What are the benefits of this system? Does it really make a difference? There are hundreds of benefits, and it does make a difference to the health of the soil and the environment.
Theoretically, conventional plowing is used to prevent soil erosion. However, what happens in practice is that the topsoil suffers from degradation. According to the World Wildlife Fund, half of all topsoil on the planet has been lost in the past 150 years. This does not simply affect the fertility of the soil and ability to grow crops, but it also reduces the soil’s ability to hold water thereby increasing pollution and sediment levels in water through run-off. With no-till farming, this topsoil is preserved with help from the chosen cover crop. This is excellent for protecting the soil and the environment.

The un-tilled soil is able to retain more water, preventing runoff and keeping the soil healthier, even in times of drought. This increase in water also benefits microbes and nutrients in the soil, allowing more beneficial microbes to grow and retain nutrients. Additionally, less work and machinery is required, making the process more cost-effective and applicable to developing regions of the world. Though no-till farming is sometimes paired with synthetic systems, the environmental benefits are astronomically higher when paired with organic, like using neem-based fertilizers and pesticides. By keeping the whole process natural with biopesticides like neem, the entire system – the farmer, the earth, and the consumer – all benefit.

The post To Till or Not to Till appeared first on Neem.World.

One reason that this happens is due to conventional farming methods. When we use conventional farming methods, we are clearing trees from once natural land and depleting the natural resources from that space. We then continue to spray these lands with dangerous synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, further exacerbating soil erosion and degradation.

According to research published in BioScience, the annual cost of environmental and public health impacts due to soil erosion is $45 billion. If we employ alternative methods that aid in the reversal of soil erosion, such as organic farming, no-till farming, and planting neem trees, we could lower this number and instead allocate those funds to other significant issues.

Planting trees in an organic farming system contributes to the overall sustainable model for organic farms, providing shade for livestock, preventing erosion, and improving nutrient levels in soil. By planting neem trees we are effectively combating global warming and providing sustainable solutions in agriculture. Soils under pasture are nutrient-rich, containing 60% more organic matter content than cultivated fields. Neem trees are an excellent option to aid in this soil and farmland recovery as they combat soil erosion, sequester a large amount of carbon, and provide natural animal feed and shade for animals.

The post Neem Trees: Saving the Planet appeared first on Neem.World.