrows and reduce weeds, digs up from 4 inches to a foot of soil.”