No-tillage and conservation agriculture: A progress report

This report describes the mindset change that needs to take place in order to shift from conventional farming to conservation agriculture. The author starts with a brief history of reduced tillage and no-tillage farming systems and the move toward conservation agriculture. Constraints and limitations of the adoption of conservation agriculture are explained, along with examples of how they have been overcome. Information regarding the status of conservation agriculture in various countries around the world is displayed with graphs and figures. The main regions that currently practice no-tillage farming are Latin America, the United States, Canada, and Australia, for a total of approximately 95 million ha worldwide. The report continues to talk about why conservation agriculture has been so successful in Latin America and how the rest of the world can learn from their experience. It is also stressed that long-term no-tillage is much more effective than short-term no-tillage because long-term no-tillage allows the soil to reach its optimal potential. In conclusion, the most important way to spread conservation agriculture is to disseminate information about its success in providing low-cost quality food and protecting the environment. [summary by the record creator]