No-tillers have known for years that there are dozens of reasons for moving away from intensive tillage. With today’s sky-rocketing fuel prices, one of the most obvious is the tremendous fuel cost savings with no-till.

It’s no surprise to hear that practically everyone around the world seems to be taking a hit from higher fuel prices. Yet few can find more dramatic savings than farmers shifting more acres to no-till.

$24 per Acre Fuel Savings

Relying on fuel consumption data from a number of years ago that was published in No-Till Farmer, our editors recently compared conventional tillage, minimum tillage and no-tillage systems. Besides tillage and planting, our comparison also included harvest and two trips with a sprayer.

In this analysis, conventional tillage required 8.09 gallons per acre of diesel fuel compared to 5.6 gallons for minimum tillage and only 3.93 gallons for no-till.

Based on a farm size of 1,365 acres (the average in No-Till Farmer’s 2022 No-Till Operational Benchmark Study), we calculated the total needs for diesel fuel for various tillage systems. 

It averaged 5,364 gallons for no-till, 7,644 gallons for minimum tillage and 11,043 gallons for growers still doing conventional tillage.

Based on the May 2022 average U.S. No. 2 diesel retail price of $5.57 per gallon, this adds up to yearly fuel costs of $28,735 for no-tillers, $42,577 for growers using minimum tillage and $61,510 for growers doing conventional tillage. The fuel savings between conventional tillage and no-tillage in a 1,365-acre operation is $32,775 in favor of no-till, or $24.01 less per acre.

A Look Back in Time

Looking back at the July 1980 issue of No-Till Farmer, our editors had compared fuel usage for three tillage systems. That article showed diesel fuel cost savings for no-tilling had shot up over 600% since 1965. (Shockingly, the price for diesel fuel was only 16.5 cents per gallon in 1965 and had risen to only $1 per gallon by 1980.)

Michigan State University data demonstrated in 1980 that growers could save 4.21 gallons of diesel fuel per acre by switching to no-till from conventional tillage. Even moving from minimum tillage to no-till would save 2.04 gallons per acre.

In the 1980 article, the no-till use of only 2.92 gallons of diesel fuel per acre was based on five trips: chopping stalks, fertilizing, spraying weeds, planting and harvest.

The minimum tillage data was based on 8 trips needing 4.96 gallons of diesel fuel per acre. These trips included chopping stalks, fertilizing, chisel plowing, harrowing, spraying herbicides, planting, cultivating and harvesting.

The conventional tillage data included 11 trips requiring 6.68 gallons of diesel fuel per acre. This included trips to chop stalks, fertilize, moldboard plow, disc twice, harrow, spray herbicides, plant, rotary hoe, cultivate and harvest. (Moldboard plowing by itself consumed 1.87 gallons of diesel fuel per acre.)

Recent NRCS data shows continuous no-till is used on 22% of U.S. row crop acres while no-till is rotated with more intensive tillage on 31% of our ground. Some 23% of U.S. ground is in continuous mulch tillage while 24% of the ground is still farmed with conventional tillage.

Since it’s a game of numbers, you’ll have to work out the data for your own operation based on the number of trips, crop rotations, soil type, terrain and size of equipment. University fuel use tables for various field operations and ground conditions need to be adjusted, as they can impact fuel use and power requirements for each trip across the field.

Row width, controlled traffic, auto-steer and GPS benefits also need to be considered for their impact on fuel usage. Many no-tillers find it’s much easier to pull a planter or drill due to mellower soil conditions in no-tilled fields.

The concluding line in the 1980 No-Till Farmer article was: “Checking these figures, you can definitely see why fuel savings with no-tillage farming is getting to be more important every year.” 

Who would have known more than 40 years ago how much impact fuel prices would have on today’s cost reductions with no-till?