953 nut 55,175 #1 Posted March 3 Soil erosion control is nothing new. In response to the extreme soil drifting in Western Canada, Charles Noble developed a system to shear stubble and weeds below the ground and leave the residue on top of the soil to reduce evaporation and prevent erosion. Patented in 1937, more than 10,000 will be used around the globe by 1979 Amid the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, soil health and regenerative agriculture practices were not commonplace. Soil drifted in "black blizzards," massive clouds of airborne soil that could travel hundreds of miles. Strip farming and planting crops in alternating strips were how farmers combated erosion at the time. But strips could eventually become useless, depending on the direction of the wind. Farmers also used tillage to control weeds at the time, contributing to soil disturbance. In an effort to get Noble away from some of the troubles of the Great Depression, his friends and family convinced him to take a trip to California. It was there that he saw a beet farmer using a straight-blade walk-behind tool to cut into the soil and loosen the weeds. The blade got to the weeds without interrupting the crops and soil. Noble ended up returning from California early with the idea for the first Noble blade. The Noble Blade was an underground 8-foot-wide straight blade with two vertical standards designed to leave trash above ground while cutting weeds at the roots to terminate them. Noble used an old grader blade with a borrowed forger and anvil. He reshaped the blade and fixed it with two stout arms and a frame. He added 2 wheels and a means of depth control. The initial design wasn't perfect, but it was functional. Charles Noble had taken the first step toward No-till farming. 8 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,408 #2 Posted March 3 Another one of the very interesting machines I never knew existed... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
