AGRICULTURE REPORT - No-Till Farming Gains Ground Around the

AGRICULTURE REPORT - No-Till Farming Gains Ground Around the World
By Mario Ritter

Broadcast: Tuesday, April 05, 2005

I'm Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Since ancient times, farmers in many cultures have prepared the land for growing crops. They used plows² to turn the soil in their fields. This is called tilling. Now, a method called no-till farming is gaining popularity³ all over the world on big and small farms.

Plows cut into the soil and lift up the remains⁴ of last season's crops and unwanted plants. The process brings air into the soil so dead plant material breaks down quickly to form natural fertilizer⁵.

But plowing⁶ can cause severe damage to topsoil by removing the plants that protect the soil from being blown or washed away. Plowing also can reduce the amount of water in soil.

Over the last several years, farmers have sought ways to protect soil by avoiding unneeded tilling. This has been called conservation tillage, low-till farming or no-till farming. Soybeans, wheat, corn, and cotton are crops often farmed without tilling. But many other crops can be grown this way.

No-till farming is already used in many countries. Pioneer Hi-Bred International and the Conservation Technology Information Center did a study on no-till farming. The study said the United States leads the world in the number of hectares of no-till farming.

About twenty-six million hectares of land are not tilled in the United States. There are about ninety million no-till hectares around the world. In South America, no-till farming is growing quickly, especially in Brazil and Argentina.

The agriculture magazine, Farm Journal⁷, says South American farmers have a good reason to use no-till farming. The magazine says there are fewer government programs supporting common tilling methods.

No-till farming is less costly⁸ and improves the soil over time. It saves money because farmers do not operate farm machines to plow¹ soil. This saves fuel, time and labor⁹.

No-till farmers in some climates use cover crops, like alfalfa. Cover crops protect the soil when crops are not being grown.

Farm Journal says that farmers using no-till methods must understand the risks. No-till farming can result in a smaller crop some years. But over time, crops will increase because soil quality improves.

The United States Department of Agriculture supports a Web site that contains links to no-till information. You can find it at w-w-w dot n-o-hyphen-hyphen-t-i-l-l dot com.

This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by Mario Ritter. I'm Gwen Outen.

1 plow   

n.犁，耕地，犁过的地；v.犁，费力地前进[英]plough

参考例句：

• At this time of the year farmers plow their fields.每年这个时候农民们都在耕地。
• We will plow the field soon after the last frost.最后一场霜过后，我们将马上耕田。

2 plows   

n.犁( plow的名词复数 )；犁型铲雪机v.耕( plow的第三人称单数 )；犁耕；费力穿过

参考例句：

• Alex and Tony were turning awkward hands to plows and hoe handles. 亚历克斯和托尼在犁耙等农活方面都几乎变成新手了。
• Plows are still pulled by oxen in some countries. 在一些国家犁头仍由牛拖拉。

3 popularity   

n.普及，流行，名望，受欢迎

参考例句：

• The story had an extensive popularity among American readers.这本小说在美国读者中赢得广泛的声望。
• Our product enjoys popularity throughout the world.我们的产品饮誉全球。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 fertilizer   

n.肥料，化肥

参考例句：

• Fertilizer enriches the soil.肥料使土壤肥沃。
• Get some more fertilizer for the garden.给花园再多施些肥料。

6 plowing   

v.耕( plow的现在分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过

参考例句：

• "There are things more important now than plowing, Sugar. "如今有比耕种更重要的事情要做呀，宝贝儿。 来自飘（部分）
• Since his wife's death, he has been plowing a lonely furrow. 从他妻子死后，他一直过着孤独的生活。 来自辞典例句

7 journal   

n.日志，日记；议事录；日记帐；杂志，定期刊物

参考例句：

• He kept a journal during his visit to Japan.他在访问日本期间坚持记日记。
• He got a job as editor of a trade journal.他找到了一份当商业杂志编辑的工作。

8 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

9 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。