Region

The three provinces of Flevoland, Zeeland and West-Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands have similar clay soils and farm types. The main crops grown are potatoes, sugar beet, cereals and onions on an average farm size of 115 hectares.

Study focus

With the increasing size and weight of farm machinery, soil compaction is increasing in the three regions, and this is leading to bad soil structure and reduced crop yields. This problem is worst in wet growing seasons when conditions do not allow farmers to do their fieldwork in optimal conditions. Therefore, some farmers have switched to no-tillage cropping systems to improve soil structure.

This case study focused on the role of advice in the adoption of no-tillage cropping systems for soil improvement. In a no-tillage cropping system, the soil is not disturbed by ploughing and cultivation. This creates a better soil structure and a healthier soil life.

No-tillage cropping is an innovation that profoundly impacts the farming system. It requires a new perspective on farming with new knowledge, techniques and farm machinery. There are only a few farmers currently applying no-tillage techniques in the Netherlands to improve the structure of clay soils. It is more common to find the approach used to control soil erosion on sandy soils.

The micro-AKIS of a farmer in the Netherlands consists mainly of contact with advisors and other farmers (including neighbours and study groups). Additionally, suppliers or traders will also provide advice. All farmers are satisfied with their micro-AKIS. If they are not satisfied, they can easily change to another advisor.

The full report (in English) is here

Partner and responsible person contact

Wageningen Research

Koen Klompe, koen.klompe@wur.nl

Lessons learned

1. One independent advisor specialising in no-tillage cropping played a crucial role in this innovation. Observing and discussing the experiences of pioneer farmers also helped raise interest and influence the decision whether to adopt the practice or not. Study groups also facilitated this exchange by allowing farmers to see how other farmers apply no-tillage techniques.
2. Most farmers assessed the innovation quite soon after they heard of it. For the assessment of no-tillage cropping most farmers with a serious interest first tried it on a small part of the farm. If it was encountered positively they expand it to the rest of the farm. In the assessment, the farmers observe the improving soil quality, the weed pressure, the effect on yield and experience how to destroy the green manure without ploughings. Sometimes the advisor helped with the assessment, but mostly the farmer trusts their own experience.
3. Once decided to adopt the practice, the implementation phase takes a few years because the soil needs to adapt to the new system. In these years the farmers also learn how to cultivate the soil in the best way to still grow good quality crops. For most farmers, the advisor is important in this learning process. This learning process does not have a clear end, almost all adopters mentioned that they would continue to fine-tune the system.
4. There was quite some variability observed in the advisors’ role.  Though advisors play a role in the adoption processes of non-inverse tillage, there is quite some variability in this role. Some farmers depend more on their own wisdom and knowledge in finding their way forward, whereas others strongly depend on the specialist advisor.
5. The experiences of fellow farmers  influenced both adopters and non-adopters. This influence can support or hinder the adoption depending how they evaluate the practice. It is both the occurrence of advantages and disadvantages of the practice on the specific farms and the value given to these results that explains the difference between adopters and non-adopters. To inspire and support more farmers to apply the innovation it would be good to support the development of non-inverse tillage expertise among more advisors and share the positive experiences among farmers.