Dwight Swope, President
Augusta County Farmer

Samuel Goering, Treasurer
Rockingham County Farmer

Jonathan Day, Vice President
Shenandoah County Farmer

Wally Beckner
Augusta Cooperative Farm Bureau

Duane McAllister
Houff's Feed and Fertilizer

Timmy French
Rockingham Cooperative Farm Bureau

Mike Phillips
Shenandoah Valley SWCD

Chris Lawrence
USDA-NRCS VA Cropland Agronomist

Bobby Clark
VCE Shenandoah County

Brian Jones, Executive Secretary
VCE Augusta County

NUMBER ONE
An Introduction to Continuous No-Tillage Cropping Systems in Virginia

NUMBER TWO
Reducing Nitrogen Losses by Injection

NUMBER THREE
No-Till Injection of Liquid Dairy Manure

NUMBER FOUR
Slug Management in Continuous No-Till

NUMBER FIVE
Understanding Ammonia Volatilization from Fertilizers

NUMBER SIX
Nitrogen Fertilizer Sources and Properties

Are you interested in becoming a member of the Virginia No-Tillage Alliance?

Membership is currently free, and will include a subscription to "Virginia No-Till", a newsletter devoted to practices, techniques and innovations of no-till farmers across Virginia.

Contact Brian Jones at 540/245-5750 if you are interested in becoming a member of this rapidly growing organization.

• National No-Till Farmer Online Magazine
• The Pennsylvania No-Till Alliance
• No-Till On the Plains

What is VANTAGE?

The Virginia No-Tillage Alliance (VANTAGE) is a group of farmers, agribusinesses and local agricultural government organizations that are using no-till systems in their operations or are advising others about these sytems.

Organized in 2008, VANTAGE serves as Virginia's clearinghouse for no-till research, education and extension activities. VANTAGE is a farmer-run and farmer-oriented organization. One of the primary goals of VANTAGE is to serve as a place where those with years of no-till experience can share their knowledge with those new or emerging no-till producers.

A stand-alone VANTAGE website is under development, so please visit this site in the future.

First Annual VANTAGE Conference Report

The first annual conference of the Virginia No-Tillage Alliance was held on February 4, 2009 at the Rockingham County Fairgrounds in Harrisonburg. Nearly 300 farmers, agribusiness and agency representatives from all across the region attended this event. This conference served to kick-off the Virginia No-Till Alliance, and featured some high-powered speakers. Dr. Jill Clapperton, a world-renowed soil microbiologist from Montana led the morning and afternoon sessions by giving attendees an "up-close and personal" look at soil micro and macro life. Dr. Clapperton discussed the importance of soil life in regards to soil health and soil fertility. She also spent a great deal of time discussing the importance of maintaining soil cover and of having something growing year-round. Dr. Clapperton's presentations will be available in the near future. Before lunch, a panel of three PA dairy and crop producers shared their experiences in long-term no-till production, and answered questions from the audience. Together these three producers (Leroy Bupp, Jim Hershey and Robert Myers) have over 100 years of no-till experience. Following lunch, Chris Lawrence with Virginia NRCS led a very compelling demonstration of soil loss with an innovative rainfall simulation unit. Chris compared soil that had been managed either as continuous no-till or continuous tillage, and also demonstrated the effects of residue. The effects of tillage and residue cover on the amount of soil and soil nutrients lost are visually stunning, and a video of this event will be posted very soon. The day closed with a panel discussion from two of Virginia's top no-till farmers, David Hula and David Black. They shared their collective experiences in long-term no-till crop farming and were able to answer questions about how they maintain tremendous yields (over 300 bushels of corn) year after year with no-till management. Along with the educational speakers, the conference also hosted a well attended trade show with over a dozen local agribusiness showcasing their no-till products and equipment. Special thanks to The Chesapeake Bay Targeted Watershed Grant Program of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for funding this event.