Though plowing could remain in favour for some time yet, sowing systems are changing fast, with broadcasting and band sowing making headway
by NORMAN DUNN
Never has European cereal and oilseed production been more diversified when it comes to ways of establishing the crop: From central France to Sweden, no-plow
systems have gained a good hold. In Britain and France, for instance, an estimated 40 to 50 per cent of arable land is now under minimum tillage.
But it’s a tough task unearthing precise statistics, because I come across farmers every year who officially stopped using the plow on their wheat, barley and canola fields maybe 20 years ago but who have started again, at least in some years.