AGRICULTURE REPORT - No-Till Farming Gains Ground Around the
AGRICULTURE REPORT - No-Till Farming Gains Ground Around the World
By Mario Ritter
Broadcast: Tuesday, April 05, 2005
I'm Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
Since ancient times, farmers in many cultures have prepared the land for growing crops. They used plows 2 to turn the soil in their fields. This is called tilling. Now, a method called no-till farming is gaining popularity 3 all over the world on big and small farms.
Plows cut into the soil and lift up the remains 4 of last season's crops and unwanted plants. The process brings air into the soil so dead plant material breaks down quickly to form natural fertilizer 5.
But plowing 6 can cause severe damage to topsoil by removing the plants that protect the soil from being blown or washed away. Plowing also can reduce the amount of water in soil.
Over the last several years, farmers have sought ways to protect soil by avoiding unneeded tilling. This has been called conservation tillage, low-till farming or no-till farming. Soybeans, wheat, corn, and cotton are crops often farmed without tilling. But many other crops can be grown this way.
No-till farming is already used in many countries. Pioneer Hi-Bred International and the Conservation Technology Information Center did a study on no-till farming. The study said the United States leads the world in the number of hectares of no-till farming.
About twenty-six million hectares of land are not tilled in the United States. There are about ninety million no-till hectares around the world. In South America, no-till farming is growing quickly, especially in Brazil and Argentina.
The agriculture magazine, Farm Journal 7, says South American farmers have a good reason to use no-till farming. The magazine says there are fewer government programs supporting common tilling methods.
No-till farming is less costly 8 and improves the soil over time. It saves money because farmers do not operate farm machines to plow 1 soil. This saves fuel, time and labor 9.
No-till farmers in some climates use cover crops, like alfalfa. Cover crops protect the soil when crops are not being grown.
Farm Journal says that farmers using no-till methods must understand the risks. No-till farming can result in a smaller crop some years. But over time, crops will increase because soil quality improves.
The United States Department of Agriculture supports a Web site that contains links to no-till information. You can find it at w-w-w dot n-o-hyphen-hyphen-t-i-l-l dot com.
This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by Mario Ritter. I'm Gwen Outen.
- At this time of the year farmers plow their fields.每年这个时候农民们都在耕地。
- We will plow the field soon after the last frost.最后一场霜过后，我们将马上耕田。
- Alex and Tony were turning awkward hands to plows and hoe handles. 亚历克斯和托尼在犁耙等农活方面都几乎变成新手了。
- Plows are still pulled by oxen in some countries. 在一些国家犁头仍由牛拖拉。
- The story had an extensive popularity among American readers.这本小说在美国读者中赢得广泛的声望。
- Our product enjoys popularity throughout the world.我们的产品饮誉全球。
- He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
- The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
- Fertilizer enriches the soil.肥料使土壤肥沃。
- Get some more fertilizer for the garden.给花园再多施些肥料。
- "There are things more important now than plowing, Sugar. "如今有比耕种更重要的事情要做呀，宝贝儿。 来自飘（部分）
- Since his wife's death, he has been plowing a lonely furrow. 从他妻子死后，他一直过着孤独的生活。 来自辞典例句
- He kept a journal during his visit to Japan.他在访问日本期间坚持记日记。
- He got a job as editor of a trade journal.他找到了一份当商业杂志编辑的工作。
- It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
- This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。