We wanted to share a few slides from retired USDA soil scientist Don Reicosky, exploring the true meaning of conservation, and why tillage isn’t part of the equation.

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True conservation is carbon management. The two primary practices that contribute to the largest amount of conservation are no-till and synergy crops.

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In nature, tillage is a catastrophic event. Feed the soil biology with roots and carbon exudates, don’t slice and dice them with tillage tools…you see the picture there saying replace steel with roots.

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Plant roots go deep into soil for water, nutrients and carbon storage. Check out that impressive photo of a sugarbeet root following a worm channel 2 meters deep.

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Next slide. The showdown of the century…Nature’s plows vs. man’s plows. The root system and the earthworms are the plows in the conservation system.  

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Don’s next slide says there’s a battle between tillage machinery and the soil biology. Which one is going to win? Who is going to lose?

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, or should I say, soil.

Watch the full version of this episode of Conservation Ag Update.