Conservation Tillage in Georgia
There are six purposes for planting a cover crop according to the NRCS Cover Crop Practice Standard (Code 340):
- Reduce erosion from wind and water.
- Maintain or increase soil health and organic matter content.
- Improve soil moisture use efficiency.
- Reduce water quality degradation by utilizing excessive soil nutrients.
- Suppress weeds, including herbicide-resistant Palmer amaranth, and break pest cycles.
- Minimize soil compaction.
The first three purposes are also included in the No- or Strip-till Residue Management Standard (Code 329). Frequently, Deep Tillage (Code 324) is used with these other two practices in a conservation tillage system.
Lamar Black, a South Georgia farmer, has implemented a conservation tillage system to accomplish these goals and to control weeds in a cotton, corn and peanut rotation. He 
built his own roller-crimper to place a standing rye cover crop into a mat that covering the soil surface.
For more information please go to our Nation website on Agronomy.
