Do you know how much diesel fuel costs? Do you know how much carbon/carbon dioxide an old diesel engine produces per hour? What farm implement was John Deere’s first claim to fame? Do you remember the iconic antilittering commercial featuring Iron Eyes Cody as an American Indian? Wow, this is a lot to cover!
John Deere brought the self-scouring steel plow into mass production in the mid-1800’s, and this was the tool that helped farmers till the soil to grow their crops to feed a growing nation. The moldboard plow was also the farm implement that clean tilled millions of acres of ground during a great westward expansion, which was possibly misguided, since it helped facilitate the dust bowls of the 1930’s. The dust bowl era was the catalyst for many soil conservation efforts.
Today many farmers, myself included, shun the plow. We have planted crops for many years using no-till farming practices. Crops can be planted with minimal soil disturbance, thus conserving moisture, saving fuel, machinery and labor costs while reducing the risks of soil erosion. The tillage of the soil also releases carbon dioxide, commonly referred to as carbon, into the atmosphere.
Many believe that our planet is accumulating too much carbon. The burning of fossil fuels is considered the main culprit. Carbon/carbon dioxide is considered a pollutant and the main cause of global warming. There are many proposals being considered to both reduce carbon pollutants and offset their effects. One such plan is to pay farmers to adopt no-till farming practices and the planting of cover crops. These two practices will trap carbon in the soil, thus reducing its effect on our atmosphere.
Carbon sequestration is now being considered as a possible revenue source for farmers. Farmers will be paid to eliminate their tillage practices and receive funds for the carbon they retain in the soil. It currently appears that a farmer who already uses no-till/cover crop practices would not qualify for a payment.
Would a plan that omits those that have practiced farming techniques that benefit the planet on their own volition not be rewarded the same as those who have to be offered a financial incentive be fair? Does this mean I should revert back to a full till farming system so I can also qualify for a payment? Earlier this year I pulled my old plow out of the shed after a 30-year hiatus to lend to another farmer. My old moldboard plow is greased and ready to be taken to the field.
Here is some quick assumptive math. I could plow 400 acres in the next 3 weeks. With 120 hours of tractor work, I would burn about 1000 gallons of diesel fuel at $4/gallon. Just imagine how much carbon my 35-year-old tractor would create plowing all those acres. Some reports have farmers earning as much as $50/acre to no-till their fields and/or plant cover crops. That means I would only have to burn $4,000 worth of fuel today for the chance to possibly earn $20,000 per year later. Not only was it foolish to plant cover crops on some acres, now I have to spend money to plow them under. This winter I could watch the snowdrifts turn black with blowing soil. Next spring I could watch heavy rains create sheet and rill erosion and wash gullies in my fields. I could release carbon from my tractor engine plowing the soil, release the carbon from the soil into the atmosphere from the tillage, and in later years be paid to put it back into the soil.
I could only wonder if a Native American Indian standing at the edge of my field would shed a tear at the idiocy of this coming to fruition. I would say this scenario is unlikely, however, I have been told about employers who paid new hires a higher salary than their current employees were being paid. All this lunacy will give me something to contemplate while I am bored to death plowing my cover crops under.
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