Project Lead: Anu Rangarajan
Tillage can be a valuable management tool on a vegetable farm but intensive and repeated tillage is hard on soils. We support small to mid-scale vegetable farmers, many using organic practices, in adopting reduced tillage practices on their farm. These practices can take many different forms. Our goal is to integrate reduced tillage with other soil building practices, to foster the growth and viability of vegetable farming in New York and the Northeast.
We work across different tools and practices, fit to the the scale and resources of the farm, and are learning from many innovative farmers leading the way. We conduct applied research to trial new and emerging practices to understand the science behind them while sharing practical lessons learned to support farmers in fitting them into their own operations. We partner with farmers in experimenting on their farm and offer workshops and other training opportunities for farmers to share their methods and ideas with one another. Explore this website to learn more about our research, events, and resources.
Reduced Tillage Resources
Join our email list to hear about new resources as they’re added.
-
Farm Stories
By engaging with experienced farmers, we continue to learn how reduced tillage systems are taking shape on…
-
Reduced Tillage Webinars
The Cornell Small Farms RT Project has collaborated on a variety of webinars to share results from…
-
Strip Tillage
Strip Tillage Home » Projects » Reduced Tillage in Vegetables » Strip Tillage Strip, or zone, tillage…
About Reduced Tillage in Vegetables
Reduced tillage practices minimize soil disturbance with targeted and appropriate tillage based on farm goals. Reduced tillage means less intensity, shallower depth, and less area disturbed, either in the bed, field or across the farm. It can mean less frequent tillage and lead to successful adoption of no-till practices.
Practices take many forms. They may be system-wide, applied across the whole farm, or only fit in a part of the rotation for specific crops. They often maintain the benefits of some tillage for managing weeds, making a better seed bed for crop establishment, or incorporating residues. How they take shape on a farm can depend on farm size and soil characteristics, access to equipment or materials, farm skill sets, and labor availability.
Events
Events
-
-
Foraging Walk
Join us on a foraging walk to see what along our trails is edible! This walk will focus on mushrooms but discuss plants as well. The trail will be moderately flat over uneven terrain and we will cover around 1 mile, please wear proper footwear and bring water. Participants must be 18 years old or […]
-
Exploring Updated Farm Stress Training Programs from Michigan State University Extension
VirtualLooking for practical, ready-to-use programming on farm stress and communication? Join this webinar for an overview of the newly updated MSU Extension farm stress training programs and facilitator guide. Designed for educators and facilitators, these evidence-informed resources help reduce preparation time while making programs more engaging, interactive, and relevant for agricultural audiences. In this session, […]
-
Soil Health in Organic Field Crops
Gianforte Farm 5882 E. Lake Rd, Cazenovia, NYJoin us at Gianforte Farms for a NY Soil Health Field Day focused on soil health in organic field crop systems. BBQ lunch included! Free to attend, registration required. Featuring: Featured speaker: Dr. Erin Silva, (University of Wisconsin – Madison) – Reducing Tillage in Organic Systems Reduced tillage field tour Soil pit demo with NRCS Precision […]
-
Harvest & Post-Harvest 101: Safe Handling and Produce Care
Groundswell 100 Rachel Carson Way, Ithaca, United StatesJoin us for a hands-on introductory workshop focused on safe harvesting, produce handling, washing, storage, and post-harvest care for small-scale and organic farming systems. Participants will learn practical techniques to maintain produce quality, reduce food waste, and improve food safety through demonstrations and interactive learning stations. Topics include harvest timing, washing methods, storage basics, cooling, […]
-
Syntropic Agroforestry Introduction Webinar
VirtualIn this presentation we will cover the essential features of syntropic agroforestry. What does syntropy mean, and how can we achieve it? We will discuss what is meant by the macro-organism, how ecological succession is used as a guiding principle, how forest stratification is treated, and the importance of pruning to drive the system. We […]
-
Opportunity Costs of Conservation-Minded Farming
VirtualJoin us as we present the first-year results of exploring the above-business-as-usual maintenance costs of farming in a conservation-minded way. This first foray quantifies the differences in production expenses and profitability of the PES pilot farms compared to producers of a similar scale & type that utilize conventional farming practices across New York State. By […]
-
Livestock Production Field Day
Troll Bridge Farm 467 Geer Rd, Chaffee, NY, United StatesAre you interested in raising and selling beef, chicken, turkey, or pork? Join us for this Field Day and visit two successful farms in Western New York, followed by a farm-fresh dinner. Troll Bridge Farm 467 Geer Rd, Chaffee, NY 14030 Horizon Ridge Farm 12367 Bullis Rd, East Aurora, NY 14052 Learn firsthand how small-scale […]
-
-
Rochester Soil Health Day
Food Link Community Farm 607 Lexington Ave., Rochester, NY, United StatesRochester Soil Health Day will have lovely partner tables focusing on soil health, yummy snacks, and the opportunity to have your garden soil screened for lead by the New York Soil Health Team. You must make a reservation for soil lead screening Walk ins for soil lead screening will not be accommodated. No registration needed to […]
-
Food Preservation: Water Bath Canning Tomatoes
CCE Tompkins Education Center 615 Willow Ave., Ithaca, NY, United StatesSeptember is a month full of bounty! If you’ve found yourself with too many tomatoes for fresh eating, or if you’re just curious about food preservation, join us for a workshop on how to preserve tomatoes and other seasonal foods at their peak flavor. Participants will learn about the safety, equipment, and benefits of preserving […]
-
Outdoor Mushroom Workshop
CNY Organic Farms 519 County Rte 4, Central Square, NY, United StatesCornell Cooperative Extension of Oswego County will host an outdoor mushroom workshop that will identify specialty mushrooms that make sense to grow on small acreage in an outdoor forest setting. Joshua Vrooman, Agriculture Educator for Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oswego County, will review direct-to-consumer trends, showing that specialty farms are best positioned for local and regional […]
-
Renewable Energy Tour
Lawrence Doody & Sons Farm 1626 Barker Road, Tully, NY, United StatesJoin us for a free educational field day to explore distributed wind energy as a viable resource to diversify your property’s power production. Distributed wind systems usually provide power directly to the end-user — in this case, the Doody Farm, who have been using wind and solar to help power their operations since 2013. You […]
-
Northeast Growing Together Conference
Rodale Institute 611 Siegfriedale Rd, Kutztown, PA, United StatesThis event, hosted by the Northeast TOPP program, supports current and aspiring organic farmers through hands-on workshops, practical technical assistance, and meaningful opportunities to connect with peers across the food and farming community. Whether you’re just beginning your organic journey or looking to deepen your expertise, you’ll gain real-world insights you can apply right away. Enjoy […]
News and Updates
-
Join Our Farmer to Farmer “Tarp Talk” Webinars in March
by
|
Tarps are clearly a multifunctional tool for small farmers and are being sized, sourced, and applied to fit the farm. How much can we ask of tarps, how are they changing our tillage and weeds, and how do we handle and troubleshoot the shortcomings? We hosted a series of lunchtime webinars in partnership with the…
-
Learn About Soil Health at SFP-Organized Sessions During 2021 Empire State Producers Expo
by
|
Join us on January 12, 2021, to hear farmer experiences and research on cover cropping and no-till practices from around the region during the Soil Health Sessions at the virtual 2021 Empire State Producers Expo. Our own Ryan Maher, the coordinator of our Reduced Tillage project, organized these sessions on soil health, cover crops and…
-
In the News: Reduced Tillage Project Partner Named to USDA National Organic Standards Board
by
|
The Cornell Small Farms Program is happy to share the news that Brian Caldwell has been appointed to the USDA National Organic Standards Board, beginning a five-year term in 2021. Brian was a major contributor to the Reduced Tillage project for five years before retiring from Cornell in the spring of 2019. Brian brought decades…
-
Reduced Tillage Project Uncovers Tarping Impacts for Organic Vegetable Farmers
by
|
One farmer shared with us in early summer: “If we didn’t have a tarp down before our mixed greens this spring, we would have been in big trouble with our CSA. In our untarped plantings, we lost the crop to weeds. We’re not going to do that again.” Tarps are becoming a versatile tool to…
-
In the News: Deep Dive into Compost
by
|
Reduced tillage practices and weed suppression management are common goals of small-scale organic farmers. A lesser-known method is deep-composting, which was presented by the Reduced Tillage Project and a team of Cornell University researchers at the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) Winter Conference as a solution to weed suppression in a reduced tillage system. …
Project Partners
We collaborate with other researchers at Cornell, extension educators within Cornell Cooperative Extension, and other organizations and universities across the Northeast.
About Anu Rangarajan
Anu was appointed director the Cornell Small Farms Program in 2004. At the same time, she opened a U-pick strawberry farm in Freeville, NY. The experience of operating a small farm changed her entire approach to research and extension, and deepened her commitment to NY farms and local food systems.
Read Articles by Anu Rangarajan
Subscribe for Updates and Opportunities
Subscribe to get the latest updates and information on strategies to reduce tillage on your farm. You’ll be first to hear about webinars, field days, and online courses that will connect you with other growers and our research results as we look to find ways to be successful in building soils on your farm.
