Conservation Tillage Field Day

No-till and reduced-till farming are conservation tillage practices that minimize soil disturbance—one of the six soil health principles. These practices improve soil health by protecting the soil surface, improving aggregation and water infiltration and nurturing the soil microbiome for better nutrient uptake and carbon sequestration.

Field Day hosts Chris and Kim Sheehan manage the pastures and market garden at Clean Fork Farm using conservation tillage with great results:

“No-till/Reduced-till is an amazing way to reduce weeds, increase moisture content in the soil and keep all of your beneficial bacteria, fungi and insects happy and working for you. At Clean Fork Farm, we spend minimal time battling weeds and more time doing the things that count like mulching, planting and harvesting. These principles can work on small and large scales and there are numerous programs and resources out there to help get you started!”

At this Field Day, you will learn about no-till and reduced-till practices and their soil health benefits. We’ll start with a tour of the off-grid, acequia-fed farm and discussion of grazing animals in electric netting. Then get hands-on experience with:

• Inoculating cover crop seed with Johnson-Su compost;
• Seeding a field with a multi-species cover crop using a no-till seed drill;
• Preparing a market garden bed for planting transplants and direct seeding.

The original soil work done on the land was funded by the New Mexico Department of Agriculture’s Healthy Soil Program (HSP). Field Day hosts Kim and Chris Sheehan will share their story of participating in the HSP and getting funding from the National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS).