Maize strip tillageis a soil conservation method used in crop production. First of all the grass in the area needs to be prepared by splattering round-up some 3-10 days in advance. Then the actual maize strip tillage machine carves a stripe and the seed are inserted within this 30 cm strip. At the same time fertilizer is added on these cultivated stripes. Between those cultivated stripes the mulch-grass stripes (45cm) are unmechanised and protect the soil by increasing its stability. Due to these mulch-stripes the matrix of the soil is more complex and therefore the stability is better especially during the harvest in September. The interviewed farmer said it was cause of the improved soil structure that his tractors are not subside and compaction is also less likely to occur. Another advantage is the decreased risk of soil erosion when having more and heavy precipitation, as it is expected for next decades due to climate changes in Switzerland. Thanks to the SLM technology, water infiltration increases and organic matter as well which adds up to a promising growth period.
There are also clear economic advantages, by adopting the technology. In springtime only one working step is needed for seeding compared to the five steps needed with the traditional technique using a plough. Therefore the costs are finally lower with this technology and farmers can use the opportunity when having free labour to work part-time outside the farm. At first sight, the costs might seem higher when adopting this technology cause the farmer needs to hire a subtractor, in the end the costs are lower due to the lower labour input and the lower equipment costs. After having seen the advantages, the interviewed farmer said that the technology is usually maintained.
A high level of knowledge about the natural condition is needed when adopting this technology. On the one hand, the farmer must time the date for seeding adequately to the natural conditions, it needs some 4 days with no precipitation. Then on the other hand, the farmer has to apply Glyphosphat after the seeding in order to guarantee an optimal growth period for the corn. The timing to start seeding with this technology may be later cause corn is sensitive towards rival plants, low temperatures and humidity. These are some of the limits that the technology implies. If springtime is humid, the farmer should be allowed to use the traditional technique, regardless of the subsidies as indicated by the interviewed farmer. The canton of Bern is providing subsidies if the farmer commits to use a five year cycle which inherits not to use the plough during this period but using a mulch system. The interviewed farmer suggests that the canton of Bern could commit itself not only in giving subsidies to the areas but also to support if contractors like him would get subsidies for the investment for machines that are needed. For a single farmer the establishment costs for the equipment are too high so that the average is hiring a contractor who could work for a lower salary when having support to buy machines, so subsidies from the Cantons would be an asset.
Location: Suberg, Bern, Switzerland
No. of Technology sites analysed:
Spread of the Technology: evenly spread over an area (approx. 0.1-1 km2)
In a permanently protected area?:
Date of implementation: less than 10 years ago (recently)
Type of introduction
Specify input | Unit | Quantity | Costs per Unit (Swiss Franc) | Total costs per input (Swiss Franc) | % of costs borne by land users |
Labour | |||||
applying round-up | ha | 1.0 | 97.0 | 97.0 | 100.0 |
maize strip tillage | ha | 1.0 | 388.0 | 388.0 | 100.0 |
Equipment | |||||
Tools | ha | 1.0 | 56300.0 | 56300.0 | 100.0 |
Total costs for establishment of the Technology | 56'785.0 | ||||
Total costs for establishment of the Technology in USD | 52'578.7 |
Conditions need to be good, if season too wet, harvest can decrease
Consequences of using pesticide are not known yet, traces in drinking water might be likely to occure
More crows are on the fields after seeding