Zero Tillage in Switzerland: The Bernese Incentive Program

Abstract

Farmland is increasingly being stressed with high axle loads and very intense soil tillage techniques. The structure of the soil is thereby becoming more and more unstable — causing lots of soil degradation problems — whereas, above all, its load capacity has to be markedly in-creased. Zero tillage — defined as a plant production system without any soil tillage from previ-ous harvest to direct seeding — offers a solution to this dilemma: it goes easy on soil and water, at the same time it is labour-saving and cost-cutting.