PRACTICE AND (Ac.) Code 345 DEFINITION CRITERIA Managing the amount, orientation and General Criteria Applicable to All Purposes distribution of crop and other plant residue on Uniformly distribute residues over the entire the soil surface year round while limiting the field. soil-disturbing activities used to grow and Residue shall not be burned. harvest crops in systems where the field surface is tilled prior to planting. Additional Criteria to Reduce Sheet and Rill Erosion and Reduce Wind Erosion and PURPOSE Particulate matter less than 10 micrometers Reduce sheet and rill erosion. in diameter - PM 10 Determine the amount of randomly distributed Reduce wind erosion and Particulate surface residue needed and the amount of matter less than 10 micrometers in surface soil disturbance allowed managing diameter - PM 10. erosion to the planned soil loss objective using Maintain or improve soil quality. the current approved water and wind erosion prediction technology. Ensure that Increase plant-available moisture. calculations account for the effects of other Reduce energy use. practices in the management system. CONDITIONS WHERE APPLIES Additional Criteria to Maintain or Improve Soil Quality This practice applies to all cropland. Ensure that an evaluation of the cropping This practice includes tillage methods system using the current approved soil commonly referred to as mulch tillage where a conditioning index (SCI) procedure results in a majority of the soil surface is disturbed by positive trend. Ensure that calculations tillage operations such as vertical tillage, account for the effects of other practices in the chiseling and disking and also includes management system. tillage/planting systems with relatively minimal Additional Criteria to Increase soil disturbance but which do not meet the Moisture criteria for Residue and Tillage Management (No Till/Strip Till/Direct Seed (code 329). It Reducing Evaporation from the Soil applies to stubble mulching on Surface. Maintain a minimum 60 percent land, to tillage for annually planted surface residue cover throughout the year. crops and to tillage for planting perennial Trapping Snow. Fall tillage operation shall crops. leave the crop stubble in an upright position. It also includes some planting operations, such Maintain a crop stubble height during the time as hoe drills that disturb a large percentage of significant snowfall is expected to occur to: the soil surface during the planting operation and cropping systems in which the majority of at least 10 inches for crops with a row surface area is disturbed during harvest spacing of less than 15 inches; operations. at least 15 inches for crops with a row
(Ac.) Code 345 DEFINITION Managing the amount, orientation and distribution of crop and other plant residue on the soil surface year round while limiting the soil-disturbing activities used to grow and harvest crops in systems where the field surface is tilled prior to planting. PURPOSE Reduce sheet and rill erosion. Reduce wind erosion and Particulate matter less than 10 micrometers in diameter - PM 10. Maintain or improve soil quality. Increase plant-available moisture. Reduce energy use. CONDITIONS WHERE PRACTICE APPLIES This practice applies to all cropland. This practice includes tillage methods commonly referred to as mulch tillage where a majority of the soil surface is disturbed by tillage operations such as vertical tillage, chiseling and disking and also includes tillage/planting systems with relatively minimal soil disturbance but which do not meet the criteria for Residue and Tillage Management (No Till/Strip Till/Direct Seed (code 329). It applies to stubble mulching on land, to tillage for annually planted crops and to tillage for planting perennial crops. It also includes some planting operations, such as hoe drills that disturb a large percentage of the soil surface during the planting operation and cropping systems in which the majority of surface area is disturbed during harvest operations. CRITERIA General Criteria Applicable to All Purposes Uniformly distribute residues over the entire field. Residue shall not be burned. Additional Criteria to Reduce Sheet and Rill Erosion and Reduce Wind Erosion and Particulate matter less than 10 micrometers in diameter - PM 10 Determine the amount of randomly distributed surface residue needed and the amount of surface soil disturbance allowed managing erosion to the planned soil loss objective using the current approved water and wind erosion prediction technology. Ensure that calculations account for the effects of other practices in the management system. Additional Criteria to Maintain or Improve Soil Quality Ensure that an evaluation of the cropping system using the current approved soil conditioning index (SCI) procedure results in a positive trend. Ensure that calculations account for the effects of other practices in the management system. Additional Criteria to Increase Moisture Reducing Evaporation from the Soil Surface. Maintain a minimum 60 percent surface residue cover throughout the year. Trapping Snow. Fall tillage operation shall leave the crop stubble in an upright position. Maintain a crop stubble height during the time significant snowfall is expected to occur to: at least 10 inches for crops with a row spacing of less than 15 inches; at least 15 inches for crops with a row AND
345MulchTillJanuary2013.docx