(a) Reduced till standards. To qualify as reduced till under this part, field(s) or management unit(s) must be managed according to the following standards:

(1) Tillage methods where the entire soil surface is disturbed by tillage operations such as chisel plowing, field cultivating, tandem disking, vertical tillage, or ridge tillage are permitted, provided that the STIR value is no greater than 80. The STIR value must include all field operations that are performed during the crop interval (that is, from the time immediately following harvest or termination of one cash crop through harvest or termination of the next cash crop in the rotation, including fallow periods). Permitted methods are also commonly referred to as mulch tillage, conservation tillage, or ridge till;

(2) Primary inversion tillage implements (for example, moldboard plow) must not be used;

(3) Residue must not be burned; and

(4) Removing residue from the crop planting row area prior to or as part of the planting operation is allowed.

(b) No-till standards. To qualify as no-till under this part, field(s) or management unit(s) must be managed according to the following standards:

(1) Full-width soil disturbance must not be performed, from the time immediately following harvest or termination of one cash crop through harvest or termination of the next cash crop in the rotation, regardless of the depth of the tillage operation. Strip tillage and fertilizer injection are permitted, provided that the STIR value is no greater than 20. The STIR value must include all field operations that are performed during the crop interval (that is, from the time immediately following harvest or termination of one cash crop through harvest or termination of the next cash crop in the rotation, including fallow periods);

(2) Residue must not be burned; and

(3) Removing residue from directly within the seeding, planting, or transplanting area prior to or as part of the planting operation is allowed.

(c) Tillage management recordkeeping standards. Farm producers must maintain records for 5 years demonstrating required implementation of the reduced till or no-till practice. Records must contain sufficient detail to be readily understood and auditable. Records may be of varying types and origins including, but not limited to, physical documentation (for example, paper forms, invoices, receipts, seed tags), digital files (including from farm management software), data generated by farm equipment (for example, precision agriculture equipment), remotely sensed data, georeferenced and timestamped photographs, or data and records used for participation in USDA programs. Records must demonstrate:

(1) Field(s) or management unit(s) where the practice is implemented, including location and acreage;

(2) All field operations including tillage and all other operations (including fertilizing, planting, controlling pests, seeding, harvesting) that may cause surface disturbance;

(3) Type of field operation including depth and width of disturbance and average speed of operation;

(4) Equipment used;

(5) Date(s) that each operation occurred; and

(6) Total bushels of the harvested production crop harvested from field(s) or management unit(s) where the practice was implemented. If the farm producer uses both reduced till and no-till on different fields, records must indicate the total bushels produced using each CSA practice.

(d) Tillage management verification. When auditing the reduced till or no-till practice, third-party verifiers must review documentation demonstrating all field operations including the type of operation, equipment used, and timing of operation. Using these records, third-party verifiers must verify the correct calculation (or perform the calculation) of a crop interval STIR value and verify that the value meets the standards of the reduced till or no-till practice.