One of the guest speakers at last week's Pasture Walk and Talk in Brussels suggests he can do more with roots than he can with tillage.
Blake Vince is a Nuffield Scholar from the Chatham area.
He argues tillage will never provide a farmer with the ability to increase soil organic matter.
Vince maintains tillage tends to exhaust soil organic matter which he calls the essential ingredient in production agriculture.
Vince says living roots in the soil allow a farmer to harness the energy of the sun.
Vince adds some people see his methodology as a bit of a risk because they're concerned it could increase pests, insects and slugs, create wet soil that prevents spring planting and will the cover crop absorb excessive moisture.
Despite what he refers to as excuses, Vince says people are beginning to consider his approach.
One of the selling points is that besides increasing organic matter he's also able to increase the organic forms of nitrogen, reducing how much nitrogen he has to buy.
The Pasture Walk and Talk was hosted by Brussels Agri Services Limited.
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Blake Vince was one of the guest speakers at last week's Pasture Walk and Talk in Brussels.
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Vince says some people have found a wide range of excuses not to accept what he's saying.
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