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When it comes to adopting sustainable farming practices, it appears that larger acreage growers are leading the way. In a 2022 McKinsey & Company survey of 1,300 U.S. row-crop farmers, growers planting more than 5,000 acres had greater adoption of sustainable farming practices.

These practices included no-till, cover crops, reduced tillage, variable-rate fertilization, controlled release/stabilized fertilizer, riparian buffers, stormwater control and biological products.

In this survey, large-acreage farms were defined as having over 5,000 acres. Medium-sized farms ranged from 2,000-5,000 acres, while small-acreage farms had less than 2,000 cropped acres.

More Acres, More No-Till?

The McKinsey survey data shows a 61% no-till adoption rate among large acreage and medium-sized farms. This compares with a 58% no-till adoption rate among smaller-acreage farms. With minimum tillage, the adoption rate was 70% for larger-sized farms, 62% for medium-sized farms and 57% among low-acreage farms.

While no-till has numerous time and cost-saving benefits, veteran no-tillers have told me large-scale farmers in their areas have been slow to adopt no-till. They say growers farming with a huge acreage and investment can’t afford to make major mistakes when starting no-till on a large number of rented acres.

Different Profitability Paths

The data also showed operators of small- and large-acreage farms tend to pursue different paths when it comes to farm profitability. Over the next few years, one-third of growers farming more than 5,000 acres expect to invest sizable dollars in the latest technology and innovative equipment such as automation, robotics and electrification of farm machinery.

By comparison, slightly over half of smaller-acreage growers expect to invest in products designed to increase yields, while 38% will try new crop protection products.

While the global adoption of sustainable farming practices is still below 50%, no-tillers continue to lead the way. Even so, there’s a tremendous worldwide opportunity for more extensive adoption of no-till and cover crops in the years ahead as the emphasis on sustainability, farm profitability, protecting the environment and feeding our ever-expanding population continues to grow.