A Conservation Tillage Educational Program

Abstract

An educational program was conducted to enhance the adoption of conservation tillage practices in targeted areas to reduce soil erosion and on-farm fuel use. Traditional extension methods such as meetings, field days, demonstrations, and plots were used extensively. In addition, the following nontraditional educational methods were used to achieve project objectives: targeting high priority areas, local program guidance committees, surveys to evaluate perceptions and use of conservation tillage, employment of extension assistants to work in the target areas, use of a rainfall simulator to demonstrate the effectiveness of residue cover in reducing erosion, and small group or coffee shop meetings to answer specific questions. With this concentrated educational effort, project goals of a 200Jo increase in conservation tillage and a 10% increase in no-till planting were exceeded during the 5-yr project in the 219 000 ha target areas. Using residue cover as a criterion to define conservation tillage, there was a 21.4% increase in the use of conservation tillage from 1984 to 1988. In the same time period, no-till use increased threefold. There was a projected annual savings of 1.47 ML of fuel and 59 400 h of labor. The estimated average annual soil loss reduction in the target areas was 2.27 Mt or approximately 10.3 t ha-t. Son erosion, sedimentation, and subsequent impacts on water quality are major problems associated with Nebraska crop production (NNRC, 1979). Eastern Nebraska has a history of severe soil erosion due primarily to a predominance of steep slopes and highly erodible soils. Some fields have annual soil erosion rates exceeding 225 t ha 1, whereas the average annual allowable soil loss (T value) is 11.2 t ha 1• Erosion also removes fertilizers and pesticides, thus further contributing to water quality problems. Conservation tillage is one of the most effective and least costly methods of reducing soil erosion and also conserves labor, fuel, and soil moisture. Any tillage/planting system can be classified as conservation tillage, provided that at least 30% of the soil is covered with residue following tillage and planting [Conservation Tillage Information Center (CTIC), 1985]. Two deterrents to the adoption of conservation tillage are tradition and lack of experience. Farmer concerns about possible yield decreases, weed control, fertilizer requirements, equipment costs, and soil responses to fewer tillage operations have also delayed implementation of conservation tillage. E.C. Dickey and P.J. Jasa, L.W. Chase Hall, Univ. of Nebraska, Biological Systems Eng. Dep., Lincoln, NE 68583-0726; and D.P. Shelton, Univ. of Nebraska Northeast Res. and Ext. Center, Concord, NE 68728-0111. Published as Journal Series no. 9386, Agric. Res. Div ., Univ. of Nebraska-Lincoln. Received 9 Oct. 1990. *Corresponding author. Published in J. Agron. Educ. 20:102-107 (1991). 102 J. Agron. Educ., Vol. 20, no. 2, 1991 Farmers often are aware that erosion is a problem nationally, but may not recognize it in their own operation. Sheet and rill erosion, two of the most common forms of soil loss, may be largely invisible to farmers (Nowak, 1985). Even when farmers recognize an erosion problem, they may not realize that residue management practices can reduce soil losses, or, they do not have the appropriate information about what constitutes conservation tillage. According to the 1982 Natural Resources Inventory, for the nation as a whole, the percentage of cropland treated with one or more conservation practices appears to decline with successively higher potential erosion (Committee on Conservation Needs and Opportunities, 1986). Because of the abovementioned reasons, the need for a specific, locally targeted extension educational program became apparent. The overall goal of this conservation tillage educational project was to enhance the adoption of soil, water, and energy conservation practices. Specific goals to be attained within the target areas were to: 1. Increase by 200Jo the area on which conservation tillage was used 2. Increase by 10% the area on which no-till planting was used This project was designed to be implemented in selected high priority areas. Targeting priority areas allowed efficient use of funds and other resources to achieve substantial impacts in a relatively short period of time.