Why do we plow are fields?

alistair young

If no dig is the new way then farmers won't need to plow their fields anymore they will just plant on top of last year's crop. The amount posative feedback from "new" gardeners that their crops are so much better growing on top of grass that farmers or people that do it for a living can now just stop plowing last year's crop into the soil and irrigating and just put newspaper down on their fields and put compost on top. 

Hostafan1

IMHO, it's not viable on such a big area. 
No dig relies on constant mulching .
There's no way farmers could mulch entire fields, and with what would they mulch?

Dovefromabove

I’m from a farming family. You’re way behind .., it’s being done all over the country where it’s suitable  ... it’s not suitable for all crops or on all soils. 

 Don’t you listen to the Archers?  It’s frequently discussed amongst the characters 

http://www.no-till.uk/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/No-till_farming

And no, they don’t use layers of newspapers .., but vegetable waste from on farm bio - mass digesters that have been producing electricity from crops of maize and miscanthus 
is spread on the fields as one way of ‘mulching’. 

Hostafan1

Soz!! I was wrong again.

Dovefromabove

😂 only partially wrong @Hostafan1 ... 

there are many places where the terrain, soil, crop and other factors mean that it’s not a suitable technique on a large scale ... but where it is, farmers are using it and seeing an improvement in soil structure and biodiversity.  It also cuts down hugely on soil erosion when growing crops like maize that have historically led to such problems. 

Not just the Archers ... I’m sure it’s been on Countryfile too. 😊 

fidgetbones

Mulching used to be the way, or at least they spread muck every year. The big turn to just applying artificial fertilisers led to less humus in the soil, and very sandy  soils started to blow away.  I think a lot of farmers use the green waste compost as well now. When Derbyshire started green waste collections, we were told we could buy the result back, but now we are told it all gets spread on farmland.

Fairygirl

I suggest you all take a look at the other thread this OP has started.....

JennyJ

We were told right from the start that our green waste compost would go to farms . I can understand why they need it - the soil around here is poor and sandy.

Rob Lockwood

Is this English?