National Geographic magazine recently did an in-depth article on what’s threatening the health of the five Great Lakes. The magazine is read by 3.5 million U.S. readers and in it no-till was blamed for the poor water quality and algae blooms that are choking the life out of Lake Erie. 

While the Lake Erie water quality situation is complicated, condemning no-till doesn’t make sense due to the limited amount of no-till used in the major watershed around Toledo, Ohio.

No-till gained popularity in the 1990s as a way to improve Lake Erie’s water quality, but now the article’s author maintains it has had the opposite effect due to high phosphorus (P) concerns. Admitting that a reduction in moldboard plowing in northwestern Ohio dramatically reduced soil erosion, he argues that applying P close to the soil surface with no-till leads to an unfortunate situation. He makes the argument that no-till leads to an overload of P in Lake Erie, causing  poor water quality and more severe algal blooms.

In addition, the author blames northern Ohio growers for little interest in cover crops, which would reduce the flow of nutrients that fuel the algal blooms. While stating that more cover crops could be a game-changer for the health of Lake Erie, he doesn’t mention that 81% of no-tillers use cover crops compared to maybe 8% for the general farm population.

So where did National Geographic mislead their readers in blaming no-till for Lake Erie’s on-going water concerns? That’s the question…