I would like to disagree with your article, “No-till methods clog roads.”
The article dealt primarily with the corn residues that floated with the runoff waters and covered roads and catch basins. No-till corn only accounts for 15 to 20 percent of the corn planted in most Ohio counties.
According to Jim Hoorman, extension educator in Putnam County, Putnam County only has 6 percent no-till corn planted. That means the majority of the corn planted is planted with methods other than no-till. This spring, fields that had more conventionally planted corn fields along Cable and Diller roads contributed significant corn fodder to the roadways and drainage ditches. So, let’s put the blame where it belongs.
One thing we can do to help keep crop residues in place is to encourage farmers to use cover crops that act like a dam to prevent residues from floating away. Cover crops also encourage the plant micro-organisms to break down residues and make stable aggregates that will allow more water to infiltrate the soil leading to less runoff.
Crop residues washing off fields were a problem this spring. But the blame doesn’t belong on no-till farming.
