Questions & answers

Yes, three such farms were studied:

• "Agrozem – AV" Ltd (Skalitsa, Yambol region, about 30,000 decares) — zero tillage with precision sowing and irrigation. The reason was increasingly frequent drought and heat; the result is better retention of soil moisture.
• "Agroelit" Ltd (Veselinovo, Yambol region) — no-till with regenerative practices. Crop residues stay as mulch; erosion is practically zero and organic matter builds up.
• Sole trader "Agroelit – Mitov" (Targovishte) — strip-till: only narrow strips in the row zone are tilled, while the inter-rows stay covered with residues. Tillage, sowing and fertilising are done in one pass with GPS guidance. The result is lower fuel, machinery and labour costs and better water-holding capacity.

What the results have in common: less erosion, healthier soil, lower fuel use and greater resilience to drought.

What their experience says about the transition:

1. Change gradually — first minimum tillage and more crop residues.
2. For the first three years, grow well-known crops: wheat – sunflower – barley. Once the soil structure stabilises, add oilseed rape and maize.
3. Expect yield fluctuations and higher weed pressure in the first years.
4. Strip-till is for row crops and light to medium soils, with GPS guidance; it is not suitable for heavy, waterlogged soils (vertisols) or narrow-row cereals.
5. Learn from your neighbours — experienced farms and the No-till Bulgaria association, which organises field demonstrations.

The farms' contacts are in the table at the start of this section. The Help Desk can help you get in touch.

Material: Training Module 1, section 4 "Conservation agriculture"; Report "Innovative approaches in agriculture"; good practices 1, 8 and 10.