NRCS Practice Standard: Residue and Tillage Management, No Till (329)

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NRCS Practice Standard: Residue and Tillage Management, No Till (329)

About the Company:

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s primary private lands conservation agency. The NRCS helps producers protect and conserve natural resources on private lands through voluntary conservation programs. Through Practice Standards and technical guides, the NRCS provides information about the conservation, energy resources, and provides personalized advice to individual producers.

The NRCS’ Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) provides technical and financial assistance to producers as they implement NRCS Conservation Practice Standards.

Technical guides used in each field office are localized so that they apply specifically to the geographic area for which they are prepared. Thus, while national guidelines have been provided as a framework for each standard, each state has adopted and modified the conservation practice standards to suit their individual landscape.

To find a local NRCS Service center click here.

To find the specific guideline for each state click here.

About the Solution:

Residue and Tillage Management, No Till (329)

The residue and tillage management, no till practice addresses the amount, orientation, and distribution of crop and other plant residue on the soil surface year-round. Crops are planted and grown in narrow slots or tilled strips established in the untilled seedbed of the previous crop.

Practice Information

This practice includes maintaining most of the crop residue on the soil surface throughout the year, commonly referred to as no till. The common characteristic of this practice is that the only tillage performed is a very narrow strip prepared by coulters, sweeps, or similar devices attached to the front of the planter.

Benefits to soil include increasing organic matter, improving soil tilth, and increasing productivity as the constant supply of organic material left on the soil surface is decomposed by a healthy population of earthworms and other organisms.

Operations and maintenance for this practice includes evaluating the crop-residue cover and orientation for each crop to ensure the planned amounts, orientation, and benefits are being achieved. Weeds and other pests must be monitored to ensure pest populations do not exceed thresholds.

Common Associated Practices

NRCS Conservation Practice Standard (CPS) Residue and Tillage Management, No Till (Code 329) is commonly applied with other practices such as:

  • Conservation Crop Rotation (Code 328)
  • Nutrient Management (Code 590)
  • Integrated Pest Management (Code 595)
  • Irrigation Water Management (Code 449)


    • To view the national NRCS standard Residue and Tillage Management, No Till please click here.

    Natural Resources Conservation Service, US Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Ave., S.W. Washington, DC United States 1-833-ONE-USDA Visit Company Website

    Solution Type

    • General Support and Other

    Vendor

    • Others

    Product

    • Other

    Problem

    • Nitrogen
    • Phosphorous

    To view additional information about this vendor, click below.

    Solution Strengths, Weaknesses and Critical Indicators

    NOTE: There are multiple technologies that are used as part of integrated manure management systems and yet are not manure management types on their own. The impact of these technologies on their own would be minimal or very difficult to quantify.

    General Support & Other:

    • Can be an integral part of many manure management systems
    • Most projects have at least some equipment that supports operations of the main technology
    • This technology is not evaluated on its own, the NEAT Matrix for this technology is neutral unless utilized with other technologies.
    Neat Matrix
    Nitrogen Recovery
    Phosphorus Recovery
    Storage Reduction
    GHG Reduction
    Odor Control
    Pathogen Reduction
    P Peer Reviewed
    D Documented
    E Expert Opinion
    Click on the graphic to learn more about the solution type.

    Newtrient Comments/Opinions:

    Newtrient is using the USDA-NRCS conservation practice standards as tools to assist dairy producers in understanding the standards and how they can be used to address resources concerns.

    To establish a Practice Standard a system or practice must be thoroughly vetted, approved, and standardized by the USDA at the federal and state level. These conservation practices have been developed to address various environmental resource concerns. Newtrient has developed a 9-point scoring process for ranking additives, practices, services, and technologies for the dairy industry. Recognizing the rigorous approval procedure used during the development of the NRCS Practice Standards, many of them score very highly and are worthy of consideration on any dairy where they apply.

    The information provided here is a summary of the selected conservation practices. For up to date and detailed information related to the full Practice Standards, please see the USDA NRCS website, linked above.

    Newtrient 9-Point Scoring Rating

    View the Scoring Page

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