Serving all of Eastern Laramie County since 1908
Serving all of Eastern Laramie County since 1908
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I’ve been writing the “No-till Notes” for quite some time now. It’s been long enough that I don’t really remember when I started or how many I’ve written. I’m sure some of my readers probably feel like it’s been a long time as well. I’ve really enjoyed my experiences as a no-till educator over the past several years. I’ve had the great pleasure of meeting many producers, researchers, agribusiness men and women, and NRCS and NRD staff members during this time. Many of these acquaintances have...
One of the great attributes of a no till farming system is the ability this type of crop production system provides to manage water. In previous articles I have written about no till farming and managing the moisture Mother Nature provides to produce crops and forage under dry land farming. I feel no till farming practices will allow us to also manage our irrigation water to the best of our abilities and help us conserve this valuable resource. Throughout the state of Nebraska water is becoming...
No-till On the Plains will be hosting a whirlwind field day on June 23, 2016 beginning at 8 a.m. The field day site is Watson Brother’s farm located at 1561 County Road 61, Alliance, Nebraska. 69301. This field day is for everyone interested in the benefits of long term continuous no-till crop production. To register for the event go to [email protected] or call NTOP at 785-210-4549. The field day will begin with a rainfall simulator demonstration presented by Dan Gillespie, NRCS no-till specia...
Over the past couple of weeks I’ve shown some of Dietrich Kasten’s water use efficiencies for different crop rotations common in his area of Kansas. The water use efficiencies ranged from 33 percent for summer fallow wheat, to 52 percent for wheat following fallow in a whea, corn and summer fallow rotation to 97 percent for winter wheat following field peas. I spoke to Dietrich following the meeting to discuss this high water-use efficiency he has found in winter wheat following field peas. Die...
Last week I introduced some of Dietrich Kasten’s water use efficiency data he presented at a past year’s winter conference. Dietrich had a water use efficiency rating of 33 percent for a winter wheat and summer fallow rotation. Dietrich arrived at this 33 percent rating by using the total amount of precipitation received on average for the total length of the rotation (42.98 inches), subtracted the amount of moisture required for vegetative growth (10 inches), then determined the amount of moi...
“I am a farmer. I take sunlight, water and carbon dioxide and make them into products that I can sell.” Dr. Dwayne Beck made this statement at a recent No-Till winter conference sponsored by the Panhandle No-Till Partnership. Dr. Beck also stated “No-till is not about the lack of tillage, but about managing soil water, soil structure, soil biology and carbon compounds in the soil.” It is a common misconception among producers and educators that no-till is simply stopping tillage and replaci...
One of the best visualizations I’ve heard for managing your soil moisture and the precipitation you receive is to compare your soil’s moisture holding capacity to a bucket. The size of your bucket depends on the soil texture, organic matter content, and soil structure. With good surface residues you can get the precipitation you receive to infiltrate the soil and start filling the bucket. If you have good soil structure you can get the moisture to the bottom of the bucket, and if you have goo...
A growing concern across the country is the development of herbicide resistance in weed species to glyphosphate herbicide more commonly referred to as Roundup. This herbicide has grown in popularity in crop production since it first came on the market years ago. With advanced technology we now have crops such as soybeans, corn, sugar beets, and alfalfa which tolerate the herbicide. These genetically modified crops can be planted and the glyphosphate herbicide applied on them to control weeds in...
I’ve been looking through past articles I’ve written to selectarticles I think were important as we move forward in agricultural production. My time writing “No-till Notes” is winding down so I’m trying to select articles of importance. The original version of this article was written nearly five years ago and I think it carries a lot of weight today. As we strive to improve the health of our soils we work with, we are banking on these healthier soils producing more per acre. These healthier...
We found out this spring how important continually adding carbon into our soil is here in this region. With our somewhat low organic matter content soil we really need to continually grow high residue crops a high percentage of the time to keep the soil in good condition. We are transitioning our farm on our irrigated acres to a winter wheat (followed by forages for grazing), dry edible bean, corn, yellow field pea rotation from a winter wheat, corn, edible bean rotation. During this transition...
I have been discussing in the past several articles important tips for continuous no-till crop production on dry land and irrigated acres. Managing residues begins at harvest with even distribution of the residues at harvest. I’m a big fan of stripper heads in harvesting small grains like winter wheat. The stripper head leaves the residues in place and attached to the soil surface. The entire plant is left undisturbed for maximum residue height. You’re not cutting the residue in half and exp...
I’ve been discussing 10 tips for successful no till crop production and thus far I have covered choosing a good crop rotation, winter wheat as the most important crop for supplying a consistent amount of residues to make the rest of the crop rotation function, and utilizing a stripper head to manage this amount of residues. I’ve also discussed the value of adding field peas to the crop rotation. Field peas are the ideal legume to add to the rotation in the spring prior to seeding winter whe...
I’ve been discussing 10 tips for successful no-till crop production and thus far I have covered choosing a good crop rotation, winter wheat as the most important crop for supplying a consistent amount of residues to make the rest of the crop rotation function, and utilizing a stripper head to manage this amount of residues. I think another important production tip for our area is to add field peas to the crop rotation prior to the winter wheat portion of the continuous no-till crop rotation. F...
Last week I started off my 10 tips to successful no-till crop production with a discussion on crop rotations. I feel this is the most important consideration on your farm. Designing a crop rotation for you farm will affect your bottom line, weed and disease cycles, and your farm’s performance well into the future. Take plenty of time each year and assess your rotation and improvements you can make in designing your rotation. As I mentioned last week designing a good rotation for our farm has bee...
My time writing no till notes will be coming to an end in the near future so I’m sharing with you some of what I consider to be the most important aspects of no till crop production in our area. The Panhandle No till Partnership will continue to provide no till educational events around the Panhandle including field days and winter conferences. Tip number 1 for me is choosing the proper crop rotation. I feel this decision is the most important decision you will make on your farm. The crop r...
I had the great pleasure of meeting and visiting with Dr. Kofi Boa at this year’s No-till On the Plain’s winter conference. Dr. Boa has undertaken an incredibly difficult and rewarding task in his homeland of Ghana, Africa. Dr. Boa is building soil health to stimulate economic growth in an impoverished nation. He is building wealth in Africa two acres at a time. I’d like to share his inspiring story with you. Dr. Boa was a young child when his mother returned to their home in tears. His mothe...
Over the past four weeks I have had the good fortune to travel to four regional conservation agriculture meetings. These meetings are all billed as no-till meetings in Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska. What we have learned over the years is that no-till is a tool used in conservation agriculture but is not the “end all” to soil health. All of these meetings are focused on improving the health and performance of the soil that we work with on our farms and ranches. Improving soil health is the end...
The past several articles I have written have been about a systems approach we use on our farm to lower our groundwater pumping requirements and conserve water. I think a systems approach is required to truly become a steward of the land and water resources. We start water conservation by improving the performance of our soil. We leave the previous crop’s residues attached and on the soil surface. This residue management greatly improves infiltration of water into the soil and lowers soil m...
In previous articles I have visited about a systems approach we incorporate on our farm to conserve our groundwater pumping. The key components for us are managing our soil and residues so the soil can infiltrate and store as much moisture as possible. We have also incorporated a dynamic crop rotation of winter wheat followed by a diverse forage crop, dry edible beans, corn and field peas. We are producing the diverse forage crop following our winter wheat harvest to add more carbon into the sys...
The Panhandle No-Till Partnership will again be hosting our winter conference at the Gering Civic Center on Feb. 23-24. The conference will focus on the benefits of no-till crop production. Whether you are considering adopting no-till crop production on your farm or you are a long time no-till producer, I think our conference will have something to offer to everyone who attends. If you would like to register for our conference please contact the Upper Niobrara White Natural Resources District...
As I mentioned in previous articles, we view water conservation on our farm as a systems approach to saving water. Thus far I have talked about utilizing no-till crop production techniques to minimize soil disturbance and adopting a dynamic crop rotation. Another component to water conservation we have implemented is to produce a forage crop following our irrigated winter wheat harvest. I struggled with this decision since we are producing another crop on our irrigated acres which will require...
Water conservation in irrigated crop production has to be viewed as a systems approach to conserving water. As I stated in previous articles, I think water conservation starts with improving the performance of the soil. Another key component to a systems approach to water conservation is choosing a dynamic crop rotation for your farm or ranch. The crops you choose to produce have to be profitable, provide a good agronomic rotation, be relatively high in water use efficiency, and require less...
In my opinion any serious discussion about water conservation has to start with the soil. If you are going to conserve irrigation water pumping, the first order of business is to make sure your soil is performing at a high level. The soil has to be able to infiltrate the water where it falls and have the capacity to store the water away from the soil surface as much as possible. The ability of the soil to infiltrate water at a high rate where the water falls is critical to water conservation....
I’ve been busy building my power point presentations for the No till On The Plains and High Plains No till winter conferences. I’ve been asked to speak about water conservation at each of these conferences. I’ve always thought that our limited groundwater supply would be a driving force in the adoption of continuous no till crop production practices in our region on irrigated acres. Surface water irrigation is a moving target as the levels of surface water fluctuate with the snowfall in the m...
Many of you may remember Dr. Jonathon Lundgren, a former entomologist with USDA-ARS in Brookings, S.D. Dr. Lundgren spoke at our Panhandle No till Partnership winter conference a few years ago. He is a very enthusiastic and dedicated entomologist, and his passion for his work shows in his presentations. Lundgren was very well received at our conference. Lundgren recently left the USDA-ARS research center in Brookings to embark on a new career which I think is going to be fascinating to watch as...
