Reduced Tillage in Vegetables

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

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Tarps on Permanent Beds

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

Today

News and Updates

  • Join Our Farmer to Farmer “Tarp Talk” Webinars in March

    by

    Ryan Maher

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    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

    Read More

  • Learn About Soil Health at SFP-Organized Sessions During 2021 Empire State Producers Expo

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    Kacey Deamer

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    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

    Read More

  • In the News: Reduced Tillage Project Partner Named to USDA National Organic Standards Board

    by

    Ryan Maher

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    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.

    Read More

  • Reduced Tillage Project Uncovers Tarping Impacts for Organic Vegetable Farmers

    by

    Ryan Maher

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    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

    Read More

  • In the News: Deep Dive into Compost

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    Kelsie Raucher

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    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

    Read More

See the full archive from Reduced Tillage

Project Partners

We collaborate with other researchers at Cornell, extension educators within Cornell Cooperative Extension, and other organizations and universities across the Northeast.

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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

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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.

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The Cornell Small Farms Program is housed at Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) in Ithaca, NY, and works in partnership with Cornell Cooperative Extension across New York State.

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