"Ugly Farming" Saves Field Trips, Reduces Runoff

by Keith Richards
 (This story is from Southern Sustainable Farming, issue no. 15, Summer 1997, published by Southern SAWG.) 

In eastern Arkansas, the Mississippi River Alluvial Plain forms a watery web over the land as creeks, rivers, lakes and sloughs snake their way toward the Gulf of Mexico. This part of the state, known locally as “the Delta,” is home to wild turkeys, bald eagles, great blue herons, black bear, numerous other mammals and birds, and more than 50 species of fish.

Because of its unique ecosystem, national and state wildlife refuges have been established throughout the region, and in 1986, the lower Arkansas River was listed in the Registry of Arkansas Natural and Scenic Rivers. Recognized internationally as a “Wetlands of Importance,” the Delta also contains 1.2 million acres of bottomland hardwood forests.

On the banks of these waterways are some of the most productive farms in the nation. Here, between the Cache and Bayou DeView Rivers, Aaron Chappell and his son Michael, raise grain crops within a stones throw of the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge. Farming mostly rented land in non-contiguous pieces, the Chappells are working on ways to produce their crops in ecological co-existence with the neighboring natural habitat. 

No-till Forms the Foundation 

No-till forms the foundation for their conservation practices. Aaron first experimented with conservation tillage in the early 80s as a way to save labor and hold more moisture in the soil. After seriously converting to no-till practices in the past five years, he and Michael can list several other benefits they have seen--less machinery usage, lower fuel bills, more time for other activities, increased organic matter in the soil, increased earthworm activity, reduced soil compaction, less erosion, and greater yields.

Their practices have also had an impact on the nearby wildlife and rivers. Aaron figures he has reduced his sediment runoff by about 90 percent since he started no-till practices. He says, “When I was a kid, we didn’t have to push water off fields after a rain; it infiltrated through the soil. What I hope to do is get the soil back to where water will infiltrate again.”  

Rotations & Equipment Make it Work 

The Chappells practice two basic rotations. One consists of a crop of winter wheat harvested in June, followed by soybeans in the same year, then corn the following year, and back to wheat after the corn harvest. The other is a two-year rotation of rice and soybeans. Grain sorghum (milo) is used as a “fill-in” to replace rice or corn when conditions or markets make it worthwhile.

They use a stripper header on their combine to harvest the wheat, followed by a chopper. By stripping the head off instead of cutting the stalk, then chopping the straw, the field is essentially mulched and ready for the next crop. Soybeans are planted directly into the wheat straw (or rice stubble) with a no-till drill.

When they have a wet harvest, like last year’s, Aaron likes to level out the ruts before putting in corn. This is one time he will go back to tillage. They use a field cultivator with a harrow and crumbler attached to recondition their fields without turning over much residue or compacting the soil. Corn is planted using a no-till air planter. A set of coulters on the machine clears a path about 6” wide for the seed bed, allowing the soil to warm up and seeds to germinate faster. This compensates for one of the drawbacks of no-till--colder soil temperatures in spring caused by the residue on the fields.

Aaron and Michael have been subsoiling most of their fields in the fall after the corn harvest. They run the subsoiler parallel to the corn rows just deep enough to break up the hardpan--about 10”--then drill wheat across the field in the opposite direction.

Although the Chappells use herbicides and pesticides with as much efficiency and environmental compatibility as possible, Aaron feels he couldn’t practice conservation tillage without them. “As a rule of thumb, we always burn down vegetation before or at planting,” he says. “If we don’t, the weeds will take moisture out of the soil--and fertility, too.” The only pest pressures he has seen from the increased field residue are cinch bugs in milo and corn.

Start On a Small Piece First 

Aaron recommends that farmers shouldn’t try to change to conservation tillage all at once. “A farmer should lease a no-till drill, and try it on a small piece first.”

Besides learning the technical aspects of the system, the biggest barrier can be getting used to seeing fields full of residue. It was hard for Aaron at first, but now field stubble looks beautiful because he knows it is holding onto his soil. “We call it ugly farming,” he says with a grin.