Retrospective studies on agricultural methods show that one major drawback of conventional farming is it cultivates topsoil erosion. Tillage makes the surface of the ground vulnerable, leaving it bare as the plow pushes the soil. As a consequence, the soil becomes thin over time.

1. Studies Reveal Zero
Tillage Can Save
Government Billions
Exapta Solutions, Inc

2. Retrospective studies on agricultural methods show that one major drawback of
conventional farming is it cultivates topsoil erosion. Tillage makes the surface of the
ground vulnerable, leaving it bare as the plow pushes the soil. As a consequence, the soil
becomes thin over time.
Farmers and institutions sought alternatives to conventional farming practices to
conserve resources for the future generation, hence, no-till systems. Studies reveal that
this new method not only decreases soil erosion, but it can help the government save
billions of dollars on undoing the damage caused by erosion.
Mitigating Erosion
Plowing and tillage are the primary causes of soil erosion all over the world. They were,
in fact, the main culprit behind the Dust Bowl that occurred in Kansas, Oklahoma, and
Northern Texas in the 1930s.

3. To reduce erosion and other adverse effects of tilling such as high greenhouse emissions,
the number of American farmers as well as policymakers that started to embrace no-till
farming saw a spike in the 1980s.
According to a study conducted at the University of Kentucky, no-till methods curbed
erosion by 98%. A recent study by scientists at the University of Tennessee, meanwhile,
showed that no-till tobacco cultivation reduced soil erosion by 90%, compared with
traditional methods. Zero tillage, moreover, is an economic boon, as it saves farmers time
and money while increasing their yields.
Saving the Government Billions of Dollars
A Cornell University study conducted in the mid-1990s estimated that undoing soil erosion
damage could cause the US $44 billion per year. To bring the erosion rates in the
country’s cropland in line with soil production, it would moreover cost the government a
yearly investment of about $6 billion.

4. Sources:
https://www.exapta.com
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-case-for-no-till-farmin/
https://www.nrdc.org/experts/claire-oconnor/farmers-reap-benefits-no-till-adoption-rises
For every dollar invested in soil conservation, the Cornell University study estimates that
the society can save more than $5.
It is forbiddingly expensive to put the soil back once it leaves the fields. The conclusion,
then, is that the most cost-effective conservation strategy is to keep it on the fields
through no-till farming methods.