Issue: January 2006 Behind the Lines Cover Story Letters Coming Events Short Takes Crops Letter From Europe Rural Roots   Contact Us

Not quite time yet to write off the good old plow At the end of every growing season thousands of European crop growers swear they'll never use the plow again. Despite this, the percentage of plowed land remains about the same by NORMAN DUNN At the end of every harvest, the same theme appears in European farming media from Sweden to deepest Spain -- next season is when farmer A is giving up the plow completely, forever. From now on, minimum tillage only, no matter what. The same old arguments for dropping the old plow are trotted out. Huge savings in fuel and time, much better weight-bearing capacity on low-till soil, less compaction, better drainage action, looser soil with vastly increased earthworm populations for best aeration. These reasons for the end of full inversion have been the same for decades. They all make good sense, too. In fact, even better sense now that farm diesel has broken the barrier of one euro per litre ($1.36 Cdn/l) in some European countries. But the interesting thing is that the proportion of plowed land on arable farms remains roughly the same over the years. Of course, it seesaws a bit with plows invariably used much more after a mucky wet harvest season. Back in the 1970s, I remember a survey in the U.K. which showed that the plow was used on some 50 per cent of cropland and maybe just 40 per cent when cultivation conditions were near ideal. This year, a leading farm magazine in Germany decided to sound out the machinery manufacturers instead of the farmers. How many of their customers used the plow? How many were thinking of giving it up? I have to report that there were no surprises. The majority of farm equipment makers felt that minimum till is applied on around 60 per cent of land. But this time a few equipment makers came out more strongly against the plow, with one describing it as a tool to use nowadays on only the toughest soils and conditions. This is an interesting point of view, if only because it is exactly the same argument used by the farmers in Britain 30 years ago! The truth is that there will always be bad soil conditions, and even worse weather, affecting arable farming -- at least over most of Europe. In around two years out of every five, in most arable areas, the majority of crop growers agree that the plow is still the best cultivating implement in most fields. And in at least one more year of the five, it's needed to control weeds, especially grass weeds now resistant to most herbicides. Now, it's certainly true that we also have farmers who have completely given up the plow and have managed very well for years with minimum till systems. But these make up a minority of real specialists. There are still many on this side of the Atlantic who will gladly spend double the money on cultivations every year on all their land just to have the satisfaction of beautifully plowed fields with level surfaces and not a shred of harvest trash showing. But these diehards are rarer now, their disappearance accelerated by the huge increase in unreasonable bank managers. Maybe that's what plowing really is nowadays: a luxury for the perfectionists among crop growers. Under almost any other conditions in world arable production, there's no room for luxuries or personal foibles. Take a look into the eastern reaches of Europe, for example. There, wheat lands in the Ukraine and western Russia enjoy the best of soils but suffer from serious lack of rain. Plows were used there, too, but have almost completely disappeared now because, of course, minimum tillage systems conserve much more soil moisture. When increased western contact in the 1990s opened the door to one-pass cultivator/drill combinations, it was a swift "goodbye" to the plow for most. And it could be that this will be a final farewell on the huge well-equipped farms of Eastern Europe. Because there, satellite navigation with electronic weed and disease charts for each field mean sprayer spot treatment is all that's needed for pests, with spray resistance risk also severely reduced. With that, the plow loses its greatest role as the final answer to stubborn crop problems. Thankfully, Western Europe still has a small place for little luxuries like a very clean and neat full inversion job. Hopefully, this will keep the traditional plow out of the museums there for a little longer. BF Norman Dunn writes about European agriculture from Germany. © copyright 2006 AgMedia Inc.. top back