Conservation Tillage

AFSIC Find-It Guide

• What is Conservation Tillage?
• AFSIC Quick Bibliographies
• Automated searches of:
  1. AGRICOLA from the National Agricultural Library (NAL)
  2. Web Sites within the U.S. Department of Agriculture or within the Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
  3. The Agriculture Network Information Center (AGNIC)
  4. The Current Research Information System (CRIS) from USDA
  5. Internet Search Engines
• Search Tips
• Recommended Databases and Journals
• Extension and Educational Materials: online sources
• Related Organizations
• Ask an AFSIC Librarian for assistance

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What is Conservation Tillage?

• From Sustainable Agriculture: Definition and Terms (AFSIC SRB99-02) September 1999
• From Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC - Purdue University)
• Pursuing Conservation Tillage Systems for Organic Crop Production, Organic Matters Series, ATTRA, June 2001

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AFSIC Quick Bibliographies

To assist you with your research, our staff compiles subject bibliographies using the National Agricultural Library's AGRICOLA database. These QB's identify relevant journal articles, reports, books, and video citations. (More about AFSIC Bibliographies)

• Conservation Tillage (QB92-02)
• Conservation Tillage (QB94-13) January 1991 to December 1993. 338 citations
• How do I search AGRICOLA to update a Quick Bibliography?

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Automated Searches

Conduct automated, real-time, searches to locate current resources on this topic. When you select one of the automated search strategies below, your browser will access the designated Web site or database, perform a search of that site using the search terms listed, and return the results of the search. [Select your browser's Back Button to return to this publication.]

AGRICOLA from the National Agricultural Library

AGRICOLA (AGRICultural Online Access) is a bibliographic database of citations to the agricultural literature created by the National Agricultural Library (NAL) and its cooperators. The records describe publications and resources encompassing all aspects of agriculture and allied disciplines.
[More information about AGRICOLA]

Search AGRICOLA Catalog or Article Citations by Date Range
Search for: [("conservation till?") or ("no till?") or ("mini? till?") or ("zero till?") or ("reduc? till?") or ("strip till?") or ("mulch till?") or ("ridge till?") or ("chisel till?") or ("sod seed")].

Database	All Years	Since 2000	1990 to 1999	1980 to 1989	Before 1980
Catalog* books, serials, audiovisuals, etc.	Start Search	Start Search	Start Search	Start Search	Start Search
Article Citations journal articles, reports, book chapters, reprints	Start Search	Start Search	Start Search	Start Search	Start Search
*Note: The Catalog searches are limited to citations in English.

Tip: To browse AGRICOLA using other terms, go to http://agricola.nal.usda.gov/. Under the NAL Catalog or the Articles Database column, select "Browse," select "Subject Browse," enter a subject term in the box labeled "Find," and then select "Submit."

Web Sites within the U.S. Department of Agriculture or specific resources from the Agricultural Research Service

The automated searches below locate resources within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is USDA's main in-house research agency. ARS research develops solutions to a wide range of problems related to food and agriculture. To only search specific ARS Web sites, use the ARS Advanced Search feature instead of the links below.

The Current Research Information System (CRIS) from USDA

The Current Research Information System (CRIS) is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's documentation and reporting system for ongoing and recently completed research projects in agriculture, food and nutrition, and forestry.

To conduct a keyword search in the TITLE or DESCRIPTOR fields, follow these steps:

1. Copy the following search strategy:
   
   TI,DE=conservation ADJ till* OR TI,DE=no ADJ till* OR TI,DE=minimum ADJ till* OR TI,DE=minimal ADJ till* OR TI,DE=zero ADJ till* OR TI,DE=reduced ADJ till* OR TI,DE=strip ADJ till* OR TI,DE=mulch ADJ till* OR TI,DE=ridge ADJ till* OR TI,DE=chisel* ADJ till* OR TI,DE=sod ADJ seed*
   
   

2. Access the CRIS database.
   (Note: Following this link will open a new browser window.)
3. Select Professional Search.
4. Select the Edit button beside Search Number S1.
5. Paste the search strategy copied in Step 1 into the search box.
6. Select the OK button.
7. Select the Display button to view the results.
8. Optional: Select the Change Format button to choose a different display format or to customize your format using selected data fields.

The Agriculture Network Information Center (AGNIC)

Internet Search Engines

The following automated searches of Google and Yahoo! return results in English from educational (.edu), governmental (.gov) or organizational (.org) Web sites. To further narrow the search results, add keywords using the search engine's "advanced search" or "search within results" option.

Search the Internet

Search terms	Google	Yahoo!
"conservation till" OR "conservation tillage" OR "no till" OR "no tillage"	Start Search	Start Search
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22conservation+till%22+OR+%22conservation+tillage%22+OR+%22no+till%22+OR+%22no+tillage%22&btnG=Google+Search	Start Search	Start Search
"reduced till" OR "reduced tillage" OR "reducing tillage" OR "strip-till" OR "strip tillage"	Start Search	Start Search
"mulch till" OR "mulch tillage" OR "ridge till" OR "ridge tillage"	Start Search	Start Search
"chisel till" OR "chisel tillage" OR "sod seeding" OR "sod seed"	Start Search	Start Search
Note: To view all search results, select this link (if shown on the last results page): repeat the search with the omitted results included.

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Search Tips

The tips below will help you create your own search strategies for conducting literature searches.

Recommended Keywords and Phrases

• (conservation till?) or
  (no till?) or (non till?) or (minimum till?) or (minimal till?) or
  (reduced till?) or (ridge till?) or
  (sod seed?) or (zero till?) or
  (till? near (reducing or mulch or chisel))
  
  
• NAL Thesaurus Terms
  Term: conservation tillage
  Broader Terms: tillage
  Narrower Terms: no-tillage; ridge tillage; strip tillage
  Related Terms: conservation practices; soil conservation
  
  
• Refine your search with related keywords and phrases (see also Sustainable Agriculture: Definitions and Terms, or check the AGROVOC multilingual agricultural thesaurus).

Tips for Efficient Searching

• The Language of Electronic Searching: A Search Terms Glossary (December 2001)
• LOEX Clearinghouse for Library Instruction: Tutorials
• Boolean Searching, University at Northern Iowa
• Finding Information on the Internet Tutorial, University of California, Berkeley

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Recommended Databases and Journals *

Free online databases

• AGRICultural OnLine Access (AGRICOLA) contains bibliographic records created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Library and its cooperators.
• AGRIS is produced by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
• The Current Research Information System (CRIS) is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's documentation and reporting system for ongoing agricultural, food and nutrition, and forestry research.
  

Fee-based online databases
(See Ask-an-AFSIC-Librarian section below for information on requesting assistance with database searches.)

• Biological & Agricultural Index
• BIOSIS Previews
• CAB Abstracts
• Current Contents
• Water Resources Abstracts
  

Selected journals on this topic

• Advances in Geoecology (publisher: Catena Verlag)
• Agronomy Journal (publisher: American Society of Agronomy)
• Biology and Fertility of Soils (publisher: Springer-Verlag Heidelberg)
• Canadian Journal of Plant Science (publisher: Agricultural Institute of Canada)
• Canadian Journal of Soil Science (publisher: Agricultural Institute of Canada)
• Crop Science (publisher: Crop Science Society of America)
• HortTechnology (publisher: American Society for Horticultural Science)
• Journal of Soil and Water Conservation (publisher: Soil and Water Conservation Society)
• Journal of Sustainable Agriculture (publisher: The Haworth Press, Inc.)
• Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems (formerly titled American Journal of Alternative Agriculture (publisher: Winrock International (until 2001); CABI Publishing)
• Soil and Tillage Research (publisher: Elsevier)
• Soil Science Society of America Journal (publisher: Soil Science Society of America)
• Soil Science
• Transactions of the ASAE (publisher: The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASAE))
• Weed Science (publisher: Weed Science Society of America)
• Weed Technology (publisher: Weed Science Society of America)

* How to Obtain Full-text Journal Articles

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Extension and Educational Materials: online sources

• Missouri Alternatives Center
• Great Places to Find Information About Farming Alternatives
• Resources from the Cooperative Extension Service:
  
  "The Cooperative Extension System is a nationwide, non-credit educational network. Each U.S. state and territory has a state office at its land-grant university and a network of local or regional offices. These offices are staffed by one or more experts who provide useful, practical, and research-based information to agricultural producers, small business owners, youth, consumers, and others in rural areas and communities of all sizes." (Source: CSREES Web site, September 1, 2004)

  To locate your local Extension office or one of the 100 colleges and universities that comprise the nation's Land-Grant University System:

  • Check the government pages of your local phone directory
  • Visit CSREES Local Extension Offices
  • Visit CSREES State and National Partners

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Related Organizations

• AAPRESID, Argentinan no-till organization.
• The African Conservation Tillage Network (ACT)
• Animal Traction Network for Eastern and Southern Africa
• Conservation Systems Research Team, USDA-ARS National Soil Dynamics Laboratory
• Conservation Tillage Information Center (CTIC)
• European Conservation Agriculture Federation (ECAF)
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
• International Soil Tillage Research Organization
• Missouri No-Till Planting Systems
• Manitoba-North Dakota Zero Tillage Farmer's Association
• National Association of Conservation Districts
• National Soil Tilth Laboratory
• The No-Till Farmer
• No-Till on the Plains
• No-till Switchboard
• No-tillage information by Rolf Derpsch (Paraguay)
• Pacific Northwest Conservation Tillage Systems Information Service
• Saskatchewan Soil Conservation Association
• Soil and Water Conservation Society
• South Dakota No-Till Association
• Southern Conserservation Agricultural Systems Conference (full-text proceedings online)
• Swiss No-Till
• United Kingdom Soil Management Initiative
• Western Australian No-Tillage Farmers Association
• World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT)
• World Bank (search)

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Ask-an-AFSIC-Librarian for assistance

About AFSIC services

Contact us

Alternative Farming Systems Information Center
National Agricultural Library
10301 Baltimore Avenue, Room 132
Beltsville, Maryland, 20705-2351
Phone: (301) 504-6559
Email: afsic@nal.usda.gov
http://afsic.nal.usda.gov