Tennessee Living

Let’s hear it for our Tennessee farmers – they’re leading the nation in the development of no-till farming, a soil conserving practice where the ground is not plowed before planting seed. By using conservation tillage, Tennessee farmers have learned to produce food without having a negative effect on the environment.

In fact, traditional farming methods that strip nutrients from the soil and cause problems such as erosion and water runoff are becoming a thing of the past all over the country, with farmers everywhere looking to Tennessee for advice on how to take good care of the land.

New farming methods developed in Tennessee are even being used abroad. In January 2008, the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture and Tennessee State University teamed up with farmers in the small African nation of Lesotho to help them learn how to preserve their soil resources. Learn more facts about Tennessee agriculture’s commitment to the soil:

• More than 40 percent of Tennessee’s land area is farmland.

• Milan is home to the nation’s largest No-Till Field Day, an event devoted to conservation tillage that attracts thousands of visitors every other July.

• Nearly 90 percent of Tennessee’s row crop land is now farmed using no-till or conservation tillage technology.

• One Tennessee farmer supplies food for 129 people – 97 in the United States and 32 abroad.

• Tennessee’s top-valued crops include soybeans, cotton, corn, tobacco, hay, tomatoes and wheat. 

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Magazine:
Tennessee Home & Farm, Fall 2010 Edition Edition

Headline:
Conserving Our Farmland

Summary:
Tennessee farmers are leading the nation in the development of no-till farming, a soil conserving practice where the ground is not plowed before planting seed.

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