The tailwind blows only into the sails of that ship,
that knows exactly where it is going.
(Eastern wisdom)
Sometimes you can see the following picture: people switch to No-till technology, work for several years, but when they encounter some difficulties and fail to solve them, they get frustrated and return to more traditional methods of tillage. As a rule, they conclude that no-till technology does not work in our conditions.
My advice in such cases is that if any problem arises, it should not be considered separately, but only in conjunction with other elements of the No-till system.
As Kozma Prutkov used to say: – Look at the root!
The root of any problems in the application of No-till technology is the consideration of the problematic element separately from the entire system. However, No-till is a large system with its own subsystems – technology, economics, crop rotation, soil moisture, nutrition, protection, etc. There are no secondary elements in this system, all of them are important and none of them can be considered separately from the others.
A more correct approach would be to look at the problem at hand and see the whole system. The solution to any problem in no-till technology is a comprehensive approach.
Here we can draw an analogy with our life. Life is also a very multifaceted thing.
Many people who are engaged in personal growth and self-development are familiar with the term “Wheel of Life”. Every person’s life consists of several important areas: health, family, work, spirituality, personal growth, etc. Graphically, life can also be represented in the form of a wheel (circle), which is divided into equal segments that reflect different areas of life. This is what a typical Wheel of Life looks like:
All these areas of life are equally important to us. If a person does not develop any area of life, he or she cannot be truly happy. For example, it is difficult to call life happy if a person pays a lot of attention to career growth but sacrifices his or her family for it, if inattention to health does not allow one to enjoy a good job, and if lack of finances does not allow for a good rest.
One cannot be separated from the other. In order for our life to be joyful and harmonious, we need to accept it as a whole and pay equal attention to each area of life, as they are all equally important to us.
The analogy suggests itself
No-till technology is also very diverse and includes many elements that are interconnected. Just like in life, a farmer (or farm) often develops two or three elements of the technology intensively, while not paying enough attention to the rest. As a result of this imbalance, there is no proper balance and it is very difficult to succeed in mastering No-till.
To correct the imbalance, we need to find out where exactly the balance was broken.
How do we understand where we are now, where we need to move? Without knowing this, the farmer chaotically shifts his attention from one element of the No-till system to another. As a result, not a single element is working properly, and thus the whole system is not working properly.
To evaluate how well balanced your No-till system is, I would like to suggest a very simple exercise that I really like as a diagnostic tool. It is called the “No-till balance wheel”.
This tool is very easy to perform and will help you to identify the bottlenecks in your No-till system, what is the real cause of your difficulties now. You will be able to analyze in which direction you really need to work and develop actions that will lead you to success in mastering this technology.
Algorithm for applying the “No-till balance wheel”
1. На аркуші паперу намалюйте велике коло та розділіть його на десять рівних секторів.
2. Уявіть, що це коло – відображення вашої No-till системи. У кожен сектор впишіть у будь-якій послідовності по одному з найважливіших елементів вашої системи, які створюють No-till баланс, наприклад:
1. On a piece of paper, draw a large circle and divide it into ten equal sectors.
2. Imagine that this circle is a representation of your No-till system. In each sector, write in any order one of the most important elements of your system that create the No-till balance, for example:
crop rotation,
soil moisture,
crop residues,
green manure (cover crops),
machinery,
economy,
weeds,
diseases,
pests,
nutrients.
This is what a typical No-till wheel looks like:
A farmer who does equally well in all the important elements of No-till technology feels successful. This is the perfect picture of No-till balance and success.
3. After you have drawn your No-till wheel, mentally evaluate as honestly as possible on a scale from 0 to 10 how satisfied you are with each of the components of your No-till system.
A score of 10 indicates the achievement of the ideal in this element, and 0 indicates complete dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs.
Assuming that the center (wheel axis) is zero and the perimeter (rim) is ten, mark the points directly on the wheel to indicate your level of satisfaction with each No-till element at the moment. Next, connect all the dots with lines. Thus, you will create the rim of your No-till wheel.
4. And now, to visualize the state of your No-till system, color the evaluated parts of the sectors according to their scores. And you will be able to see how balanced your No-till system is – what wheel you are riding on now in the development of this technology. The smoother it is, the more in balance all areas of your No-till system are.
Here is an example of a No-till balance wheel that you can get:
The wheel can be completely uneven. And the more uneven your wheel is, the harder it is to “ride” – only a round wheel can move evenly!
By building your own No-till balance wheel, you will get a direct indication – in color, visually, figuratively – where to put your efforts, what to change and improve to make No-till technology work successfully. In this example, the two areas “Nutrients” and “Green manure” are clearly signaling. I think you should start balancing this system with them.
If, in your case, the different elements have a more equal content, the resulting shape is more like a circle and has a larger radius, this is very good, because it allows you to work more easily and successfully with zero-emission technology. And here we can say that the system is harmonious and balanced.
And the more you deviate from the real wheel shape, the more difficult it is to work with no-till. The more uneven your wheel is, the more it shakes on the road.
When you are not yet completely satisfied with how No-till technology works on your farm, the No-till balance wheel you build will also be unique and peculiar. Pits, especially deep ones, indicate the need to fill these No-till elements. You have a lot to work on.
Obviously, the less evenly colored the sectors are, the greater the imbalance in your No-till system. The more a sector stands out, the more resources and attention it takes away from other important elements. And vice versa, the more “squashed” a sector is, the more attention it should be given.
Ideally, the No-till Balance Wheel should be even and the scores should be high, so we can say that the system is balanced and No-till technology is being applied successfully. How to fix the situation if your wheel is far from perfect?
5. First of all, analyze the picture you get by answering the questions:
– Which elements of the technology are leading?
– Which elements need to be “tightened up”?
– Which No-till element should you work on first?
Keep in mind that the weakest elements in the system are the most potential. By working on them, you can get the fastest results, because changes in one element cause changes in the entire no-till system.
So, in the example above, even a small change in the “green manure” element will pull up such elements as “crop residue”, “weeds”, “soil moisture”, “nutrients”, and “crop rotation”. These changes will change the entire No-till Wheel and make the No-till system more balanced and harmonious. Therefore, this element should be prioritized for change in the near future.
By building your No-till balance wheel, you will be able to identify the key element that needs to be addressed first.
6. And now the most important thing! You need to determine what actions you need to take to level the No-till balance wheel.
The easiest way to start is with the “lagging” elements of the No-till balance wheel. To do this, set yourself goals for the next year, achieving which you will be able to adjust the scores in the selected elements.
Write about each element:
– What needs to be done to correct the situation in those elements where there is the strongest bias?
At the same time, remember that you cannot ignore any of the elements of the technology, because a balanced system is the key to success in No-till.
Balance is the key to No-till
Starting with even the simplest changes in the lagging elements, you will come to complete balance and equilibrium in your No-till system!
The No-till balance wheel will help you achieve positive changes along the way. At the same time, I would like to note that the No-till balance wheel is not a panacea, it is just a tool that helps you to evaluate and measure what you have today and build a plan for the next year to improve No-till technology on your farm.
So, take action!