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.
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Farm Stories
By engaging with experienced farmers, we continue to learn how reduced tillage systems are taking shape on…
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Reduced Tillage Webinars
The Cornell Small Farms RT Project has collaborated on a variety of webinars to share results from…
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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
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Spawn, Seedlings, and Silvopasture: Agroforestry at Dilmun Hill
Dilmun Hill Farm 705 Dryden Rd, Ithaca, United StatesJoin us at the Dilmun Hill Student Farm for a field tour of our expanding agroforestry practices. We will walk and talk as we tour our pawpaw orchard with sheep […]
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Twin Oaks Dairy Silvopasture Walk
Twin Oaks Dairy 3214 State Route 13, Truxton, NY, United StatesJoin us at Twin Oaks Dairy to learn about how they are incorporating trees into their dairy grazing systems (aka silvopasture)! Here’s what you can look forward to: Learn about […]
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Organic Field Day
Rodale Institute 611 Siegfriedale Rd, Kutztown, PA, United StatesJoin Rodale Institute’s researchers and expert staff at our annual Organic Field Day to learn the latest results of our farming trials and visit nearly 20 demonstration stations on our […]
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Hands-On American Ginseng Site Identification, Management & Planting
The Learning Farm 272 Enfield Falls Road, Ithaca, NY, United StatesContinue learning in the field through a hands-on workshop where participants will explore practical aspects of American ginseng cultivation and forest site assessment. Participants will apply concepts introduced in the […]
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Urban Agroforestry Summit
Solar One Environmental Education Center 800 FDR Dr Service Rd East, NY, NY, United StatesLearn and network with urban agroforestry practitioners, service providers and city government partners on ways to scale agroforestry in NYC Join the Cornell Small Farms Program and Harvest New York […]
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American Ginseng Cultivation: Site Assessment Workshop
2320 Centerline Rd. 2320 Centerline Rd., Varysburg, NY, United StatesGain practical, research-based insights from Tracey Testo and Ashley Schoenborn, Agricultural Educators at CCE Columbia-Greene. With over a decade of experience, they specialize in working with and teaching about this […]
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Postponed – Farm Tour: Small Scale Farrow to Finish
299 Yule Corners Rd, Jordanville, NY 13361 299 Yule Corners Road, Jordanville, New YorkThis event has been postponed. If you are interested in being contacted once the event has been rescheduled, please email Nina Saeli at ns963@cornell.edu. Top Notch Livestock & Meats houses […]
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Starting Shiitake Mushrooms
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Warren County 377 Schroon River Road, Warrensburg, NY, United StatesCornell Cooperative Extension of Warren County will be holding a “Starting Shiitake Mushrooms” workshop on Friday, July 10, at 3:00 pm. This program is perfect for the very beginner as […]
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Christmas Tree Farming 101
CCE Albany 24 Martin Road, Voorheesville, NY, United StatesAre you interested in Christmas tree farming but not sure where to start? Are you just starting to grow Christmas trees but not sure if you are on the right […]
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Annie’s Project Classic: Risk Management for Farm Women
Are you a woman engaged in farming in NYS? Would you like to learn and network with other farm women, and learn how to strengthen your farming operation? Join Cornell […]
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News and Updates
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In the News: How We Help NYS Farmers Implement Reduced Tillage Systems
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Sweeping problems under the rug usually leads to larger problems in the future, unless of course, the problem is weeds and the rug is tarps. Tarping fields as a weed management strategy is an integral part of many organic and reduced tillage operations. Cornell Small Farms Program director, Anu Rangarajan, and Reduced Tillage project coordinator,…
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Join Our Tarping for Reduced Tillage Workshop Series
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Are you a vegetable farmer already using tarps? Or are you wondering if and how tarps could work best on your farm? The Cornell Small Farms Program is excited to announce a series of workshops on tarping in small-scale vegetable systems, to be held in Maine and New York this fall. Tarping has emerged as…
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Why Strip Tillage?
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Repeated, intensive tillage degrades soil structure and creates compacted layers than can restrict plant roots. Strip tillage targets soil disturbance to the planting zone and can help retain surface residue, preserve soil moisture, build soil structure, and reduce erosion. This approach can give vegetables a good start by warming soils, forming a good seedbed, stimulating…
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Why permanent beds?
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Permanent bed systems can help farms improve soil health at the farm-level. Rather than plow and harrow by the field, fields are divided into a set of beds and field traffic, whether tractor or foot, is restricted to the between-bed area, year after year. These pathways can be managed with cultivation, mulches, cover crops, or…
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Reusable Black Tarps Suppress Weeds and Make Organic Reduced Tillage More Viable
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Research on the potential of tarps to reduce or even replace tillage by controlling weeds and decomposing crop residue. By Haley Rylander Introduction Organic vegetable farmers rely heavily on intensive soil tillage to control weeds, incorporate amendments and cover crop residue, and prepare clean seedbeds. Intensive tillage, however, can decrease long-term soil health by causing…
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.
