Soil Health of Recently Converted No-till Corn Fields in Maine

No-till (NT) forage production in Northeast United States is growing due to farmers' desire to reduce costs. Soil samples (15cm deep), soil penetrometer values (depth to 300 psi), and earthworm midden counts were collected from 59 fields on 14 dairy farms in Maine planted to corn. Of the 59 fields sampled, 13 fields received light tillage in the sampling year, 40 had not been tilled within 5 years, and 6 fields had not been tilled for a minimum of 12 years. Median soil health scores (SHS) varied among farms, from 23 to 43 based on the 0 to 50 Woods End SHS scale, based more on past soil management. Most soil quality attributes were significantly correlated indicating that they were useful predictors of soil quality. Among fields not tilled in 5 years, we found no relationship of SHS to time in NT. Fields with greater earthworm activity had higher SHS indicating increased biological activity and potentially improved productivity resulting from better drainage and aeration. Farmers were asked to identify their highest and lowest soil quality fields, but according to the SHS, they were 56 percent successful. Three cornfields on three different farms were NT planted into herbicide killed long-term perennial hay fields; each of these had the highest SHS, but no farmer recognized that. More education on rotating perennial forage crops with NT corn is needed. No-till forage production can improve soil health, reduce fuel and labor costs by more than $50/acre, and residue cover can reduce soil erosion impacts.