UC Researcher Jeff Mitchell Advocates for Conservation Agriculture

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Across dusty roads and the course of two decades, a University of California researcher named Jeff Mitchell has encouraged an increasing number of producers to develop farm systems that are closer to the kinds of systems found in nature. Conservation agriculture, also known as no-till/minimum-till farming, is his passion.

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Jeff works for UC ANR Cooperative Extension (UC ANR) as a Cropping Systems Specialist. He earned his PhD from UC Davis. When he's not on the road traveling around the state to work with farmers, he's based at UC ANR's Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Parlier, California.

In our conversation, Jeff repeatedly emphasizes that conservation agriculture is not a single practice, but rather, a combination of principles, practices and ideas for production agriculture that he and others promote. While adoption practices vary by crops and across regions, the practice is gaining in popularity in the U.S.; government data suggests that nearly 40 percent of combined acreage of corn, soybean, wheat, and cotton were in no-till/strip-till in 2010-11, with adoption rates higher for some crops (e.g., soybeans) and some regions. The same research report indicates that there is an opportunity to increase the use of cover crops, which were in use on less than 2 percent of total cropland (for all crops) during 2010-11 (6.8 million acres).

Editor's Note: The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) advocates for conservation agriculture; learn more about global efforts here.

Conservation agriculture promotes leaving fields untilled, the use of cover crops and other soil-enhancing practices. The use of cover crops acts as a sink for nitrogen and other nutrients, increasing soil's organic matter, enabling it to more effectively absorb and retain water. This helps reduce erosion.

No till field in Southern Africa. | Photo: USAID: Southern Africa/Flickr/Creative Commons License

Some research indicates that these practices can reduce fertilizer use, lead to larger yields, and provide some resilience in times of drought. Cover crops can also suppress weeds, which may reduce pesticide use.

In collaboration with other public and private sector partners - including farmers and the USDA's Natural Resource Conservation Service - Jeff helped found California's Conservation Agriculture Systems Innovation Center (CASI) in 1998. CASI operates under the auspices of UC ANR.

CASI has bought together more than 2,200 partners to help solve some of the economic and environmental quality challenges associated with farming in California's Central Valley. The organization has pioneered systems that reduce tillage, fuel use and emissions. The practices CASI promotes have helped improve soil, water and air quality and have improved the efficiency of crop production. You can learn more about conservation agriculture via CASI's six-part documentary series.

Jeff shares that while conservation agriculture holds great promise, its adoption has been slower in California than in other parts of the U.S., including the Midwest. CASI hopes to change that.

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In a nutshell, what is conservation agriculture?

The term conservation agriculture is an internationally and globally recognized set of principles, practices and ideas for production systems. It's based on many farmer experiences around the world. A lot of scientific research work underlies all the principles. It's a way of producing crops that is based on both technology/science and farmer experience that involves the goals of reducing overall soil disturbance, keeping the soil covered with residues, and working to enhance both above- and below-ground biodiversity.

It has a long history. Much of the work stems from goals in many regions of world to reduce soil erosion and loss. So simultaneously, conservation agriculture can reduce the loss of soil and conserve water, which is vital in many places around the world, including California.

The regions it developed in are diverse, and include parts of America's Great Plains and the Southeast, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Western Australia.

Editor's Note: Jeff has co-authored two peer-reviewed publications that discuss the history of conservation agriculture in California. One of the articles - A History of Tillage in California's Central Valley - was published in the scientific journal, Soil and Tillage Research. It details the evolution of conservation agriculture systems and approaches in California and the role that CASI has played.

Basin planted conservation agriculture (left) vs. conventional farmers practice ridge and furrow (right). | Photo: Peter Steward/Flickr/Creative Commons License

Can you tell us more about the methods involved in conservation agriculture?

Again, it's been a movement that involves both farmers and scientists, who have come up with the idea of reducing disturbances to the production system. That means everything from physical disturbances (one example of physical disturbance would be tractor use) to chemical and biological disturbances. By not disturbing the surface of the soil, we can preserve surface residues and take advantage of things like cover cropping making sure that is a prominent part of the production system.

There's a strong goal of eliminating the need to till the soil but how can we a

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