Farmers are invited to a field day event on no-till farming in Aukštaitija

On October 24 this year, a practical event will be held at the farm of Romualdas Pilkauskas in Pašiliai village, Panevėžys district, focused on the exchange of best practices in no-till farming technologies. The event will provide farmers with an opportunity to learn more about effective and sustainable farming practices in crop production, the benefits these methods offer to the soil and farm, and available investment and compensation support.

During the event, Romualdas Pilkauskas will share his experience and insights on implementing direct and strip-till sowing on his farm, as well as lessons learned. Tautvydas Beinoras, head of the Lithuanian No-Till and Conservation Agriculture Association, will discuss sustainable farming from a practical perspective. Participants will also have the chance to inspect machinery used for no-till farming.

The detailed event program is available on the Ministry of Agriculture’s website, and those wishing to attend are invited to register by completing the participant form: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=NVT1nbFTekOO5ebyR9N8No3h3Tg2pApIhVl7v0-1CtVURDlFQlUwNU1PUDlDOVpQT1pNWU84RFJUOS4u
Space is limited.

Benefits of No-Till Farming Technologies Research and farmer experiences indicate that conservation agriculture technologies, such as strip-till and direct seeding, enhance efficiency and improve soil health. No-till farming methods also help reduce time and resource use, including machinery, fertilizers, and plant protection products. Furthermore, these technologies contribute to increasing farm energy independence and protect water bodies from nutrient runoff. By not disturbing the soil and mixing its layers, water and air circulation channels are created, providing better conditions for seed germination and plant growth, even under adverse weather conditions. The increase in humic substances in the soil forms more stable soil aggregates that retain water and nutrients.

Farmers are encouraged to adopt no-till technologies The Environmental Projects Management Agency administers the Investment Measure of the Modernization Fund and can provide up to €80,000 (not exceeding 40% of the cost) in investment support for the purchase of direct and strip-till seeders. In recent years, this measure has become very popular, and in 2024, two calls for applications resulted in 257 applications for over €17 million. To promote more sustainable crop cultivation, additional premiums are allocated through the Agricultural and Rural Development Strategy Plan’s ecological scheme: €66/ha for direct and strip-till sowing areas, and €20/ha for minimal tillage crops.

For the upcoming call for applications at the beginning of next year, more than €12 million is planned to be allocated.

For more information, please contact: Aleksas Bukinas, Project Coordinator of the LIFE IP EnerLIT project "Energy Efficiency Improvement in Lithuania" at the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Lithuania. Tel. +370 664 87477, Email: aleksas.bukinas@zum.lt

If you are curious to see how last year’s event went, feel free to visit our YouTube channel and watch the video from the previous no-till technologies field day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTxnfDvj19c