Current Monitoring
Tillage Transects
The Indian Lake Watershed Project has monitored the conversion that many area farmers have made
to conservation tillage since the watershed project began in 1990, in order to evaluate the
project's overall impact on agricultural practices. Indian Lake Project personnel complete a
tillage survey annually to inventory no-till, conservation tillage and conventional tillage
acreage within the watershed.
The tillage surveys are completed by traversing randomly selected fields within the watershed
just after planting, randomly selecting fields, and observing residue levels, cropping practices
and land use. An early spring survey is completed to monitor fall tillage and small grain
seeding.
The Indian Lake Watershed Project is concerned with tillage practices because 30 percent crop
residue has been shown to reduce sediment delivery to water bodies and other sites, and
decreases soil erosion by up to 50 percent. There was a noticeable change in tillage
percentages in 1995. The sudden increases in conventional tillage is believed to be caused by
the "rutting" of fields from the exceptionally wet fall harvest (1994) followed by the
exceptionally wet spring in 1995 throughout the region.
In 1990, the watershed was at six percent no-till, 14 percent conservation tillage and 80
percent conventional tillage in the form of fall plowing. In 1995 the numbers were 65 percent
no-till, 10 percent conservation tillage and 25 percent conventional tillage. This is
outstanding progress, but when compared to state and national figures Indian Lake is making
great advances in no-till crop production. See Table 17 for tillage transect results.
Indian Lake Averages for 1995 were:
 | No-till 65% |
| Conservation Tillage 10% |
| Conventional Tillage 25% |
State Averages for Ohio in 1995 were:
| No-till 38% |
| Conservation Tillage 20% |
| Conventional Tillage 42% |
National Averages in 1995 were:
| No-till 15% |
| Conservation Tillage 8% |
| Conventional Tillage 77% |
Tillage Transect Results 1990 - 1995
| Tillage Type | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 |
|---|
| No-Till | 6% | No Data
Recorded | 32% | 55% | 63% | 65% | ** |
|---|
Conservation Tillage
>30% Residue Left After Planting | 14% | No Data
Recorded | 21% | 29% | 20% | 10% | ** |
|---|
Conventional Tillage
<30% Residue Left After Planting | 80% | No Data
Recorded | 47% | 16% | 17% | 25% | ** |
|---|
* Samples taken from June 15 to June 30 of each year
* Starting in 1995, an earlier sample has been conducted between March 5 and March 20 to
record tillage practices for wheat and other small grain crops.
* Percentages are for total crop land in watershed.
* * Only first round of results compiled to date.
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