Serving all of Eastern Laramie County since 1908
Serving all of Eastern Laramie County since 1908
Sorted by date Results 101 - 125 of 175
I just got home from a real enjoyable no till field day meeting at Pat and Shane Cullan’s farm south of Chadron. We had a nice turnout and some good conversation throughout the morning on the benefits of continuous no till crop production on dry land acres in their area. I want to thank Shane and Pat for allowing us to use their farm as a starting point for the field day. The Nebraska Environmental Trust supports these field days with grant funding through the Nebraska No till Cadre. If you woul...
We decided this year to go back to drilling our edible bean crop rather than use the 15 inch planter we have used over the past several years. We saw some agronomic advantages to going back to using the drill which plants the beans in 7.5 inch rows. The narrower row spacing should help with weed control in our fields by developing a faster crop canopy which will compete better with weeds than the wider row spacings. Our main concern with weed pressure is the palmer amaranth weed which we first...
By Mark Watson Panhandle No-till Educator With all the abundant moisture around the Panhandle this spring we’ve received some severe weather that has caused a change in plans. Many producers have lost some of their fall and spring planted crops to violent hail storms that are often a part of our precipitation pattern. These producers are faced with the prospect of replanting or changing their cropping plans and going to a short season summer crop. These alternative crops include edible beans, proso millet, forage crops, or sunflowers. While i...
The Panhandle No-till Partnership will host a series of field days around the region during the last full week of June, 2014. These field days are informal meetings to visit about all aspects of no-till crop production on dry land and irrigated acres. Everyone interested is encouraged to attend and bring along your questions, thoughts, and ideas on how to improve no-till crop production in our area. Producers and landlords who are considering adopting no-till crop production into their...
Last week I wrote about the abundant moisture we have received in our area the past fall and so far this spring. I’ve also been tracking field pea and winter wheat yields over the past several years along with annual precipitation. I like to do this to see how our various dry land crops perform regarding the precipitation we receive during the growing season. Moisture is almost always the main limiting factor in crop production yields in our area. I use moisture received from the 1st of O...
Every once in a while I’m fortunate enough to catch a few fish for dinner. I’ve always felt the best way to cook a good batch of pan fish is to fry them up in some hot oil with a good batter on them. My wife Denise will often comment that the house smells like fish after one of my fried fish dinners. I always tell her that a house that smells like fried fish is a good thing. I’ll also occasionally tromp into the kitchen with mud on my boots. Denise will often point out to me that I could take...
I wish I had all the money I’ve spent over the years trying to control cheat grass on our farm. Cheat grass has been a problematic weed in winter wheat production for as long as anyone can remember. My grandfather and father were battling cheat grass when I was a young boy starting out farming. We were conventionally tilling our ground in a winter wheat/ summer fallow cropping rotation. Dad would use a stubble mulch farming practice to maintain more residues on the soil surface. This would u...
If you have been out and about in the countryside lately you’ve undoubtedly noticed a lot of activity. The boys and girls are back in the field to begin another farming season. Along with the activity come the headaches of battling to get the crops planted in the fields. Planting the crops always seems to be the most difficult part of the growing season. Our farming operation is similar to the Husker football team in that we sometimes fail to execute well thought out plans we’ve developed over t...
Spring has finally taken hold here in western Nebraska and moved old man winter into a distant memory. From early last October when we received our first snow until mid-April it seemed like a longer winter than most. The warmer temperatures also have brought with them the usual rush to get crops planted and the farming season is in full swing. I had my first report of field peas up and growing on the 17th of April. These early peas emerging were surprising given the cold temperatures of the soil...
There is no doubt in my mind that having living roots growing in the soil for extended periods of time is a key component to improving soil health. This is also the most challenging aspect of improving soil health in our semi-arid environment. As more and more producers move from a conventional winter wheat/summer fallow cropping rotation to a continuous no-till crop production system we are moving towards healthier soil. No-till crop production systems that include continuous diverse crop...
The past few weeks I’ve been looking at the possibilities of improving the health of the soils we work with here in western Nebraska. The soils we work with have lost organic matter, soil microbial populations and diversity as well as soil structure over the years with our crop production practices. To begin to restore soil health, the remedies seem pretty simple but can be hard to implement. When I’ve listened to presentations by experts on the remedies for restoring soil health, there are comm...
Last week I talked about the loss of soil health in our traditional winter wheat/summer fallow cropping system that has been the predominant system used by producers over the past several decades. In terms of soil health this is probably the most detrimental crop production system. When I have listened to experts in the field of soil health talk at conferences over the past several years there are a few key components to restoring soil health. The soil needs residues on the soil surface to...
Last week I gave an example of what rancher/farmer Gabe Brown, from Bismarck, North Dakota has accomplished on his operation by focusing his efforts on soil health. Over the past 15 years, Gabe has dramatically improved the health of his soil. This improved soil health has lowered his cost of production and improved the profitability of his operation considerably. This path towards soil health has been cleared by people like Gabe and has given us a blue print of how we can begin improving the he...
I’ve been thinking about what I learned during the past winter months while attending numerous educational events focusing on no-till crop production. While there are many benefits to no-till crop production I think the most important message I heard was the benefits of diversifying crops and cropping systems to benefit soil health. The benefits of diversified continuous cropping are numerous including building organic matter, improved soil microbiology, water infiltration and water holding c...
Last week I covered important considerations in getting your field pea crop off to a good start. I discussed using certified seed, planting population and how to calibrate according to the size of the seed to get the desired 350,000-375,000 final plant stand, and planting the seed at a depth of 2 to 2.5 inches deep. There are also a couple of other important considerations to getting your field pea crop off to a good start. It is very important to do everything you can to get a good, healthy stand of field peas. A good stand will increase the...
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 wheat in the fall. I have also seen firsthand on our far... Full story
I want to start off by thanking everyone who made this year’s Panhandle No till Partnership’s winter conference a success. I especially want to thank the members of the PNTP for all their efforts in putting together this conference and congratulate them for a job well done. I also want to thank the 135 individuals who attended the conference to further educate themselves on all aspects of no till crop production. More than 100 producers attended the two-day conference to gain more knowledge on improving their soil health, conserving our water r... Full story
I hope all of you are planning to attend the Panhandle No-till Partnership’s winter conference this coming week. The conference will be held Wednesday and Thursday at the Gering Civic Center in Gering, Neb. Each day, registration begins at 8 a.m. I’ll look forward to seeing you, but please register in advance if at all possible, especially if you are planning to eat lunch with the group. I’ve been discussing 10 tips for successful no-till crop production and thus far I have covered choos...
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 your 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 b...
By Mark Watson Panhandle No-till Educator I mentioned I was speaking at the No-till on the Plains annual winter conference. I am speaking to producers at the conference as part of a 40 tips in 50 minutes presentation with Paul Jasa, UNL no-till cropping systems specialist and manager of the Roger’s Memorial Research farm near Lincoln, Neb., and no-till producers Randy Rink and Keith Thompson. Our presentation will consist of short tips on no-till crop production. I thought I would share with you the 10 no-till tips I will talk about at this m... Full story
The Panhandle No-till Partnership is hosting a no till winter conference on Feb. 26 and 27, 2014. The conference will be at the Gering Civic Center beginning at 8 a.m. each day with registration and speakers starting at 8:45 a.m. This two day conference will feature some of the most knowledgeable and respected no-till crop production researchers and producers in our area. I always look forward to this conference where the topics and discussions are geared toward no till crop production in our area. Registration for the conference by Feb. 18 is... Full story
I’m on my way to Salina, Kan. to speak at and attend the annual No-till on the Plains winter conference. I always look forward to visiting with old friends and mentors at this conference. I’ve been going to this conference every year for the past 10 years and I always look forward to another learning experience. I’m part of this year’s program and I’ll work with three other producers around this region giving 40 tips on no-till crop production techniques in a 50-minute program. Hopefully our talk will be well received by the audience and will...
As the New Year begins so do new opportunities for educational meetings during the next couple of months for agricultural producers in our area. I always make it a point to attend as many of these meetings as I can to further my education in agriculture and no-till crop production. I would encourage everyone involved in production agriculture to attend these meetings. Agriculture is constantly changing and these meetings are a great place to learn about new technologies, marketing opportunities, crop production, and the opportunity to visit... Full story
As most of you are probably aware, I’m pretty excited about the opportunities yellow field peas provide for producers here in western Nebraska and around our region. We have been growing yellow field peas successfully on our farm for several years now and I’m convinced the field peas will prove to be a profitable crop for producers in this area. The best opportunities for field peas are in our dry land cropping systems and limited irrigation crop rotations. There are many agronomic benefits to including a legume in our cropping rotations. Add... Full story
I've joined the "social media" and now have a Facebook page. After some encouragement from members of a younger generation who find social networking to be an integral part of their lives, I have taken my first step into this rather fascinating means of communication. I do see where this type of interaction may prove to be a very good means of communicating with producers and educators on the benefits of no till crop production. I'm also a little nervous about having a page that is open to... Full story
