No-till soil health demo trial for agronomic crops in Orange County, NY

The no-till soil health demo trial for agronomic and horticultural crops in the Hudson Valley aims to establish economic and agronomic baselines for the no-till roller/crimper system of crop production in the trial region. Although this system of roller/crimping or chemically terminating fall-sown winter annual cover crops and seeding directly into the residue with no tillage has a long track record and has been proven on both conventional and organic farms in a variety of growing regions, the system is virtually unused in most of the State of New York with most growers still using conventional tillage regimes. We believe that the primary reason for this is the lack of proven examples and data from the region. This situation can best be addressed with a Soil Health Demo that prioritizes farmer-to-farmer exchange of knowledge and experience.