Tillage is the soil health Achilles’ heal of organic farming. Herbicide use is the main downside to no-till farming. No-till organic is therefore an aspirational goal and a huge challenge, especially for corn. The system we developed in our research @RaymondWeil in Maryland looks like it will give us a pretty decent crop with no chemicals and no tillage. In early September 2022, hairy vetch was broadcast into standing soybeans or into recently disked-up hay. Then in October rye was drilled on the same plots. This corn is the first on this land to be certified organic and follows four different strategies or treatments during the transition period. The best-looking corn is that following oats then 2 years alfalfa-grass hay. We tried this at four sites in 2023 managed by four different farmers with different soils, conditions, and equipment. We took this video footage at the nearest and most convenient of the four - which also turned out to be the site where the system was implemented most effectively and worked the best. The corn at the other three sites looks like it will range from fair to failure. So, a caveat: everything has to work just right.
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