Environmental and production cost impacts of no-till: Estimates from observed behaviour

No-till has been promoted as a cultivation method that reduces both productioncosts and the environmental impacts of farming relative to conventional tillage. Using farm-leveldata from Finland, we show that no-till has no statistically significant effect on totalvariable costs but that it increases the use of plant protection products and fertilizers, anddecreases the use of labor. An environmental impact simulation combining the results oninput use with a nutrient and herbicide runoff model predicts that no-till producesenvironmental benefits on highly erodible land, but may be even detrimental to theenvironment in average conditions.