Mooseplate grant brings no-till seeder to Belknap farmers

Belknap County won two grants this month totaling over $53,000 from New Hampshire’s 2022 Mooseplate grant program. The two grants were divided into parcels of $27,350 and $25,790. The $25,790 is directed at stream restoration in Meredith, and the remaining sum is for the purchase of a no-till seed drill, a piece of agricultural farming equipment that can extend the viability of land.

“When you till traditionally, you are exposing soils which can potentially lead to soil erosion and diminished health of the soil,” said Lisa Morin, program coordinator for the Belknap County Conservation District, which ties its very existence to the negative impacts of traditional tilling. “There was a huge push to plow up everything and plant for production,” Morin said. “The Midwest and Plains, they were plowing everything and planting, planting, planting. Then we had periods of drought, these winds came and it just removed the topsoil.” 

This airborne topsoil scourged middle America, which became known as the Dust Bowl. The phenomenon decimated crops and local ecologies throughout the American heartland, causing waves of economic migrants and putting further strain on the already heavily depressed 1930s economy.

Although the stakes are not nearly as high today, Morin explained that in addition to erosion, traditional tilling can expose bacteria in the soil to excessive moisture, light and air, which over time can reduce the overall health and viability of the land.

The seeder will be available to farmers in the area who might not otherwise have ready access to this type of equipment.

The no-till seeder is able to achieve this through its mechanism of slicing open the ground and re-sealing it using a series of blade-like disks and rolling pin-like wheels. The device is pulled behind a tractor and contains a set of bins for seeds and fertilizers. The seeds are fed through a series of tubes down into cuts formed by discs that drag along the bottom of the device. The farmer can choose the depth they want the seeds to be planted, as well as the types or combinations of seed and fertilizers. Once the seed is dropped, a final set of wheels runs over the cut, and reseals the planting site.

When it comes to land viability, there are few better experts and concerned parties than the Belknap County Farm Bureau.

“There’s 150 to 200 members,” said Belknap Conservation District Executive Director Donna Hepp, “I talked with the farmers there, and Tim Duval and his wife Heidi have been very active leaders in implementing some of the newer practices like protecting water quality and demonstrating good soil and water conservation practices. They've been renting (a seeder) down in Cheshire County.”

Heidi Loring and Tim Duval run HT Farm in Belmont, and primarily raise beef, and were very excited to hear about the grant. They will also be responsible for storing and taking care of the seeder once it is purchased.

“When we rent it, it costs $1,000 just in shipping because we have to hire someone with a semi just to go get it, then we pay by the acreage to use it. We’re drilling probably 150 acres a year, twice a year,” Duval said, “so $2,000 just for hauling in spring and fall, and probably another $800 to $1,000 in rental fees, not counting what we pay in seed, which is expensive.”

The long distance and cost of a rental combined with the price of purchasing one makes this piece of equipment virtually inaccessible to a majority of Belknap farmers.

“It’s a very costly piece of equipment you only use for a couple of weeks, and a lot of farmers are not rich people,” said Loring. “You buy haying equipment, you use it all summer long, you have a tractor, you use it all year long, but this drill you don’t use very often, so to share it would be very beneficial to multiple farmers.”

If all goes as planned, Belknap County farmers could get access to their own community no-till seeder as early as this summer.