No-Till Farmer

Reply to class no-till project

Sat, 01 Oct 2005 18:46:44 -0500

I would recommend any ag teacher to use the No Till Scholarship Essay as a way to teach Conservation and Public Speaking for FFA. It worked very well for me. Contact me if you need help. Ed Winkle

Reply to coverting to no till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Ed Winkle Email: ewinkle@voyager.net Difficult question, Stan. I did a search on www.google.com

Midwest Ridge & Strip Till Conference

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Mark DallmannSubject: Midwest Ridge & Strip Till Conference Email: gator_farmer@hotmail.com I wanted to announce the Midwest Ridge & Strip Till Conference. To be held at the Holiday Inn, New Ulm Mn on

zone till corn in old hay sod???

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: RichardSubject: zone till corn in old hay sod??? Email: rickgthf@yahoo.com I recently posted a question about the feasibility of zone tilling corn in run out hay sod which is killed with roundup type spray. There wasn't any response. Is this because it is such a terrible idea or am I missing something basic about no-till?

Reply to zone till corn in old hay sod???

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: brad c Email: becfarms@aol.com Richard,

Reply to zone till corn in old hay sod???

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Sod Email: I think your best bet in old sod is to leave it alone and no-till right into the sod. Any tillage is going to dig up clumps of sod your planter is going to have to deal with. Also, if it were me I would probably plant beans into the sod to get around any disease carry over from the grass to to better control any grass regrowth. Then go to corn the following year. My two cents worth.

Reply to zone till corn in old hay sod???

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Charles Gander Email: dgander@toolcity.net We run a three coulter system on a 3600 kinze, doing custom work and we probably do about 350-400 acres of sod every year. The results you get are going to depend on you and the year. We actually prefer a green sod, that seems to get the moisture out better.That dead mat just holds to much moisture in the spring. Make sure you have a good set of closing wheels. We run the Martin spaders and I love them everywhere but in the sod. When you get them closing the slot they have a tendency to pull the seed back up. Make sure you use a seedbox treatment of some kind because there are all kinds of bugs in there. You should get great results if you do all that.

zone till corn in old hay sod

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Richard GlenisterSubject: zone till corn in old hay sod Email: rickgthf@yahoo.com I have available several old run out hay fields (ten+ years sod). How fesible is it to kill the sod this spring and zone till corn. What equipment is necessary as there are stone (six in. or smaller just under the surface)? I anticipate using Clearout 41 Plus in April then use atrazine post emergence. Will this work? We are located in Central New York (Cayuga Cty) so we do not have the heat that other locations receive. I am concerned that even though these soils are in sod and have not had heavy traffic and compaction there will not be enough aeration and deeper soil stirring to get the root growth necessary for a good corn crop. I noticed that the big corn growers in this area have gone back to moldboard plowing in the last few years, Why? Any help you can give me will be appreciate.

class no-till project

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: studentSubject: class no-till project Email: dscacidburn@hotmail.com in my ag. class we are doing a project. my part is on no-till

Reply to class no-till project

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: John W Email: The Conservation Tillage Center is a good place to start for facts and figures on Notill and conservation tillage in the US. Then use www.google.com and you'll find a lot more info. You have to write your own paper.

Field Prep. HELP needed!

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Terry B.Subject: Field Prep. HELP needed! Email: tbistrov@eznet.net I am thinking about planting about 60 acres of soybeans (for the first time) on my dad's (no longer active) dairy farm in north central New York. Half is hay field that has not been tilled in at least 10 years, and half is cornfield that has been fallow for about 4 years. The soil is clay-loam (lots of rocks) with hardpan at about 18 inches. The hayfield is in pretty good shape except for weeds, but the cornfield is in rough shape with lots of compaction and ruts. I would like to no-till (eventually), and would like some advice on how to get the fields into shape. I have been out of farming for the last 30 years, so am WAY out of touch with the current tillage technology. What I have in mind is to plow (moldboard, I know that's a dirty word) in the spring follow with a disk, rockpicker and soil finisher to get everyting smooth and ready to plant, (with postemergent ru for weed control) and next year (if I don't loose too much $)go to a real no-till program. Any and all comments and suggestions will be appreciated.

Reply to Field Prep. HELP needed!

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Jeff Email: If it were me, I would just use a good field cultivator (one that levels very well) and run over the field a couple different directions whenever you get a chance before spring. Get it leveled up as much as possible then you can out out there and pick up rocks, they should be easier to find. Get your crop planted and off and plan on a deep tillage pass in the fall and you should be off to a good start. If you use something like a Tye Paratill, it shouldnt bring up too many rocks and you will be in good shape for a fresh start in notill.

Reply to Field Prep. HELP needed!

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Jim Email: ashfarm1@juno.com I agree with Jeff. If it is in corn stalks, you would have a tough time pulling a field cultivator through it. I would pull soil tests first. If you are going to do any tillage, that would be a good time to work your lime in.

Reply to Field Prep. HELP needed!

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: jerry Email: Why ruin ten years of notill. Plant beans leave the hay field alone. Cheaper to kill growth on top with bean herbicide. If you must use field cultivator use it only in previously cropped ground. Lime now if you cultivate. But any cultivation will just raise more rocks.

Feild leveling

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Dave HeidemanSubject: Feild leveling Email: heide@frontiernet.net I plant 30 inch corn/15 inch soybeans(1 yr corn-1 yr soybean rotation)with a Kinze split row planter on sandy loam soil in central Wisconsin. No deep tillage is used. Nitrogen is split applied on sandy soil-1/2 pre-emerge sprayed with herbicide, and 1/2 sidedressed with a 9400 Sukup cultivator. When planting soybeans I have a ridging between corn rows(2-3 inches) and I would like to level this out. This ridging is caused by a combination of planting and combining weight in the rows and the cultivation. I am considering using a Phillips or Phoenix rotary harrow, a McFarlane reel till, or a finishing disk that would be run just deep enough to level the ridging(2-3 inches). I want to limit compaction and do not want to create horizontal density changes in the soil, while leveling the ridges and evenly spreading surface residue. Any comments on these tillage tools or other recomendations would be appreciated.

Notill rotations

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Hans RSubject: Notill rotations Email: bigdad@utma.com This is my second year of winter wheat production in NE ND. Will my rotation be too close if I plant winter wheat then flax and than canola and then winter wheat again. My reason for this rotation is the wheat stubble here catches too much snow and has too much trash to warm up the ground in spring.The flax and canola stubble has much less but still will catch enough snow too protect the wheat. Planting Round up Ready canola should help keep the field clean enough for this type of rotation or will it?

Reply to Notill rotations

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: John W Email: Two years out of winter wheat with no other cereals should be a pretty good rotation. Canola is especially good in the rotation to help clear up diseases, grassy weeds and open up the soil.

Midwest Ridge & Strip Till Conference

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Organic Farming

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Robert WildermuthSubject: Organic Farming Email: wilderm@jvlnet.com The National Farmers Organization is meeting this week in Rochester MN. A large contingent of Organic producers is a part of the convention. They are trying to form one voice representation for the organic industry. More meetings tomorrow. I told some of the producers I would get on Frank's NoTill line and see if I could make contact with other organic producers. Especially needed just now are egg producers and grain. Networking with all organic farmers is necessary. Contact me at the above Email address and I can make the connection.

no-till cotton planting

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Jerry CosperSubject: no-till cotton planting Email: cosperj@yahoo.com I no-tilled irrigated & dry land cotton for the last 5 years in the texas panhandle near memphis tx. I have had a difficult time establishing a consistent stand. I started out with trash whippers moving only cover crop residue and no soil. The result was that some parts of the row were planted into moisture and other parts were not. I lowered the trash whippers to where they would cut small trench in the soil but got no better results. I think the whippers incorporated too much dry dirt into the seed trench.

Reply to no-till cotton planting

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: matt hagny Email: mhagny@cox.net try killing the cover crop earlier.

Soghum seed

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: big gregSubject: Soghum seed Email:

Deep Ripping?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: DanSubject: Deep Ripping? Email: I'm beginning to continuous no till a variety of ground types that have been conventionally tilled, mostly row cropped for a long time. The 'tilth' of most of this ground is not very good, especially the heavier clay. My basic intended rotation is alfalfa or sweetclover -snap beans-corn-soybeans-winter wheat- and back to hay. The clay is hard, very much so below the plowed layer. Hopefully, the hay will help to break this up. I keep hearing about 'deep ripping' to help out first. Should I, and what exactly does this mean? I've done what I call 'subsoiling' in a few areas, going about 2 feet deep. This pulls hard to say the least; about impossible if the ground is very dry. Also, I know it goes against the philosophy of no-till, but should I think about working the hay down to help the tilth, or cut it and let it lay, or bale it off? Any thoughts are appreciated.

synthetic oils

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: david darnallSubject: synthetic oils Email: daviddarnall1@excite.com How many of you are using it, and how do you like it. What do you think of the engine wear compared to conventional oils?

Reply to synthetic oils

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Tired of your Conklin ads Email: Why don't you buy an ad instead of peddling your snake oil here? Isn't Conklin a pyramid scheme anyway?

Reply to synthetic oils

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: John Email: What has this BS have to do with the no-till. Your wearing out your welcome, here and on most of the other ag sites.

Reply to synthetic oils

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Sleuth Email: I noticed about a month ago you posted about a 'friend' that had approached you about trying conklin and wanted to know if it was any good. Now it turns out your dad is a distributor for conklin. It's pretty obvious to everyone you are posting this to solicite business, which I think is pretty low. Your sales tactics certainly aren't going to sell much product to anyone.

Reply to synthetic oils

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: david darnall Email: It was a friend that first approached us. Dad has since signed up. I am going to try some of the ag. products and wnat to know more about the lubricants. He will draw only 3% commission, $30 dollars for every thousand so there will be little profit for him.

First time corn No tiller

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: BrentSubject: First time corn No tiller Email: bdhager@stellarnet.com This year will be my first year to try no till corn. I have a 950 12 row planter with yetter whippers and a double disk liquid fert attactment. The liquid fert is placed about 2 inches to the side and bout an inch below. I would like any or all information or comments that anyone would like to share with me. I live in North Central North Dakota, which is a very nontypical corn growin area, but have been have good yields for my area and would like to inprove on them with conserving mosture. I will mainly be goin into wheat, canola, and some soybean stubble. Thank you for any help ya can give me.

Reply to First time corn No tiller

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: swNEBR Email: You should be set! You have an excellent no-till planter and just use the yetter trash whippers to remove the trash out of the row. It is not necessary to remove all trash. I just like to remove any bunches out of the way and leave the soil in place.

Reply to First time corn No tiller

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Brent Email: Thanks for the info, any recommondations on ammount of starter. I have been raisin bout 100 bu corn, have been using 10 gallons 10-34, 2 gal 20-0-0-24, and .5 gal zinc. Do you recommend maybe using 28% also.

Reply to First time corn No tiller

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: swNEBR Email: I would reccomend to take some soil tests. I use 5 gallons 10-34-0 plus .5 gal. of Zinc in row and band 80# of available N as 28% next to the row. This is in wheat stubble.

Reply to First time corn No tiller

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Tim Email: The one concern I have is the double disc fertilizer openers. I would much prefer a single disc opener of some type. I like a single disc because of easier penetration and it cuts the trash in half for the residue managers to part it easier. I have a 900 CIh with kinze openers. Others work but I highly recommend something with a wiper tire on the side to hold down the dirt. I put down 10 gal of 10-34, 2 inches over and 2 down. I'm in southern North Dakota and corn sure grows good here. I also have Martin spading wheels for closing and keetons.

Reply to First time corn No tiller

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Brent Email: I was gonna ask about closing wheels, are you happy with the martins? To solve the double disc opener trouble, or hope to am gonna try for the first time this yr, i purchased a set of 13.5 inch notched discs. They come from Sunco in North Platte, so i will run one 12" smooth and then one 13.5" notched. Hopeing this will help cut residue, sure look like they may work. Also how do you put down your Nitrogen, am lookin at a few differnt options, would like to hear what others are doin.

Reply to First time corn No tiller

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Tim Email: I have had no problems with my Martins, except that after two years use, I am now in the process of changing all the bearings. Several almost didn't make it to the end last year. Martin closers do a very good job though of closing the trench and they cost a lot less then the other systems. I went through a Martin dealer and they cost $75 a row.

Nu-til/Ag Spectrum

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: shucksSubject: Nu-til/Ag Spectrum Email: I would like comments from farmers who have used this system(no salesman or reps please)Has the bio fertilizers like grozyme and clean start,etc. proven to be a success or expensive snake oil? I would appreciate your thoughts.

PICK OFF THE BUNCH

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: PETERSubject: PICK OFF THE BUNCH Email: WELL WE HAVE ALL HAVE OUR LIKES AND DISLIKES ON DIFFERENT MACHINES PROBLEMS BEEN FERT PLACEMENT, PICKING UP DIRT IN THE WET GAUGE WHEEL PLUGGING, PINNING

Reply to PICK OFF THE BUNCH

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: John W Email: Where was this drill or seeding trial done? And what were the conditions, residue type and amount, moisture ect. And what were you seeding? Oh, and turn off your "caps lock". Reading all caps is a drag.

corn stalks

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: davidSubject: corn stalks Email: I need some thoughts on how to handle corn stalks in no-till continious corn.

Reply to corn stalks

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Scott Arthaud Email: arthaud@ptsi.net We use a Rootslicer. You can see pictures at www.beslerindustries.com Becknell Wholesale out of Lubbock, TX also distributes one. After running a rootslicer you can plant back into the old row with no rootballs and yet a nice firm seedbed and very little soil disturbance. A cornhead with knife rolls or a rootslicer with a stalk chopper on the front are probably needed in heavy stalks. We run a cornhead with knife rolls.

Reply to corn stalks

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Dan Miller Email: abmillerfarms@hotmail.com We are just beginning to try no-till, switching from ridge-till. Everyone I have asked has said to leave as much residue standing as possible. This will keep residue from matting as well as being connected to the ground not causing as much plugging. We have good luck running a Besler double bar stalk chopper on ridges, but the residue settles into the furrow. When I tried it on flat, no-tilled ground it looked like a scattered mess of cornstalk piles.

Zone Building

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: South DakotaSubject: Zone Building Email: Has anyone done any Zone Building in South Dakota? I was wondering if it was beneficial to yield. Comments from anywhere would be appreciated.

cyperquat/s-21634

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Vernice Jackson-Lewis, PhDSubject: cyperquat/s-21634 Email: vrj1@columbia.edu I am looking for information on cyperquat/s-21634 use in the past (1950-1980).I am writing a reeview article and need information on this compound. Can you point me in the right direction?

Reply to cyperquat/s-21634

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: John W Email: Well, Doctor have you checked www.google.com ? I got a lot of hits over there, some might be of interest to you.

cyperquat/s-21634

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Videos on no-till farming

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: RobertSubject: Videos on no-till farming Email: barkemeyer@stonemedia.com I would like to know where i can get videos on no-till, strip-till, ridge-till, and stale bed farming.

Reply to Videos on no-till farming

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Ed Winkle Email: ewinkle@voyager.net Do a search on www.google.com for "no-till farming videos" and you get a pretty good list, some that might apply to your area in Texas.

Grain burning furnaces / boilers

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Andrew DeptfordSubject: Grain burning furnaces / boilers Email: andrew@aadhire.co.uk I'm from the U K and am researching grain burning furnaces or boilers with the intention of importing and selling them

NCGA winners

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: G stephensSubject: NCGA winners Email: stephensfarm@tds.net after reading from (believer) on starter and sidedresing, i'm curious if anyone has directly related equipment to the stats on winning the contest. we all know which equipment is used most, but maybe our question really ought to be; is the equipment brand important or does it just say a lot about the producer and the strife for excellence in their operation----likewise; is starter and sidedressing the components that put people over the top or does it just identify the producers that are doing a lot of things right( of which includes starter and sidedressing)-----p.s. i also use starter and sidedress as well, think it pays, but have not yielded 400 bu yet------just some thoughts, and will be looking for more thoughts and maybe even stats

Reply to NCGA winners

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Mike Email: grain@earth1.net Having won NCGA contests I think your observation is right on the money. To produce top yields you have to pay attention to all details that affect yield. Obviously starter and sidedressing provide results with some consistancy. We treat all of our "better ground " as if it is a contest field. We don't however throw limited dollars away just to produce a higher yield. It has to be a economicaly feasable higher yield. You don't spend $1.25 to produce $1.00 worth of yield. My extra efforts on "better or contests" fields often returns $10 plus for every $1 spent up to a certain point, I think that is the law of diminishing returns[Ag Econ 101]. Pay attention to detail in all aspects of your no till operation and it will return you $ and or a NCGA win.

No Till into native grass

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: TimSubject: No Till into native grass Email: bigrbull@yahoo.com We are developing some ground from flood irrigation to pivot irrigation and some of the ground will be native grass pasture. Should we till this up or spray and plant? Would like to plant either corn or RR soybeans. Also most of this pasture or native grass is on sloped or highly erodible ground.

Soybeans on Corn Stalks

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: DavidSubject: Soybeans on Corn Stalks Email: david@davidandamy.com I am planning to plant no-till Soybeans on 30" centers into 210 bu corn stalks. Do I need to knock over or mow the stalks before I plant? Will they cause problems at harvest (with a row crop head)? If I need to knock them down what should I use a harrow?

Reply to Soybeans on Corn Stalks

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Don Email: I leave my stalks standing in most cases and plant into them. I plant 30" rows also and have no problem. (I use a Caseih planter).

Reply to Soybeans on Corn Stalks

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Myron Email: kerstencorn@cdsinet.net Am setting up new white 85 12 row split row planter 23

Need 6ac Corn no tilled In NE.GA

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Joe WoodallSubject: Need 6ac Corn no tilled In NE.GA Email: Sales@woodallhouseandgardens.com Dear Sirs,

Magazine?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Kate SiegelSubject: Magazine? Email: siekat@hotmail.com I'm just wondering where I can get a sample issue of the magazine. I'd love to see an issue before I decide to subscribe. Is it sold in stores?

Reply to Magazine?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Ed Winkle Email: ewinkle@voyager.net Send your request or call 1-800-nil till. If you want to learn the latest in no-till, it is worth your money in my opinion.

Root Balls and Divots

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Dan MillerSubject: Root Balls and Divots Email: abmillerfarms@hotmail.com A couple of local producers, myself included, are trying no-till for the first time as we switch from ridge-till. As we try to get started planting beans into standing cornstalks we are needing some help. Many have told us to plant down the old row, but we are laying the stalks over lifting out the root ball and leaving a round divot. Therefore, seed to soil contact is not complete. So, do we simply try something else, off to the side, split rows or go diagonally or is there something simple we are missing in trying down the old row? These are irrigated cornstalk residues.

Reply to Root Balls and Divots

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Smash Email: ashfarm1@juno.com What are you using to plant with, 30" 15" or drill? Have you alredy removed the ridges?

Reply to Root Balls and Divots

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Dan Miller Email: We are using 30" spacing planter units with Yetter row cleaner. The row cleaners can easily be taken off if needed.

Reply to Root Balls and Divots

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Smash Email: I have no experience no-tilling beans on 30".

Reply to Root Balls and Divots

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: brad c Email: becfarms@aol.com Never had the privilege to plant into irrigated corn stubble but I have planted into 140+ bushel milo stubble on 30" centers. Just plant it. Don't try to split or drive on top of just plant. Set the mgrs. just so they move residue and they don't even need to move all of it. That's what we do and have gotten beautiful stands (90%+).

My Appologies Matt

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: GeorgeSubject: My Appologies Matt Email: Sorry for getting all this Matt bashing started a few months ago!

Reply to My Appologies Matt

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Don Email: George, you didn't start Matt on his Caseih reign of terror. This goes back at least two years ago when he declared that no planter could have Caseih gauge wheels. Things just went down hill after that. I really wish we could eliminate Matt's personal attacks on the Caseih planter, but since he continues to travel the low road, some of us will simply have to refute the lies he propagates.

Reply to My Appologies Matt

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Bill Email: No kidding, didn't work tho as Case IH tire has become hottest add on to notill planters and drills.

My Appologies Matt

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: GeorgeSubject: My Appologies Matt Email: Sorry for getting all this Matt bashing started a few months ago!

no-til black turtle

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: RichardSubject: no-til black turtle Email: rpad488362@aol.com Has anyone ever tried to no-til black turtle's I know I can flex them off but wasn't sure if anyone had had any luck with trying to no-til them ? thanks for any answers

Reply to no-til black turtle

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Joe Email: vermunt@hay.net Richard

Forum Being Ruined

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: JeffSubject: Forum Being Ruined Email: I read nothing but crap here now, used to be a place to ask a question and not get a BS answer.

Reply to Forum Being Ruined

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: William Guenther Email: I agree. Looking at past posts and comparing them to the present ones, it gives the impression that grade school students have been posting messages here.

Reply to Forum Being Ruined

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Bob M Email: I agree. Seems like a waste of time checking in just to find an immature attitude on the issues. Can't we all just keep an open mind?

Reply to Forum Being Ruined

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: TW Email: Add me to the list. I can't understand why the two people who don't even own a CaseIH planter have to continually bash the thing. Maybe Matt and Marty will give it up.

Color wars

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: bystanderSubject: Color wars Email: What is with some of you people with the color wars? Some of

Big Red

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Matt Hagny commentSubject: Big Red Email: For all you people who think Matt is God's gift to no till, may I remind you that those of us who are proud of our CIH planters have a right to feel put out. Read the old posts and the archieves. Matt has denounced CIH tires on ANY PLANTER, including a CIH. Matt has advocated taking a Cutting torch to the CIH planter because he didn't like it. Matt has critized the CIH row unit, even though it has a narrower seed trench then any other planter.

Reply to Big Red

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Grasseed Email: Who's stiring it up now! If you do not like what he has to say do not read his posts. And by the way, grow-up.

No-Till Failure

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: BrentSubject: No-Till Failure Email: bdhager@gondtc.com I just got done scouting my first ever no-till corn fields. I thought i was doin everything right, listened to everyone on here very closely, except on thing, i never took off my Groff double disc openers(2X2) I noticed when i started seeding that on the head lands and by some approaches that i would find a kernal or two on the surface, well i just figured i would have to live with a few on top on the head lands. It seems now that even goin down the field i just was not gettin the penatration i needed, every time i stopped everything looked good to me when i was seeding, i was checkin depth, closeing all looked good, now i am not so sure. I have maybe 20% of my corn that is maybe in at 1 - 1.25 inches. I guess i am asking for some advice before i continue to plant, which horifficly i am almost done. To add to this, i have one field that the wireworm have taken an additional 20-30%, should a guy wait a week take a stand establishment and plant a 10-15,000 more down the row, had in RR corn, should i just replant now with LL corn? I am lookin for any help and answers i can get. I have a 12 row 950 CIH planter, Groff 2X2 double disc openers which i put a Sunco notched disc on one side, martin closing wheels, and Keetons. planting in north central ND.

Reply to No-Till Failure

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Smash Email: ashfarm1@juno.com My experience with wire worms a few years ago was that the spots get larger with time. I would replant using insecticide. And use a wireworm control on that farm next time it is in corn. Also once I started scouting for wireworm damage, I found small damage in other fields. I use insecticide on all my acres for insurance.

Reply to No-Till Failure

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: pat Email: what insecticde would you use, is is a restricted chemical.

Reply to No-Till Failure

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: SMASH Email: ashfarm1@juno The year of my infestation, I replanted using Counter. I then used counter for two years, Followed by Aztec for two years. Both are restricted use. This year I switched to Gaucho and Prescribe. I like the ease of use of the seed treatment. You can change tractor speed with out changing meter on insecticide box. I was also having trouble with my tubes getting plugged up, some how bean stubble or corn stalk pieces would get inside the tube. And of course there is no way to tell until you stop to fill up next time.

Mis-Use of This Board

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Frank LessiterSubject: Mis-Use of This Board Email: lessitef@lesspub.com We've had more complaints from viewers about this No-Till Farmer message board in the past several months than in the previous several years. Because of the poor behavior of a few people, a number of farmers who normally go to this board for valuable information are getting fed up and disgusted with the content.

Reply to Mis-Use of This Board

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: John W Email: You are the boss and it is your site. If some folks don't follow your rules or go on an inappropriate rant about something or someone just delete their post. The world is full of knotheads who often don't follow the rules, so without screening or making people register your just going to have to use your delete key once in awhile.

Reply to Mis-Use of This Board

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Hardy Email: If you let guys like notillr and hagny post on here anything goes. Too much chit chat and too many idiots on here now.

Reply to Mis-Use of This Board

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: anon Email: I have to agree. I couldn't help noticing that Lessitor never cared until Hagny got called on the carpet for some of his remarks. Apparently a Less Pub advertiser like Hagny can do no wrong.

Would it work?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: KevinSubject: Would it work? Email: We made a 5 row spliter to pull behind our 800 IH out of an old AC planter with 71 units. The setup works very well except that in hard ground or wet conditions (we are extremely wet at the moment) these units do not want to close the seed slot. In trying to think of a cheap fix to close the slot We came up with the idea of mounting double pickup bailer teeth at a rearward angle just behind the opener. We have found that an IH is just the right width (just a little wider than the slot). We are running heavy duty AC colters ahead of the opener. Our thinking is that the trash should be cut well enough that it would just sweep to the outside and the teeth running around a half inch deep would through enough dirt into the slot to cover the seed. We are runnung the press tires with the 3/4 raised rib in the center so they really press the seed and any soil in the slot down well. Any ideas other than this on how to close the slot would be appreciated. There isn't a lot of room between the disk opener and the press tire to work with. Thanks in advance.

Wet,Wet,Wet

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: ButchSubject: Wet,Wet,Wet Email: butch2@hartel.net Man I need a support team it's getting hard to resist the urge to go out and mud this corn in. I keep telling my self it's early yet. But pretty soon that excuse is going to wear thin it seems just when you think it will go tomorrow it clouds up and rains a .5in. followed by three days of clouds and then another .5in. I can't chase the wife around the house all spring!!!!

Reply to Wet,Wet,Wet

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Gerald J. Email: geraldj@isunet.net I tried to disk today. Found some new wet spots under the dust. I'll have to go fill them with the loader bucket next week if it dries any.

Reply to Wet,Wet,Wet

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Dan Miller Email: abmillerfarms@hotmail.com I am a long time ridge-tiller trying no-till and I am looking for a support team as well. Same rain pattern here. I will not complain about the rain, especially after last years dry season. But, I can tell you this, when it does get somewhat dry for a day or so our stalk-chopped ridge-till ground plants while the flat ground with standing stalks we are trying to plant no-till is muddy.

wet dirt--what to do?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Bob CooperSubject: wet dirt--what to do? Email: rjcooper@cvalley.net We've been mostly no-til for years. Ground doesn't dry out very well. My split row planter is set up as a nu-til type. Planted several beans, but I'm not satisfied--wet dirt. A few beans rot before others come up. We use a phoenix harrow and it helps some, but not a lot. I am curious if a Aerway in the fall would help. I'm in NC Mo and farm rolling to flat land. Soil ranges from light silt loam to clay silt loam. Any thoughts appreciated. Thanks

Reply to wet dirt--what to do?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: HawkenCougar Email: gkurwicki@charter.net Had the same problem with no-till on our farm and it seemed that each year the fields in continuous no-till got worse. We considered the phoenix harrow, an Aerway, cover crops, etc..

Reply to wet dirt--what to do?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Bob Cooper Email: Hawken, You make a good point. I did some no-til ripping strips last fall, but have already planted these spots. I'll go back and look further at them today. Pentrometer would, should help with this deliema--don't you think. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Reply to wet dirt--what to do?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: GT Email: thompsonfarms@crosspaths.com My experience with a deep ripperis when you get this much rain the ground turns to flour and is so soft and wet you can't get across it. This was a V-ripper with parabolic shanks that really lifted the ground so results may have been different with the cnewer style rippers. We have shyed away from subsoiling for this reason. Does this sound right. Our longterm no-till ground appears wetter but the structure has changed enough that the ground breaks apart instead of smearing. It has to be longterm no-till for this to happen the temptation is to pull a field cultivator through it before the ground changes and go back to square one.

Reply to wet dirt--what to do?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Dan Miller Email: abmillerfarms@hotmail.com We ripped our turnrows last fall with a Tye Paratill where we would be planting corn this spring. They looked great all winter, nice and mellow. But, this spring they turned into mush. By the time we were done fertilizing and planting, we had a rutted mess and the stand isn't all that great. I'm glad we didn't rip the entire fields.

Manure and rye cover crop WOES!!

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Lucas CriswellSubject: Manure and rye cover crop WOES!! Email: farmerboy95@hotmail.com We apply a lot cow manure to our fields on chopped rye and burned down rye. People think I'm nuts for no-tilling without incorperating manure. Problem!! Wet soils, thick manure, thick rye roots, an awesome no-till enviroment BUT it holds to much moisture to get planted at time's. Last year we had a wet spring 'same thing so i mudded it in with cast closers, because i had to close the slit. What to use!! I'm trying spader's but not impressed in heavy rye, to many roots to let the spaders work. So Any one have any advice!!

How wet is to wet?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: GTSubject: How wet is to wet? Email: thompsomfarms@crosspaths.net How wet of ground can I plant with the nu-till system? Our Ground seems fairly solid but there is very little if any dry dirt on top and sticky muck about a 1/4 inch underneath and doesn't seem to dry out any further. Gauge wheels don't seem to pick up too much but trash whippers and spaders seem to pick up. I've seen pictures of nu-till planting ground it doesn't look like you could walk across. Just wondering if this is just our soil types, if I need to adjust something or not worry about it and plant corn? Any suggestions would be appreciated

Reply to How wet is to wet?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Brad Email: Turnpikekid61@aol.com I am here in north east Ohio and it is still to wet for me to get in the fields ( I think )I am having same problem dirt is balling up on guage wheels and trash wheels.

Reply to How wet is to wet?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Ed Winkle Email: ewinkle@voyager.net It is difficult to say but when it is dry enough to "air out" your ground for tillage, I can usually nutill successfully. I have driven thru standing water in the ditches and low areas but most of the field needs to be dry enough to support traffic. We fill the planter and tanks half full and use duals to float the rear end of the tractor if necessary.

Continuous No-till corn

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Chris CorneliusSubject: Continuous No-till corn Email: We are finally going to take the plunge into no-till next year. We will be growing all corn on corn. I am thinking about setting the planter up with the Nu-till system. Row cleaner, IH guage wheel, keetons, spading closing wheels and drag chain. Will this system work corn on corn? The ground will have pre-plant Anhydrous on it and thinking of running a phoenix harrow over it, then plant. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Reply to Continuous No-till corn

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Ed Winkle Email: ewinkle@voyager.net Yes, it will, Chris!

Reply to Continuous No-till corn

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Chris Cornelius Email: Ed--

Reply to Continuous No-till corn

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Ed Winkle Email: ewinkle@voyager.net In our very wet SW Ohio crawldad soil, the harrow helps. In most soils, it you can get by without it. The more calcium and gypsum farmers use, the less I see of the harrow. The less they are used, the more I see the harrows being used. Just my observation.

Question For ALL

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: William GuentherSubject: Question For ALL Email: Wguenth1@bigred.unl.edu This spring before we were able to plant hard hard rains fell on our fields made powdery and mellow by the drought. this caused suchh severe erosion people hade to get maintaners to shut ditches, we ended up working the bad fields and goning slower in the other. I was wondering what one is suposed to do, i did not like seeing all those years of no-till go down the drain with one pass with the field finisher, but what was I supposed to do, those fields were impassable.

Reply to Question For ALL

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: John W Email: If you didn't go very deep with your tillage I doubt that you lost too much of your no-till benifit. Deep inversion tillage is the killer. A fellow has to play his hand the best way he can, so don't worry about it, just press on.

First time no-tilling corn

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Thomas E. SmithSubject: First time no-tilling corn Email: suezqsmak@msn.com I have a John Deere 7000 front fold, 12 row planter. The attachments that are on it consist of Yetter colters with row cleaners. The colters are turbo blades. I have another 13 wave colter 5 inches to the side with spring injectors for liquid fertilizer. I also have Keeton seed firmers through which I apply pop-up fertilizer. The ground which is being planted tends to be wet and cool due to the climate where the farm is located, western New York. I would like to improve the performance of this system and would appreciate any and all feedback.

Reply to First time no-tilling corn

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Smash Email: ashfarm1@juno.com About the only thing you could add is Martin spiked closing wheels. They do some after tillage, and remove side wall compaction. There is a lot of talk about Case-IH gauge wheels also. Check out http://www.erinet.com/hymark/links.html

No Til vs Strip Til

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: wayne Subject: No Til vs Strip Til Email: upton97@horizonview.net I have had a real problem this year with my corn stand due to weather and soil condition.Across the road my friend planted on the same day using conventional til and his corn looks great.I don,t want to go to that method but would like to consider Strip Til. I would kike some feed back on this subject

Reply to No Til vs Strip Til

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Smash Email: ashfarm1@juno.com I no-tilled for a few years, then switched to strip till with NH3. This year I built another bar to strip till with liquid starter. I love it, my corn looks just as good as the neighbors how do tillage. I know one farmer who runs his planter in the fall, to make the strips. He has good lucking corn too. The strips are usually 5-8 degrees warmer than No-till ground.

Reply to No Til vs Strip Til

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: wayne upton Email: upton97@horizonview.net thanks for answering my message. i have been in the field and did not respond to your message. i am very much interested in strip till vs notill and maybe i don't quite understand what strip till is. when i type my message looking for information i was looking for a way to work the ground in a strip about 2 to 4 inches wide in front of the seed opener on my JD 7000 planter. that is now equiped with a wavy colter in front of the seed opener with row cleaners and starter fertilizer colter in front of that. is your strip till planter set up anything like this? please advise me on this subject.

Reply to No Til vs Strip Til

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Smash Email: ashfarm1@juno.com My strip Till system: I put the strips out in the fall or as soon as I can in the spring. Than plant at a later time. So it is a two pass system. On my planter I have Row cleaner, 13 wave coulter, Keeton seed firmer, Martin spiked closing wheel, and drag chain.

considering going no-nu-till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: tyler johnsonSubject: considering going no-nu-till Email: pogo.one@verizon.net After giving up conventional farming 12 years ago,now share cropping conventionally,were considering going back into farming again.The only way would consider is the no-till or probally nu-till method.Does anybody have a handbook or outline on how to convert a decades old conventional farm to a modern nu-till farm? I have checked out most of the nu-till web sites. Am I nuts for thinking about going back into farming? Tyler, Chestertown,MD.

hey Ed, and others?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Kevin WCMOSubject: hey Ed, and others? Email: cbrandes@iland.net Here in WCMO it is pretty darn dry. We have had about .7 rain since the middle of June. Drier than last year. It makes a man wander what to do when he gets his corn off to a pretty good start, tasseling by the first of July, and then all of the water just shuting off all of the time. We are in currently running the nu-till system, along with side dressing later. I was wandering if a strip till system would work with preserving moisture by cutting the slot 8-9 inches deep to get the roots to move down more, instead of out. Or if something like they push on the show agphd, with planting over strips of deep zone tillage that is 18-20 inches deep? Any thoughts or help is greatly appreciated. Dont mean to complain about weather, because that is the one thing that you can not control, but it just gets frustrating at times. Kevin

Reply to hey Ed, and others?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Ed Winkle Email: ewinkle@voyager.net I don't know if that will work for you or not Kevin, it is not necessary in most the midwest but may work for you. The only way I know is try some side by side your system for a few years and evaluate. I don't think anyone can answer your question but if they can, I hope they chime in!

Farm Bill No-Till Qualification

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Frank LessiterSubject: Farm Bill No-Till Qualification Email: lessitef@lesspub.com We've had several recent telephone calls from No-Till Farmer readers who are asking how they can qualify for federal government payments under the new Farm Bill for acres that are already being no-tilled.

Reply to Farm Bill No-Till Qualification

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: myron kersten Email: kerstencorn@cdsinet.net Going to no-till, you need points, and cattle, pasture, rotations to gain enough points to get money. Grain farming alone and no-till would difficult to qualify for gov money. Kerstencorn

August 13, Salem, Ohio

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Ed WinkleSubject: August 13, Salem, Ohio Email: ewinkle@voyager.net Heading to far NE Ohio for www.agstore.net Field Day, hope to meet some of you there.

double crop after wheat

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: plains drifterSubject: double crop after wheat Email: what works the best for planting into wheat stubble. I have lilliston spyders on the front of planter. My problem is in 100 bushel wheat it's hard to run them low enough with out taking out clumps of root balls. If you don't run them low enough the residue likes to hair pin. Would a coulter alone be better. I was thinking about trying a row stalker to snip off the roots and clear a path.I'm planting sunflowers into the stubble. tia

Reply to double crop after wheat

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: John W Email: Row cleaners would be your best bet. Coulters will just hairpin or tuck the wheat straw. Jim at Dawn Equipment can give you info on how to best notill into wheat stubble.

Reply to double crop after wheat

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Panhandler Email: I agree that row cleaner's would be the best. I planted milo into 100 bu. wheat straw on June 27. Wheat was harvested the day before and it worked great. I am running Martin row cleaners with Martin closers. I do have a JD single disc fert. coulter running out front 2" to the side which might help somewhat. I believe it is much easier to plant now than next spring after the stubble has decomposed some.

Selling No-Till Residue

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Frank LessiterSubject: Selling No-Till Residue Email: lessitef@lesspub.com If a no-tiller had a chance to earn as much as $40 per acre for taking some of the corn residue off his no-till fields, how much could he take off without having any impact on future no-till yields, erosion concerns, etc.? In other words, could he sell some of the corn stalk residue without losing any of the benefits of having it available as part of his successful no-till program?

Abused ground, any help?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Stokes Custom NoTillSubject: Abused ground, any help? Email: gdstokes@prodigy.net This year we aquired some land that has been abused heavily year after year with heavy machinery and heavy tillage. With some inspection we have found that the soybeans that are on the field have roots growing sideways due to compaction.

No till tree planting

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: R. HeardSubject: No till tree planting Email: audior1@yahoo.com Looking for a no-till mulch and planting system for planting Nursery trees into palstic mulch. Any infromation about no-till mulch layers and tree planters would be appreciated.

Reply to No till tree planting

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: John W Email: Holland and Mechanical Transplanter both make transplanters capable of planting through plastic mulch. Hard soil or notill situations may be tougher and they would not handle a very big tree.

Custom Striptilling Cost?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: TerrytSubject: Custom Striptilling Cost? Email: tjhoge@hotmail.com Looking to have some strips done this fall with Nh3 and dry? Was wanting top know what kind of cost I am looking at per acre?

Reply to Custom Striptilling Cost?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: chad sager Email: chad_sager@hotmail.com The custom strip till rates I have seen are around $11 / acre for dry and $13 / acre for dry and NH3. Hope this helps.

Moisture question

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: RogerSubject: Moisture question Email: rctbp66@hotmail.com I realize this is a tough question, but it has been on my mind for almost a year now. By no tilling how much moisture is saved verses a conventional tillage system ?? I realize it depends but just looking for guesses. Does the conventional field need an inch more of rain to equal a no till field or two inches more ?? Farmers use no till to conserve soil moisture, just wondering if anyone had a guesses.

Reply to Moisture question

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Herb Email: herbmarilynshaffer2@earthlink.net Extension agronomists in Kansas tell us that notill crops will last about two weeks longer in an extended drought verses conventional.

Reply to Moisture question

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: John W Email: Check this site or send them an email. I am sure they have some answers. A lot will depend on the type of tillage, your weather conditions and water conserved by not running off of your field.

Reply to Moisture question

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Dick Email: rpad488362@aol.com I believe I read article the other day from Cornell U. that suggested that no-til could save about 2" of rain

Reply to Moisture question

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: brad c Email: becfarms@aol.com Have a field next to my house that I have corn planted into wheat stubble and the neighboring field was planted into bean stubble that was only field cultivated once prior to planting. It stopped raining just prior to tasseling and the temps went to the mid 90's. His corn was stressing aprx. 6-7 days before mine. My soils are silty clay loam and very shallow.

Will no-till decrease this year?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Dan MillerSubject: Will no-till decrease this year? Email: abmillerfarms@hotmail.com With the above average corn yields and below average this year for beans will no-till take a side seat to tillage as producers go with more corn on corn acres? With the increased threat of aphids and Asian rust on soybeans will we have a sudden shift to more corn at least in the short term? With that in mind, in my opinion, corn yields continue to increase each year while many question the improvement of yields for bean varieties.

Reply to Will no-till decrease this year?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Warren Email: wwlivingston@hotmail.com While pests and desease did their part to decrease bean yeilds this year, I think the main culprate was lack of moisture. Hopefully, most people will relize this and stick with no-till. I will agree with you that we may see an increase in tillage, but not so much because of an increase in corn on corn, but because too many producers still think that tillage is the end all to cure all. Nobody seems willing to stick with no-till for the long term.

Reply to Will no-till decrease this year?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Cliff SEIA Email: cornboy9@hotmail.com I know around here at least there was a fair amount of corn on corn this year and there will be even more for next year. Our average bean yields have not topped 45 since '98 so farmers aren't basing this off a one year yield hit on beans. During those same years corn had done pretty good. We ran a DMI no-till ripper through most of our bean stubble and will run a disk ripper through the corn stalks that will go back to corn but all of our beans will be no-tilled and the no-till ripper does such little surface disturbance that by spring you won't be able to tell it was ever worked. In our area increased corn on corn acres won't change the no-till acres much because there is very little corn no-tilled around here.

Reply to Will no-till decrease this year?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: superfarmer Email: dfg@ciaccess.com Where are you located? Sounds like the situation in Southern Ontario. Using the same strategy, but with different brands of equipment. Seems like the way to go, cutting back beans until the yeilds look promising again.

Getting paid to NoTill

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Ed WinkleSubject: Getting paid to NoTill Email: ewinkle@voyager.net http://www.ifbf.org/news.asp?number=21834

ANYONE NEED A HIRED MAN??

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: BrianSubject: ANYONE NEED A HIRED MAN?? Email: bluepontiacgto@yahoo.com I am a 41 year old man, non drinker , non smoker , looking for a farm job , - I have milking experience (if dairy) , tractor driving experience , light mechanics , etc. , etc. . Have class A cdl too(if you have a semi) . 1-877-734-2482 leave message . Thanks .

Carbon Sequestration

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: ColSubject: Carbon Sequestration Email: colin.mitchell@farmline.com Just wondering if there were systems in place anywhere in the world where farmers are paid to no-till for carbon credits etc.

Reply to Carbon Sequestration

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Ed Winkle Email: ewinkle@erinet.com Yes, Iowa and their Farm Bureau is the latest. You should be able to find it on the web. I am not sure what the deal is, but yes, it has finally, finally started, simple as it might be.

Anybody using "Nu-till" system???

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: JoeSubject: Anybody using "Nu-till" system??? Email: Bigjoe444@yahoo.com I have the row cleaners, rebounders, and curvetine closing wheels, but the planter is "naked" for fertilizer placement while planting. I am interested in the Nu-till system and am looking for the most efficient way to place the nutrients. 1) is anybody even using grozyme, cleanstart and etc... 2) if you are, how are you getting it in the ground...3) what is the best metering system both liquid and dry...4) Which type has the least amount of hassles. Pardon my ignorance...this will be my first year completely no-tilling. I have always dabbled in it. want to do this best I can. Looking for advise from the MASTERS! Thanks guys/gals.

Reply to Anybody using "Nu-till" system???

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Bill Email: Read Ed Winkle's links on www.erinet.com/hymark

Reply to Anybody using "Nu-till" system???

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Craig Email: Also check out this website

Reply to Anybody using "Nu-till" system???

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:24 -0500

Name: Iowa no till guy Email: We've used it for 3 years and I swear by it. Check the link to Ed Winkle's site and follow his advice, including the CIH tires and a good closing system like Martin. Ed does know his stuff.

Reply to was I lied to?????

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Scott Donoghue Email: he told me that once every month or so there was liquid cow manure nad hog manure put on there so that might contribute to maybe 1 bu an acre gain but like i told my friend you oughta see his ditch!! P.S. this will be my new name.

Reply to was I lied to?????

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: John W Email: Where are you located? Can't imagine why you would grow wheat on irrigated ground for any other reason than crop rotation to clean up the soil for a crop you might make some money growing. How much water do you have?

Info. on notill rotations

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: MattSubject: Info. on notill rotations Email: matjen@socencom.net I live in south central kansas, and I am just beginning in notill. I was wondering if anyone has some good info. on crop rotations. Last year I raised wheat, milo, soybeans, and sunflowers. I would like to try some corn, but I don't know how well it will do in my area. I am also interested in alfalfa, and cotton. If anyone has some good ideas I would love to hear from you!

Reply to Info. on notill rotations

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: swNEBR Email: Conditions vary from one area to another for sure. I'm guessing you recieve a little more rainfall than I do and we grow dryland corn in my rotation and it works very well most years.

Reply to Info. on notill rotations

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: John Email: John32070@aol.com We rotate wheat-corn-soybeans-wheat. You can substitute milo or sunflowers in place of corn if you aren't sure about it. Not sure where cotton fits best, but would guess behind wheat or soybeans.

e-mail correction

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: MattSubject: e-mail correction Email: mattjen@socencom.net My wife told me that my e-mail has two t's in it.

wetland program

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: RAFSubject: wetland program Email: mumfarm@yahoo.com #S1438730

Reply to wetland program

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: BmprStkr Email: stetts@ev1.net Sir,

what is no till?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: george williamsSubject: what is no till? Email: george.h.williams@irs.gov what is no till? how do i plant flower seeds if i don't cut up the ground? thank you, george

Reply to what is no till?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Scott Donoghue Email: No-till is simply no tilling like cultivating,disking, etc.... Maybe others cna explain it better than I since I am new to it. All you have to do simply put the seed in the ground with out tilling. Scott Donoghue

Reply to what is no till?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: John W Email: Many flower seeds seem to grow quite well in nature without cultivation or soil movement to plant the seeds. I find that too many flowers and weeds do a fine job of getting themselves established without tillage. But, no-till is just as the name implies, means no tillage other than opening the soil to place the seed in the ground, and sometimes the fertilizer is placed below the soil surface.

Reply to what is no till?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Ed Winkle Email: ffa@voyager.net One of the best explanations I have ever read is Ruth Stout's Gardening Book, cannot remember the title but I still have it at home somewhere. I used to read Organic Gardening Magazine and some Rodale Books and even visited the Rodale Research Institute when I was county extension agent for agriculture. Do a search for Ruth Stout or Organic Gardening and I bet you can find the book if it is still in print. I highly recommend the book to all notillers who think "outside the box."

chick weed in strip till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: RDHSubject: chick weed in strip till Email: halerd@excite.com What is the solution to preventing chick weed,this year it was a real problem, not only kept the ground wet but created a real good environment for insects.

Reply to chick weed in strip till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Ed Winkle Email: hymark@erinet.com There are many ways but the easiest and cheapest is by herbicides applied in the fall. I get good results applying Wedone Brand 638 2,4-D at one pint after harvest. Another chem is RoundUp but the hotter the better and you would not believe how little heat it takes to make RU effective. Another popular chem is dicamba or Banvel or Clarity. They all work well for me and you can combine them.

drilling in rows

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: DaleSubject: drilling in rows Email: res0ifbj@verizon.net Is there a type of no-till drill that will flex enough between individual openers to plant in a field that has

Trench Lifting

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: DennisSubject: Trench Lifting Email: westar2u2@yahoo.com The main reason we went to caseih tires was because of the martins sometimes would lift out the sides of the seed trench. With all the compaction from old tires, picture in your mind two ribbons of steel running beside seed trench like a railroad track.

Reply to Trench Lifting

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: notillr Email: webbfarm@heart.net Untill last year I had never had as severe a problem as I had then. The first couple of years the CIH were fantastik, I thought. The longer I used them, though, the more problems surfaced.

Question

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Steve Subject: Question Email: pod@netins.net I've been no tilling for 8 years. A neighbor has watched and decided he wants to (almost). In a corn- bean rotation he will notill the beans and only use a field cultivator for one pass before planting corn. I know the field cultivator will open the ground to erosion but will it also wreck the earthworm holes? After all, a worm that makes its

Reply to Question

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: bradc Email: becfarms@aol.com Steve,

Conservation in the new Farm Bill

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: TimSubject: Conservation in the new Farm Bill Email: herdrick@televar.com Has anyone heard what the New Farm Bill will have in it as far as no-till or direct seeding goes. Will this practice be a incentive program and if you are all ready doing this farm practice will it be a payable program. Just some questions I have.

Results: NTF vs. Conventional?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Silver MallardSubject: Results: NTF vs. Conventional? Email: kwslvrmllrd@aol.com In general, can one expect the same yields from no-till farming as from conventional methods w/o fall plowing for corn and soybean crops?

Reply to Results: NTF vs. Conventional?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: NWIN notill Email:

inoculants

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: RaySubject: inoculants Email: Has anyone used the soybean inoculant from Trace Chemical called Nitro-Fix? I'am told it is the same as Cell Tech 2000.

Reply to inoculants

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Dan Email: dan@abm1st.com I am not sure what the Rhizobia strain is in Nitro-Fix but it probably is not the same one as CellTech 2000. Check the literature if possible. Some labels will tell you the strain of Rhizobia. Some products have higher concentrations of Rhizobia to insure better nodulation.

Reply to inoculants

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Ray Email: Nitro Fix:

Reply to inoculants

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Dan Email: Ray,

Reply to inoculants

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Ray Email: I went to Lipha Techs web site, which makes Cell Tech 2000, and found that it only has 2 X 10-9 of rhizobia. HiStick and HiCoat have 4 x 10-9 of rhizobia. Both of these products are made by MicroBio.

Reply to inoculants

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Richard M. Jameson Email: jamesonfarms@pchnet.com What does Rhizobia at 4 X 10-9 mean in an inoculant? Is this a measure of concentration? Also, is the use of an inoculant when planting soybeans a standard production practice in your area (similar to treating seed with a fungicide?) I tried CellTech 2000 for the first time in 2001 on soybeans that were no-till drilled in land that had been in pasture for thirty years. On my other regularly rotated land, I just had a fungicide treatment applied by my seed dealer.

Reply to inoculants

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: ray Email: The rhizobia number is the minimum rhizobia cells per gram of product.

Reply to inoculants

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Ray wasn't done with last post yet Email: As I was saying, We are in Wis. and on our farm we inoculate our beans every year.

Burned residue

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: IH800Subject: Burned residue Email: Just got back from a field that got partially burned when a fire jumped the road. What kind of value do you put on residue and have any of you collected insurance on something like this?

Reply to Burned residue

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: B. McBlain Email: b.m.mcblain@sympatico.ca We did receive a settlement from a residue fire, much to the

DMI website?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: kirkSubject: DMI website? Email: Does anyone know if and where their website is, i can't seeem to find it. thanks.

Reply to DMI website?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Pullpin Email: sbddlo@hotmail.com http://www.caseih.com/products/line.asp?Reg=NA&RL=ENNA&id=8

Reply to DMI website?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: NWIN notill Email: If you want there ferilizer equipment page try www.dmifarm.com.

Contact David Moeller

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Scott ArthaudSubject: Contact David Moeller Email: arthaud@ptsi.net Can someone email me his phone number? He has been very helpful to me with some planter issues, but I haven't gotten an email response from him for a few days. He is probably just busy. However, I am two weeks from planting and am getting nervous. Thanks!

Reply to Contact David Moeller

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: bck Email: barknoll@yahoo.com Yes, I also would like to contact him to order some 1/2# check valves for liq fert lines

Reply to Contact David Moeller

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Pullpin Email: (319) 698-4005 Shop (319) 698-2455 house

Lindane

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: TimSubject: Lindane Email: herdrick@televar.com I've heard that the company that makes Lindane for wireworm control on small grains has stopped making this product, is this true and what else can you use to control wireworms on small grains for a seed treatment.....Thanks

Payments for converting to no-till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Jim BullockSubject: Payments for converting to no-till Email: jim.bullock@farmersweekly.net This is probably a question nobody will want to answer. In Europe we understand that farmers in the US have been able to claim some grants,subsidies, area payments - call it what you like for converting to Conservation Tillage. Would anybody wish to stick his neck out and say how much is/was available and how you claim it and whether the schemes are still running. Our systems of subsidies are going to change over the next few years and some of us want to be paid to carry on farming and not to become park keepers. I know this is a sensitive subject but information would be appreciated.

Reply to Payments for converting to no-till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: John Email: I am going to get $10. per acre, one time payment. This is for a 5 year plan. I must no-till, soil sample and not overapply fertilizer, scout for weeds and bugs and send in reports on scouting and not us excess pesticides. Hardly worth the effert.

Reply to Payments for converting to no-till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: long time no till farmer Email: I'm curious which it is. I've noticed the EU nations like to complain about US agriculture. I feel the EU isn't giving us credit for carbon sequestion like they should be.

Reply to Payments for converting to no-till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Jim Bullock Email: jim.bullock@farmersweekly.net Certainly not jealous or complaining, I believe that every farmer worldwide is being exploited by the consumers, so I am in favour of farmers getting whatever they can from whatever source, and this will have to be government until such time as we can change the system and get a decent return from the market place. Cheap food allows people to buy the manufactured goods, holidays and so on they all desire.

Reply to Payments for converting to no-till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: New mintill UK farmer Email: Eckley.Farms@farmline.com Is there payments for carbon credits where zerotillage is used instead of ploughing to reduce carbon release to the atmosphere. Farmers both sides of the pond need extra cash

Reply to Payments for converting to no-till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: John W Email: Every time Congress comes up with a new farm plan the payments are somewhat different, and they are threshing around trying to get a compromise that everyone will sign off on right now. Payment for conservation tillage and no-till seems to vary from bill to bill. Another thing that is done is that the government will take land out of production and pay cash rent on it for 10 years and the owner or farmer must establish and maintain a the land in grass or trees and control the weeds. One earlier method was that the farmer got no payments unless you used conservation tillage methods approved by the government especially on land that was considered highly erodable. So we show know fairly soon what the new federal farm plan does for conservation, if anything.

no-till vs organic farming

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: tirza molegraafSubject: no-till vs organic farming Email: tirza_gm@hotmail.com Hello,

Reply to no-till vs organic farming

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Merritt a Seefeldt Jr Email: seefeldt@itctel. com That is an interesting question but I don't think you couldmake that work very easily. In other words notill and organic farming dont mix.

Reply to no-till vs organic farming

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Ed Winkle Email: hymark@erinet.com Good to see you young Dutchmen here. I really enjoyed my stay with Dutch farm families in February 1992 near the village of Marknesse.

Reply to no-till vs organic farming

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Merritt a Seefeldt Jr Email: seefeldt@itctel. com Thanks ED I was hoping sombody would contradict me and say that it is possible. Now please send me some place where I canfind out about organic notill in crops such as corn beans and wheat. You know even us over the age of 50 can learn much thru this internet thing. Ha Merritt

Reply to no-till vs organic farming

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Ed Winkle Email: ffa@erinet.com We all have a lot to learn, Merritt! I do recommend you talk to Steve Groff and sgroff@epix.net as Steve has much information we all need. I found an article on biological weed control that I hope is helpful to all at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm Once the article is off the Latest Page, you can find it in the archives. Anyone else with good links or information???

Reply to no-till vs organic farming

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Merritt a Seefeldt Jr Email: seefeldt@itctel.com Just got back from Dakota Lakes and a session with Dr. Beck. He stated that so called sustainable Ag and I am assuming this is what we call organic farming cannot be done long term because when ever you mix the soil you get new weeds germinating and therefore more cultivation is required.visa ve more weeds. He stated that with cleaning up the soil and then with minimal disturbence and crop divirsity or rotation and long term notill min chem application and eventually no chem weed control can be possible.There are a lot of things you have to do right to get to that pointand maybe the article you showed me aboutbiological weed control is part of the picture. At any rate he showed us some wheat plots that have had no weed chems applied for at least the last two years and I must say they were impressive. Some were noy completely weed free but I would state there would be no Economic loss due to weeds. Just an observation but maybe NoTill is the only Sustainable system. What are your thoughts Ed

Reply to no-till vs organic farming

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Ed Winkle Email: HyMark@erinet.com Wow, wish I could have been with you! Dwayne is on my long list of things to do like visit Australia, ride the train to British Colombia Canada and watch the big rodeo out there. Seriously, I think any serious notiller should visit Dwayne at http://www.dakotlakes.com and pick his brain. His talks at the National Notillage Conference really got me thinking, especially on rotation diversity. I think he has many ideas that will work anywhere.....

No-Till Forum Concerns

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Frank LessiterSubject: No-Till Forum Concerns Email: lessitef@lesspub.com I would like to ask each of the no-tillers who use this message board to avoid personal insults and derogratory comments about people, products and companies when posting comments. In fact, the reason for this note is due to some recent unprofessional comments from some of our message board users.

15 No-till Criteria

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: HaroldSubject: 15 No-till Criteria Email: The Cross-slot opener is advertised as meeting all 15 advanced no-tillage criteria. What are these 15 criteria?

Made in Canada farm income safety net

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Jim BoakSubject: Made in Canada farm income safety net Email: frederic@mnsi.net The Canadian Federal and provincial governments (with the exception of Quebec) are abandoning agriculture.

Residue question

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Michael Austin, Associate EditorSubject: Residue question Email: maustin@lesspub.com I received this letter from a man in Michigan. If anyone can help him, please respond to this board or directly to my e-mail. Thanks.

Reply to Residue question

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: John W Email: mkjc@turbonet.com Heavy wheat straw and stubble is a delimma for no-tillers in other places too. If you chop the stubble you will end up with a mulch layer on the soil surface that will keep the soil cool, damp and hard to seed into without hairpinning the straw into the seed trench with the drill. Leaving the stubble stand is not much better. Also a chaff spreader on the combine is almost a necessity too, to cut down on the heavy chaff row problem. In my humble opinion your best bet for soybeans would be abandon the drill and use a corn planter with residue wheels to plant the beans. That will solve the residue/hairpinning problem and leave bare strips that will warm up faster after seeding. With the planter you could flail or chop the stubble too if necessary. If you really think you need to warm things up before planting go in and make strips with residues wheels and coulters before planting or in the fall. With the extra moisture you have with no-till the later planting date may not have the yield penalty thay you expect. After a few years of no-tilling you may also wind up with fewer wet spots in the field as the soil and duff layer retains more of the moisture.

Reply to Residue question

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Ben Email: benjamin_schroeder@hotmail.com Or as Monsanto calls is, 'Fast Start.' Simply put, do a minimum amount of tillage in the fall to blacken up the ground a little bit, but leaving the ground smooth enough to no-till into next spring. You could chisel or subsoil and then disk it dowm, or just disk if you don't have compaction to remove. The winter freeze will take care of any shallow compaction..excuse me 'density changes' you have.

Reply to Residue question

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Marty Visto Email: mvisto@drtel.net We also have the most problems here in ND with the wheat stubble.

what is nu-till?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: kirkSubject: what is nu-till? Email: being rather new to no-till and strip till practices, i'm wondering what nu-till is defined as. In the South we lag behind a little.

Reply to what is nu-till?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: David ECPa Email: farmero@enter.net Nu-till is a planting system designed by ED Winkle and others to improve corn stands. Basicly you change the planter around then you learn the right type corn to plant then follow up with fertilizer. You can learn more at his web site http://my.erinet.com/~hymark/index2.html It will explain everything in great detail. Good Luck

Reply to what is nu-till?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Ed Winkle Email: ffa@voyager.net More specifically I could not get notill to work when I thought I should be able to plant. I got on the Internet the winter/spring of 1995 and met Paul Reed. He had been working with his brothers and Howard Martin and others to make notill work when it was too wet to plant without slabbing the sidewalls or not closing the slot, usually the time of the year I ought to be planting. He dared me to take off my no-till coulter and sweep the residue off with a row cleaner. I did that and it worked much better. They called it Better Wetter, After Till and some other things but a NEW kind of no-till or Nu-Till stuck. Paul and his brothers use Ag Spectrum so Ag Spectrum were smart enough to trademark the name using that planter setup and their agronomic recommendations.

Reply to what is nu-till?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: kirk Email: thanks Ed, now i understand nu-till better.

Editors, two questions?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: David ECPa.Subject: Editors, two questions? Email: farmero@enter.net How can I edit a post? I inserted a url in a message to Kirk, why didn't it work as a link?

Reply to Editors, two questions?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Michael Austin, Associate Editor Email: maustin@lesspub.com David,

Strip-Till??

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: JimSubject: Strip-Till?? Email: ashfarm1@juno.com I have been strip-tilling with NH3 for the last few years in central IL. I have ground in southern IL that cant put NH3 on in the fall and don't have time to do it in the spring. I'm looking at building a bar to strip till liquid fert. Like 3-34-18 or something there abouts. Does any body have any suggestions? I'm trying not to put starter on my planter. I would then side dress my N, or have it sprayed with my chemicals depending on weather and time. Also I have contours on some farm. Could I use a 3-point strip bar with a pull type planter? I can't hardly stay on the strips anyway with a pull type applicator, and pull type planter. But have found a 3-point strip bar set up almost the way I wont it, at a low price. Thank you.

capillary action

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: DaleSubject: capillary action Email: jcramer@swnebr.net I was reading in the No-till Farming magazine about the farmer in Washington who said no-till in his state failed 20 years ago because of improper seedbed preparation. He referred to how, in no-tilled fields, the moisture goes down below the seed depth and results in poor stands because of lack of moisture caused by the capillary action not being disturbed by tillage.

Reply to capillary action

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Tillage destroys your notill advant Email: ffa@erinet.com Yes, tillage destroys your NoTill advantage. Dean Martens from the USDA soil lab in Iowa describes it well and you can read about it in NoTill Magazine and order the cassette tape of the speeches he has given on the subject. I recommend both to all farmers.

Reply to capillary action

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: John Zylstra Email: john.zylstra@gov.ab.ca Retaining moisture at seeding time could be a result of the amount of residue you have at the surface to protect it from sun and wind. The less residue, the more moisture loss. If you have growing plants/weeds in the field at time of seeding, they can also steal moisture from your newly germinating crop. Sometimes harrowing the field with heavy harrows (about 1/2 inch deep) just before seeding may provide enough of a mulch on top without burying crop residue and reduce the capillary action in the undisturbed soil. Using a seed drill or planter that disturbs the ground in the seed row may also provide better seed bed conditions, since it can reduce capillary action above the seed, without disturbing the seedbed below the seed.

strip-till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: NeedReplySubject: strip-till Email: ashfarm1@juno.com I have been strip-tilling with NH3 for the last few years in central IL. I have ground in southern IL that I can't put NH3 on in the fall and don't have time to do it in the spring. I'm looking at building a bar to strip till liquid fert. Like 3-18-18 or something there abouts. Does any body have any suggestions? I'm trying,not to put starter on my planter. I would then side dress my N, or have it sprayed with my chemicals depending on weather and time. Also I have contours on some farms. Could I use a 3-point strip bar with a pull type planter? I can't hardly stay on the strips anyway with a pull type applicator, and pull type planter. But have found a 3-point strip bar set up almost the way I wont it, at a low price. Thank you.

Reply to strip-till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: notillr Email: webbfarm@heart.net I can't see why applying fertilizer with a seperate bar should be any different than applying it with the planter. I seriously doubt that you'll see much in the way of added profitability though when compared to no starter. Starter, in general, rarely pays & if it does it's usually from the nitrogen timing to the individual corn hybrid.

Reply to strip-till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: NWIN notill Email: Sounds like 3-point bar should work. If you are using fert on planter, have you considered a 3-point planter.

strip till corn growth rate concerns

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: kirkSubject: strip till corn growth rate concerns Email: kirkbrock@yahoo.com this is my 2nd year using strip tillage on corn but i still do a few acres conventional. this year and last my conventional comes out growing faster than the strip till. can anyone comment? At 2 weeks age the strip till corn is usually 2-3 inches behind conventional planted same day. i'm in north florida so soil temp may or may not be a factor. will this delay maturity or hurt yield potential? i like the strip till b/c weeds seem easier to manage. any comments would be welcome.

Reply to strip till corn growth rate concerns

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Jim Email: The best way to find out is to do a test plot. If you can, work one planter pass in your strip-till field. Mark it with flags and take it to yield.

New Farm Bill

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Brian Subject: New Farm Bill Email: loeffb@rconnect.com Anybody know any details of the "Conservation" components of the new farm bill? Thought I had seen and heard there was going to be about $2 billion/year split amoungst crop and livestock producers using approved enviormental production methods. Long and short of it...may be up to $20/acre for no-tilling corn. How and who would police this?

"Planting" Nightcrawlers

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: David KuselSubject: "Planting" Nightcrawlers Email: dkusel@longlines.com Hello all,

Reply to "Planting" Nightcrawlers

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: John W Email: If the soil profile fills up with water I think the nightcrawlers are done for. Around here whenever it rains the roads and sidewalks have nightcrawlers all over the place. I heard a soil scientist that works at a AgCanada (I think) research station in Lethbridge Alberta speak at a direct seeding conference last winter who is very knowledgeable on the subject of earthworms, in Canada and other places in the world. As I recall she didn't think much of the idea of planting or adding earthworms. I can't recall her name of the top of my head, but it seems her first name in Jill or maybe that should be Doctor Jill. A web search might turn up something.

Reply to "Planting" Nightcrawlers

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: David Kusel Email: dkusel@longlines.com Hi John,

Reply to "Planting" Nightcrawlers

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Bruce Email: Cowboybodecker@aol.com You can esily shock those worms out of wet soil with an electric source and the following aperatus. Take a two wire extension cord and cut off the female end. Attach to each of the two wires a 3/8 diamater steel tee rod about three feet long. Seperate the two wires so that you can get the rods about four feet apart. With power off, insert the two rods into the moist ground, between three and four feet apart. Turn the power on and shortly the worms will want to get out of the ground. It is like fishing with hand granades only a lot quieter, but as effective.

PLEASE HELP!

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Scott DonoghueSubject: PLEASE HELP! Email: bigacres@msn.com Me and my 2 uncles got into a dispute over notill and what it means. My uncles seem to think that no-till means not disking in spring but cultivating in the summer. Now here is where I need your help! I say no-till means not disking in spring or fall and not cultivating during the summer. Now could you guys PLEASE tell me whos right? Thanks A lot! Scott

Reply to PLEASE HELP!

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Joe Email: vermunt@hay.net I would say your both wrong .. To me no-till in the true sense is planting directly in to last years residue with no previous or summer tillage at all . There are many people who to me are actually doing min-till and like to think or call it no-till .

Reply to PLEASE HELP!

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: John Email: No-till is just what it says. No disking, no cultivating. Just plant, spray and combine. I have no-tilled for 8 years now and it just keeps getting better

Reply to PLEASE HELP!

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: John W Email: Here is a site that will give you about as an "official" definition of no-till, and other "conservation tillage" systems as you are going to get. This is a source of argument depending on who you talk to and where you live.

Reply to PLEASE HELP!

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: pat Email: If you go to the national no-till conference this winter, stand out in the hall and poll 100 no-tillers about the true definition of no-till. I'll bet money you'll get 100 different answers. And they'll all be correct, because it works for them. If you've convinced your uncles into going from a conventional tillage program to no-till,great!!

slugs with heavy residue

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Roger SmallSubject: slugs with heavy residue Email: smally9@xtra.co.nz You will be tired of me asking this question ,but how do you economically control slugs.? We are spending in U.S$ terms $20 per acre contolling slugs with slug baits every year. I am convinced of no tillage however am loosing the competitive edge against neighbours who burn their residues as their costs are much less. Sure they have slugs but not in the numbers that we do by retaining residues of up to 3.5 tonne to the acre. We have a rainfall of 23 inches and a heavy silt loam .

Reply to slugs with heavy residue

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: pat Email: I'm by no means an expert, but we had slug problems in corn after clover and vetch covers. We got lucky and had warm, dry weather before we were forced to replant, but still lost 30% of stand. We run 3 coulters/row at planting. Our setup moves maybe 1/2 of the residue out of the row area, which is usually plenty in our conditions. The only time i ever wished i had row cleaners was in above situation. And that may not have helped. I was told that spreading diamatious earth around field borders or in "hot" spots helped, but I don't know. Good luck!

Reply to slugs with heavy residue

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Roger Small Email: Thanks for the reply Pat it seems slugs are not as big an issue for you as they are for us. I read that Oregon farmers have problems with them but have not found how they control them inexpensively. we have to prebait before seeding and then again at seeding with 5 kilograms each time of mesurol.

Reply to slugs with heavy residue

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Garth Mulkey Email: Mulkeyfarm@aol.com This may be the wrong site to say this, but the answer is tillage, and lots of it. I farm in Western Oregon and in my not-till fields the slugs can take over and ruin a field quite quickly. I have one field this year that I have baited with a metahldhyde bait three times, and still have slugs. At this point the only thing to do with the field is work it after harvest. We will plow it then pull a heavy harrow and a smooth water roller over it 3 times. This is very efective at destroying the eggs, plus the smooth suface seals over and pevents the slugs from digging up to the surface. On fields with light infestations I am going to try high rates of 0-0-60 fertilizer, might as well get a seondary benefit out of my money.

Reply to slugs with heavy residue

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Roger Small Email: Pity you have to undo what structure you have built up with no-till. But i can sympathise with you regarding the damage slugs do . Was wondering what the high rate of potassium does to the slugs as we are on naturally high k soils and still have problems. I know of one farmer who uses a flat roller after he no-tills plus slug bait and gets on not to bad.

Reply to slugs with heavy residue

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: pat Email: I think what Garth was talking about was the salt in the potash "burning" the slugs. We were told that could be an option when we had problems, but as I said the weather turned in our favor that year. Good luck

Reply to slugs with heavy residue

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Garth Email: Pat has it right. I have also killed a fair number of slugs with 200 pounds of urea.

Dust in the Wind

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: David KuselSubject: Dust in the Wind Email: dkusel@longlines.com Hi all,

Reply to Dust in the Wind

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: laurent lorre Email: airelles1@aol.com here in east Beauce (France) we had the same event tree or four years ago. it was in march, the top soil (2inchs)was very dry in the molboard plough fields and about 1 to 2 inches of soil were displaced in some place. i had a land of winter weath which recieved 3 inches of soil near a moldboard field! that was one of the reason i started no-till, be only a few farmers worry about it!

Reply to Dust in the Wind

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Ed Winkle Email: ffa@voyager.net We are all truly Dust in the Wind, Dave. It is unfortunate to see the erosion problems we have in this country when we have the technology available to prevent it! It is also unfortunate to see bad weather, low commodity prices and high input prices all at the same time. You have went beyond the call of duty to present the problems of erosion and to promote no-till, Dave. Keep up the excellent work telling "the rest of the story!"

Reply to Dust in the Wind

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: dutch Email: mvz@crosswind.net Dave, I have a few pics of some dust where the visibility is down to less then � mile.

Many US farmers are also Veterans

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: David KuselSubject: Many US farmers are also Veterans Email: dkusel@longlines.com Hello all,

Strip Till equ. help

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: DaveSubject: Strip Till equ. help Email: dgbmann@poweruser.com I am setting up a Blue Jet "convertable" NH3 Tool Bar for Strip Till. I was going to put on OEM Coulters, Shanks with Mole knifes and 14" Disk Closers . My Question is, Should I put on Row Cleaners? Some Soil types are Saybrook, Drummer, Brenton with some 2-4% slopes. I No-Till some Beans in to Corn Stalks so there will be Plenty of Residue. This will be Fall Applied NH3. I haven't bought any Tillage equ. yet so the door is still open. Thank You for your help!! Dave

Reply to Strip Till equ. help

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: James Ash / Cornerbrook Enterprises Email: ashfarm1@juno.com I have been strip tilling for a couple of years. I do not use row cleaners and do not see a need for them. You do need the coulters to cut the trash. I No-Till my beans in 15" roes. You will want to have row cleaners on your planter. Also look into the Martin spaded closing wheels with a drag chain.

Reply to Strip Till equ. help

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Stuart Email: fh5307@aol I use no row cleaners in corn stalks,wheat stubble,or bean stubble with my strip rig.Although when I went to the 'mole' knife my 13" closing disks wouldn't gather enough soil and some of my ridges were troughs by spring... mistake!I then purchased 18" knotched blades. I believe this is the way to go.

Reply to Strip Till equ. help

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Rob Email: rlweisz@daktel.com

Ripping, then no-till?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: BrianSubject: Ripping, then no-till? Email: brian@kenton.com The latest No-till Farmer has a couple of articles on ripping in the fall and no-tilling in the spring. We've got a Blu-Jet Subtiller and can't seem to find anything that levels out the ridges enough to be able to no-till in the spring. Are there other rippers out there that throw less dirt? We tried the Worksaver roller on the back, but that did not do the trick. Any suggestions?

Reply to Ripping, then no-till?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Jerry Email: jerrystk@hotmail.com The tye, unlike your subtiller, has a 100% fracture across the width of the ripper. It does about as good of a job eliminating compaction as you can get. This ripper goes under the soil, lifts it, and drops it in place. We rip in the fall and notill drill and plant corn behind it in the spring. Tye has an option for a roller much like the worksaver but I have not used one.

Reply to Ripping, then no-till?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: James Ash / Cornerbrook Enterprises Email: ashfarm1@juno.com The straighter the shank or leg the less ridge you will create. The soil will ride up a curved leg creating a larger ridge. DMI has a press wheel assemble that pushes the ridge back down a little.

Reply to Ripping, then no-till?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Eric Stiegman Email: stiegy@illicom.net I have a similar problem and have just priced a Blue Jet Roller. The are about $2300 which seems high to me. Have you found a solution? How about dragging a heavey ships chain looped behind each shank?

striptil wheat and plant corn, tips?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: RipeSubject: striptil wheat and plant corn, tips? Email: Just bought a striptiller and plan on using it in wheat stubble and planting corn next spring. Did not bale straw and straw is pretty heavy yield was 85 bushel an acre. Any body have any tips on using the strip tiller, chopping the straw, weed control, planting next spring, size of mounds? We have heavy clay soils here in NW Ohio. I am concerned about alleopathic effect of straw on corn and soil profile not drying out even though the strips will. Anybody have experience or knowledge on this practice? Thank You.

Reply to striptil wheat and plant corn, tips?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Stuart Email: I have followed high yield wheat with corn for many years(100% no-till);though on sandy and clay loams.The last two years I've used a strip-till rig with anhydrous.This rotation has been one of my best year in and year out. I haven't figured out why it's been called the toughest no-till rotation!? I like the mole knives...they do take hp. 18" knotched closing disks are a must to capture and build a mound large enough so it isn't a trough by spring(4" high by 8" wide,they very according to soil,speed,depth,settings)Leave stubble standing.I use a coulter and row cleaner on planter.Germate seed treatment,Force,and most years Pounce for wireworms.Kill volunteer wheat as soon as possible in spring(Roundup for me)Alleopathic effect is less than disked wheat.Choose the right hybrid.Also have been using a normal Fulltime rate.Generally I bail the straw but not always and have had a 4" slimey mat of straw; set cleaners aggressivly.One further note I don't consider myself a particularly lucky individual...it just works.Good Luck!?

?? about no-tilling in MN

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Dave FrischSubject: ?? about no-tilling in MN Email: dmfx3@execpc.com 1. How many years of corn on corn can be grown w/o disease or insect problems?

Reply to ?? about no-tilling in MN

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Dale Cramer Email: jcramer@csb.swnebr.net Dave,

Reply to ?? about no-tilling in MN

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Dave Frisch Email: dmfx3@execpc.com Dale,

Reply to ?? about no-tilling in MN

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Dale Email: Dave,

i need a little advice

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Tyler WillsSubject: i need a little advice Email: willstyler@hotmail.com Hello all, i am new here and i have a question for you all. We operate a medium (250) sized dairy and grow all of our own crops. About 500 acres of corn, and the rest hay and alfalfa. I am thinking of switching from a conventional tillage method to a minimum till, no-till for our corn ground. What i am thinking of doing is buying a field cultivator and a no-till drill. I would go over the fields once in the fall to kill weeds and incorporate some of the residue, and hit it once more in the spring with the cultivator, and then plant it. Usually around 150-200 acres are chopped and the remainder combined. One of the reasons that i am concerned about no-till is some of the farmers tell me it leaves a rough surface on the field. When chopping, we find that the trucks do better and the chopper has an easier life because we travel around 6-7 miles an hour, and having trucks next to the chopper all the time is important. Our fields are either wet, sticky clay, or hard bony gravel. Most of our fields are now tiled. This is still in the planning stages, and nothing is anywheres near final as of yet. Thank you for your help.

Reply to i need a little advice

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Tyler Wills Email: willstyler@hotmail.com I mean no-till planter, sorry

Reply to i need a little advice

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: John Email: Why do the field cultivating? We have been no-tilling for

Reply to i need a little advice

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Ed Winkle Email: ffa@erinet.com Tyler,

"selling" no-till to landlords

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Jordanna SmidaSubject: "selling" no-till to landlords Email: jsmida@lesspub.com What's the best way to "sell" no-till to landlords?

Reply to "selling" no-till to landlords

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Ed Winkle Email: ewinkle@erinet.com This is an excellent topic. I would think a knowledgeable landowner would prefer notill to conserve their soil. More and more landowners are looking for excellent notill operators as we learn more about soil erosion and carbon sequestration. Still, many prefer tillage because their father or neighbor did it that way. There is a better way today. How we get that message across without making it law is very important in my opinion. I have personally dedicated my life to finding a better way to produce food while leaving my environment better than I found it, just as many as you have. I am willing to talk to any landowner about the advantages of notilling on their farms by email, phone, visit or classroom. I am sure many other farmers, educators and consultants are willing to also, I do know those who do. Maybe this is a notill classroom topic at the 10th National Notillage Conference, Frank. I am convinced a farmer can make more profit with notill while making farmland more productive while doing it. Do you agree? How do you communicate that to landlords?

Reply to "selling" no-till to landlords

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Paul Email: pandlreed@se-iowa.net Jordanna,

Notill vs Plowing

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: DavidSubject: Notill vs Plowing Email: dbiar@webtv.net Why do some people plant notill soybeans into corn ground, which has a lot of residue, and work the soybean ground, which does not have much residue, before planting corn there?

Reply to Notill vs Plowing

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Jeff W. Email: none Some people have planting equipment that just is not set up to properly notill into soybean stubble. Also, a lot of farmers in our area have a hard enough time getting corn in the ground so they hire no till drilled soybeans (besides they do better anyway)

Reply to Notill vs Plowing

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Jim Royer Email: jroyer@ccrtc.com David, I cannot speak for all situations, but here in southwestern Indiana, our best results has always been no-tilling beans in undisturbed corn stalks. We have knife rolls on our combine, so not only are we harvesting, we are conditioning the stalks for quick dry down and deterioration in time for the next springs planting. What residue is left acts as a wick for air and heat to penetrate the soil. As for the bean stubble, we always go into those fields with an Aer-Way as soon as the field will carry a tractor. Operated at a 2" depth, this opens the planting depth up to heat and drying. That allows us to begin planting corn and beans at the same time (around April 20 in our area). The most important underlying application that makes these two approaches work is: We rip as many acres as time will allow in the fall starting with the bean stubble, then go to the corn stalks. If we cannot cover all our acres in the fall, we try to finish in the spring. I think all no-tillers will agree...Rip, Rip, Rip. Hope this helps........Jim

Reply to Notill vs Plowing

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Ed Winkle Email: ffa@erinet.com Many farmers have not plowed for 10, 15, and 20 years and some of them have never ripped, paraplowed, subsoiled or used a harrow or AerWay! You can farm profitably and successfully without any tillage except for that little zone your seed is pressed into, one trip each spring across your fields. The way I do it and recommend is described on my HyMark Consulting page at www.erinet.com/hymark/nutill.html This method works well for many farmers across the states. There should be lively discussions at the ninth annual, National Notillage Conference January 10-13 as described on this website! Hope to see many of you there!

Reply to Notill vs Plowing

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Merritt a Seefeldt Jr Email: seefeldt@itctel.com Ed it always amazes me that people rip and paraplow and spend money to do thatwith out first checking to see if they really do have a compaction problem. Would not a soil probe or even hiring a Backhoe to do some checking be the first thing to do rather than just go in and rip a field to see if they get a yield increase the following year. M2cents Merritt

Reply to Notill vs Plowing

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Jerry Email: jerrystk@hotmail.com but in some situations it is hard to tell if you do have a compaction problem mearly by digging out in the field with a shovel or backhoe. Those layers are hard to find sometimes. I have a farm that we rented this year for the first time that the ground was not nessisarily compacted but needed to be ripped only for the purpose of helping the water go down and drain better. Some might disagree that this works, but for me it does.

Reply to Notill vs Plowing

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Jim Royer Email: jroyer@ccrtc.com Jerry, very well put. There are more reasons for different applications than there are counties to farm in. We are on a 50/50 rotation of beans and corn, so at least our bean stubble gets ripped each year and as much of our corn stalk ground as the fall will allow. These slots in the ground allow surface water to go down out of the way allowing us to get in the field 3-4 days earlier than if we had to wait for it to "soak" away. The adverse of this is..in dry years, we have noticed these slots will show dampness at the surface. The slots will allow moisture to come to the plant. This doesn't happen after it stays dry for extended periods of time, but sometimes 5 or six days of extended drought can cost several bushels in yield. It works for us, in our area, it may not work for everyone, but like everything else that is discussed in the many different forums and venues at the No-Till Conference....It deserves consideration.

Reply to Notill vs Plowing

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Andy so IL Email: aegl@midwest.net Just wondering what you are using to rip that you can notil

Reply to Notill vs Plowing

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Jerry Email: jerrystk@hotmail.com We rip with a Tye paratill in the fall and the ground usually settles down more than you would expect it to so you can notill through it. I like to notill drill beans after the paratill instead of corn. Dont like to rip up that bean stubble very well.

Reply to Notill vs Plowing

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Dean Email: sudea@marionco.net Is this the no-till forum? Is anyone else wondering what these guys are doing? What are the other mysterious "reasons" for ripping? Does this seem like "recreational tillage" to you? How can you "no-till" following a ripper?

Reply to Notill vs Plowing

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Jim Royer Email: jroyer@ccrtc.com Dean, I need to ask if you have attended any of the no-till conferences. Also want to know if you are familiar with "Zone Builder" manufactured by Unverferth. This tool fractures but does not disturb surface. It leaves openings much like worn out regular NH3 knives, not a problem for no-tilling corn or beans the next spring. I have found that most of my neighbors who "tried" no-till once, then gave it up, were married to the term "No-Till". The fall ripping and spring aeriation gets us on our fields 3-4 days earlier after every soaking rain. That's just us. Conditions could be much different where you are. Jim

Reply to Notill vs Plowing

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Dean Email: sudea@marionco.net I have not attended the National Conference, but have been to the "No till on the plains" conference, in Salina Ks, for the last 4-5 years. Heard Dwayne Beck there a couple of years ago and Carlos Crovetto last year. I understand Beck will be there again this year. I realize different things work in different parts of the country. I've also heard the National no till coferene reffered to as the "Tillage Conference".

Reply to Notill vs Plowing

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: huntr Email: Dean,

Reply to Notill vs Plowing

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: matt hagny Email: mhagny@midusa.net There are a good many no-till farmers, agronomists, and research scientists that are of the opinion that all large-scale disruptions of the soil (including ripping/subsoiling/paratilling) are detrimental to the soil's structure, its chemistry, and its biology and that it takes many years for the soil to recover from these insults. I think that over the course of the next few years that real science will prove this viewpoint to be correct beyond a shadow of a doubt. This viewpoint is hardly short-sighted. I, too, am one who is puzzled by talk of no-tilling after subsoiling -- sort of like talking about preservation after the demolition crew has finished.

Reply to Notill vs Plowing

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Dean Email: I'm not one to stir up trouble, but I figured this would get a little discusion going.

question

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: randySubject: question Email: my2cents i have a question,, you at no-till farmer publish that at the no-till conference no sales pitches, no equiptment,

Reply to question

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Ed Winkle Email: hymark@erinet.com Good question, Mr. My2Cents but I hope there are not too many who agree with you. Lessiter has done more for open discussion Notill than anyone I know of. He does have to pay the bills and that means that some may look better than others but I don't see it that way. I am an ag teacher/farmer so what is best for me may not be what is best for you. I have tried to be unbiased here but I share what works for me. It hurts me that you say I or anyone is 10 times worse than an equipment company, but then again, most don't push too hard so that may not be so bad. Sorry you feel this way Randy, but this is the best notill page on the Internet in my opinion. Hoped you could make it better or email someone personally how it could. I know I should not answer unsigned messages but I know you are a person, too.

Reply to question

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: randy Email: my2cents i am sorry mr.winkle, i didnt mean to beat you up. i am sure you are a very worthy person,teacher,farmer.. i just dont like the fact that everyone say ITS JUST INFO THAT WE ARE GIVING, when in fact you and everyone else are looking to bottom line increase your income.. i am sorry again if i hurt you,, this is not my intent.... m2c

Reply to question

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Steve Groff Email: sgroff@epix.net Randy,

Reply to question

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: randy Email: my2cents steve, no i have never been to the conference, i am sure you are correct about picking up useful knowledge, and yes networking i agree is always helpful. i just see a bunch of farmers that are getting into the manufactuing of products,

Reply to question

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Steve Groff Email: sgroff@epix.net randy,

Reply to question

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: randy Email: my2cents steve, i guess we agree that we disagree on this issue..

Organic No-till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: TerrySubject: Organic No-till Email: tjhoge@maxiis.com Does anyone have experience no-tilling organically? I have many questions. such as weed controll,yields,fertilization, getting certified?

Reply to Organic No-till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Gerald J. Email: geraldj@ames.net So far the fundamentals of organic seem to imply use of cultivation for weed control. It should also be possible in certain climates to use extreme layers of mulch (more than 6 inches) but the problem in Iowa is that much mulch would keep the ground too cold to get seeds to germinate.

Reply to Organic No-till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Gerald J. Email: geraldj@ame.net I fully expected objections to my characterization of No-till as purely chemical based. I must have been right.

Reply to Organic No-till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Steve Groff Email: sgroff@epix.net Gerald,

Reply to Organic No-till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Gerald J. Email: geraldj@ames.net I just received an organic farming book put out by Rodale about 1975 from the library. I says that the University of Missouri at Columbia had no tilled corn into established red clover, then mowed the clover two weeks after planting and was careful to not let the clover fall on the corn rows. Says they did over 100 bushel corn and had a cover crop ready for the next year since the clover didn't die in the shade of the corn. This book gives no references, so its hard to find more. So far I've not found anything at UMO Extension to admit to such a test. Likely its a graduate thesis only found in their library, though it might have been published. I'll keep digging.

Reply to Organic No-till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Hmmmm. Email: stetts@ev1.net Gerald,

Reply to Organic No-till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Gerald J. Email: geraldj@ames.net Actually UL does spring surprise visits to approved product production lines. UL also expends considerable effort in stopping manufacturers and importers who apply the UL label to products not approved by UL. But UL doesn't test for performance, only safety.

new to no till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: kenSubject: new to no till Email: k.mit@bmts.com I just discovered this web site and will be trying no till corn for first time this year. I have a 7000 planter and my dealer tells me all I need is the Martin cleaners and one spading/closing wheel (he says if I leave one regular closing wheel on it will act as a gauge wheel for the fields I have fall tilled)The fields I was going to no till are grain corn stubble, corn sileage stubble, and 2ft high alfalfa fall sprayed with roundup. The land is clay-loam, mostly well drained,near Owen Sound Ontario(2550 heat units). I have Keetons on the planter now.

Reply to new to no till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: James Ash / Cornerbrook Enterprises Email: ashfarm1@juno.com I have 80 acres that my landlord wont let me no-till. I run double spiked closing wheels and they work fine. You don't want to run any spring pressure though. And you really should pull a drag chain. If you run double spiked closing wheels you do not need a coulter out front. As far as your UAN, the best way would be to side dress, but if you have to spray it on I would consider using Agrotain.

Reply to new to no till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Ed Winkle Email: ffa@erinet.com I agree with the no or low down pressure, no coulter, row cleaner, Keeton seedfirmer, Case IH gauge wheel, Martin spading wheels and a drag chain. I prefer the JD single disk fertilizer opener running 2 inches off the row center, splitting heavy residue like corn stalks so the row cleaner can sweep them away and I like to run as much nitrogen as I can through it for corn. You can study my setup on my webpage at

Reply to new to no till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Andy and John Email: agough@thumb.net You should click on the links of Ed Winkle's name where ever you see it, we have purchased a new planter for this year and are going with the nu-till system. Putting on 30-40 gallons of 28% 4" from the seed is almost as important as the rest of the system. If your ground is crusted by the time you plant, I think 2 spader wheels and the drag chain will be necessary. We are 50 miles north of Port Huron MI.

Reply to new to no till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: BmprStkr Email: stetts@ev1.net Ken,

Reply to new to no till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: jeff Email: wherls@hotmail The coulter with a residue managers seems to be the best of all conditions.Row cleaners by them self will throw soil out of the seed trench, with this system the need for spikes is really not needed. The double disc will not get the fertilizer 2 in below seed depth, This is important to get the fert in the ground. Double disc seem to just bounce on top of the ground. I would suggest to put any nutrients in the ground, not on top.....

Reply to new to no till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Cliff SEIA Email: cornboy9@hotmail.com On our 7000 with dd fert openers I replaced one blade on each opener and shimmed them so they were offset and that really helped in no-till although going to the single disk openers would be better. I disagree about using a coulter with the row cleaners, if the cleaners are set right they shouldn't move any soil and the coulter will just cause compaction. The spike closing wheels are needed to break up what compaction is there, working the ground after the unit has makes more sense to me than working it ahead of the unit and then running the unit over it.

Reply to new to no till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Bob Email: Hi Ken,

Reply to new to no till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: John Email: John32070@aol.com I would recomend getting a coulter/row cleaner combo like what Great Plains/Ausherman offer, which is the fertilizer coulter with the row cleaner right along with it. If you have the money to do it, I'd also recomend putting Yetter row units on replacing the Deere ones, I hear they are quite an improvement.

organic no-till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: John Patrick Mac SweeneySubject: organic no-till Email: jmacsweeney@hdra.org.uk I'm interested to know if there are any organic no-till farmers out there who would like to share information about their systems?I'm a research assistant at the Henry Doubleday Research Association,an organic growing,farming and food organisation based in the united kingdom (although I am Irish myself),and am very much interested in the subject of no-till cultivation especially when applied to organic systems!

Reply to organic no-till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Ed Winkle Email: ffa@voyager.net I am not aware of any organic notill in our area of southern Ohio. I know there was some talk of it at the National NoTillage Conference. I believe Steve Groff has grown some crops that way but I will let Steve talk about that. I am aware of few products approved for organic growing here in the states, and the best one I have found is T-22 from Cornell University. There are some organic links to it on my website at www.erinet.com/hymark and I will do some searches on organic notill. Any experiences or information is appreciated.

Reply to organic no-till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Eric Fisher Email: ffa@voyager.net Do a search under www.msn.com and you will get a large page of links. I typed in the words "organic notill farming" to get the list I found and read many good links on the subject. Hope this helps.

Reply to organic no-till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: John Patrick Mac Sweeney Email: jmacswee@hdra.org.uk Dear ED and Eric,

Reply to organic no-till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Steve Groff Email: sgroff@epix.net John,

tile lines in soybeans

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: deweySubject: tile lines in soybeans Email: deweyv2000@yahoo.com ive been notilling for ten years on very well drained farms in nw. ohio. for the last couple seasons my beans have suffered in between the drainage tiles. the beans over the tile look good. i can see every tile line on the farm. what to do?

Reply to tile lines in soybeans

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Ed Winkle Email: ffa@voyager.net Same thing here. I had a neighbor who replanted corn because the rows died between tile on 40 foot centers! Imagine that, now that is wet! You have to get down to 25 foot centers on our old Illinoian Glacial Till for a crop to survive on years like this one. The old choice was to wait until it is dry enough. That is not good in notill or any till because you lose too many days.

Reply to tile lines in soybeans

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: dewey Email: deweyv2000@yahoo.com hey ed,

Reply to tile lines in soybeans

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: notillr Email: webbfarm@heart.net Here is an interesting link on the Ca:Mg balance that makes some good reading with no real surprises and here is another one The Magnesium Hoax.

Reply to tile lines in soybeans

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: dewey Email: deweyv2000@yahoo.com thanks for the info on the ca. and mg. i printed out the links and will make a thorough study of all i have received from the helpful people on this website.

Reply to tile lines in soybeans

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: notillr Email: webbfarm@heart.net What I've done quite a bit of, is taking either composite samples of known wet areas & then others of surounding areas that have better natural internal drainage, or use existing GPS based samples - just to compare the ratio's of calcium & magnesium. In the vast majority of cases the lower, wetter areas already have higher levels of Ca & thus a wider ratio of Ca to Mg. That should be no surprise since calcium doesn't attach to the soil particles like other macro nutients because it is a negative charged ion just like the soil. Since it is free to move, or be moved, & is somewhat soluable, it naturally gravitates to the lower, wetter areas over time - especially in no-till where lime has been surface applied.

Reply to tile lines in soybeans

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: MartyV Email: mvisto@drtel.net Also it is interesting to note that you have all of your "facts" backwards. Calcium is a cation and is one of the most tightly bound minerals in our soil (physical principal of electron valences and chemistry). Since calcium is the most tightly held cation, it takes a high level of calcium in the CEC (60%+ base saturation Ca) to be able to supply just a small amount to the plant. Potassium on the other hand is a weakly held cation in the CEC and large amounts of K can be released with only 5% base saturation K. The only way that calcium moves to a lower elevation area is before it is adsorbed unto the cation exchange sites of the soil (while it is still lime ie. CaCO3 and very soluble) or with soil as soil erosion (since it doesn't move freely and when soil is limed, it is quickly attached to the soils near the surface, any surface soil movement will take the calcium with it to a lower elevation).

Reply to tile lines in soybeans

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: notillr Email: webbfarm@heart.net I agree with you that once calcium carbonate (lime) breaks down into calcium that it then can be held to the cation sites, but it doesn't 'have' to be. The term "quickly" to describe how long it can take the calcium to attach is also a relative term depending on many factors, such as initial pH of the soil, the CEC, organic matter &, not the least of which, the aggregate size of the lime. The process can take anywhere from several months to several years after a lime application, depending on those & may other factors. Untill it is attached, however, it is still fairly free to be moved independant of the soil.

Reply to tile lines in soybeans

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: notillr Email: webbfarm@heart.net Sorry, but one of the links that I attempted was the wrong one.

Reply to tile lines in soybeans

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: John Houstin Email: jhous@hotmail.com Why is mr notillr the meanest nogood on this board? Is he sick?

Reply to tile lines in soybeans

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Robt Denver Email: jdenv@hotmail.com Looks to me like he has the university research and facts to back up what he says. Do you?

Reply to tile lines in soybeans

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: pat Email: We've seen the same thing over the years. We have most tile pre- notill, but have some post- notill. we usually see the phenomenon on tile installed before we went no-till. We haven't lost crop between tile like you described, however usually we are splitting 60-66 ' spacing.When were the tile installed? Also, are you doing 100% no-till, or are you doing some occasional tillage? The reason I ask is, on our heavy lakebed soils, what we see in tilled situations is that the tillage tool carries a lot of dirt from between tile runs where it's wetter, and deposits it over drier soil on top of tile runs. This over time creates a bowl between tile, which will have to be addressed at some point. Usually, the first repsponse is to throw more tile at the problem. I have neighbors on 20' spacings who still lose crop. A leveling operation, followed by continuous no-till, may be the real fix. I have calcium readings from 2000-8000 # / ac, with low mg. readings. my ratio runs 70-85% calcium. Magnesium is deficient on my "best" soils, and pH runs from 6.5-7.8 I may need to modify my ca/mg ratio, but opposite from much of the corn belt needs.

Reply to tile lines in soybeans

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: dewey Email: deweyv2000@yahoo.com hi pat,

Tragic deaths

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Frank LessiterSubject: Tragic deaths Email: lessitef@lesspub.com If you've attended one of the past four National No-Tillage Conferences, you probably met Harry Tennant and his teen-age son, Eric, from Custer Partk Illinois.

Farm Bill ?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: JohnSubject: Farm Bill ? Email: agough@thumb.net Has anyone found out if the new farm bill is going to pay us no-tillers for being no-tillers? Carbon sequestering was mentioned somewhere also. Can't seem to find out .

Reply to Farm Bill ?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Jim Email: ashfarm1@juno.com Extension and Farm Bureau are assembling a TV/satellite program on the Farm

Reply to Farm Bill ?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Ralph van Assen Email: vanassen@mts.net Don't know about the farm bill, but going from conventional to no-till leaves another ton of co2 in the soil that they should pay for.Check Donald C. Reicosky reicosky@morris.ars.usda.gov

Bob McKinnon passes

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: patSubject: Bob McKinnon passes Email: Bob McKinnon from Port Elgin, Ontario passed away due to a heart attack July 4. Bob was an early member of the Innovative Farmer Assoc. of Ontario, and had attended many of the No-Till conferences. Bob was a wealth of help and information to many, and will be missed by his friends on both sides of the border. More info at www.milroyfuneralhomes.com

Farming/property rights/freedom

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Julie Kay SmithsonSubject: Farming/property rights/freedom Email: jsmit10695@aol.com I hope you'll visit my website and click on the Resource Providers, Articles, Guest MAP and Book buttons for starters, because property rights ARE Freedom, and the American farmer/resource provider cannot survive without either!

Time to plant?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: BruceSubject: Time to plant? Email: I am planning to plant half a pivot to triticale for fall pasture then let it grow in the spring, kill it and plant corn. How soon should I plant for maximum lbs. of hay? The earliest recommendation I've found is the first week of August. My location is SW nebr. Is there some reason to wait when water is not a consideration? The previous crop is wheat. I had about 10% shatter from hail so there's plenty of volunteer to come up if I water or it ever rains.

Call your Congressman QUICK!

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: BrianSubject: Call your Congressman QUICK! Email: loeffb@rconnect.com As many of you probably are aware the new Farm Bill has a component in it called the Conservation Security Program (CSP). The intention of this portion of the bill is to pay farmers for implementing conservation practices on their farm. The payments are to be based on a three tierd system that rewards farmers for using different levels of conservation...no-tillers would get the most.

Need Advice

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: William Guenther NeNESubject: Need Advice Email: I have a field with some extreem slopes and after seeing what a disk does to a field worked and then has a hard rain I switched to no-till. The first two years I planted corn to get the residue up and this is the third year and soybeans were planted at an angle to the old rows. I plan to level some of the ground and sow down the ditches after I purchase it this fall. Is there any good way to sow the stuff down and what should I sow.

Reply to Need Advice

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: William Guenther Email: I was also wondering if it would work to apply fertilizer with a paratill or a notill ripper. The field that i farm, the same as mentioned above, is very much in need of nutrients but it takes a long time for the nutrients to move down through the soil and i dont want to work the ground. This field is very clayish hills and it has limestone or calcium spotts is there any way to fix this. I have also thought about spreading manure on the field to increase organic matter. Thanks for all the help.

Reply to Need Advice

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Jim Email: ashfarm1@juno.com Sowing Ditches: I use a No-Till drill. Most SWCD, Pheasants Forever, or Quail Unlimited Chapters have a small drill that could seed most anything. If you are going to leave these spots out of production I would use Brome grass or a filter strip mix with legumes. If you are wanting to farm them I would plant winter wheat or winter rye, then burn it down early. I have picked up farms that had washes so bad you couldn't cross them, and after 2 years of sowing winter cover, then using a molboard plow I plowed the wash in then seeded it again. They are perfect now. Water still runs in though's spots, so I continue to sow winter cover. But the ground doesn't wash and I can drive thru them easily. I just picked up a small disc that has all the gangs set to throw soil in. This should work to fill washes also, but I haven't tried it yet.

Reply to Need Advice

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: William Guenther Email: Jim

Reply to Need Advice

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Jim Email: ashfarm1@juno.com No the ditches didn't and havn't washed. I try to contenusly plant wheat or winter rye in them after harvest, but don't always get it done. I would think that that it would wash more soil also. I guess I got lucky! Also I plowed them shut in early spring, so it was more of a slab then, the mellow stuf created by freazeing and thawing from fall plowing. Made for poor seed bed, but better then what I had before. The reson I plowed them, was to throgh dirt into the gullys so the wern't so deep. The cover crop holds the soil and also traps silt to raise them up. I plow with the wash not across it. That alows th water to take a wider swath and not was so deep. Once a wash starts it just gets deeper! Once in a while there will be a high spot that traps water and shouldn't be driven through, but I've never been stuck there. I usally pray it dosn't match up with the tractor. I have sevral fields I have done this to. Some are no-tilled some arn't. But in the worked fields the washes are never worked. My Dad is handicaped, due to a stroke, but can still and want's to run a tractor, so I let him do what he wants to do on his ground and landlords that understand the importants of him working. I would just as soon no-till all my acres, it would save me a lot of asprin. But I'm sure I cost dad alot of aspins also.

Reply to Need Advice

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: JW Email: If interested, you might want to check out USDA's Continuous Sign-up for Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) buffer practices. These work well in 30+" rainfall areas, and you can get some very nice rental rates with the buffer practices. Practices such as contour grass strips, grass waterways, etc., are eligible for 10-15 year contracts under the continuous CRP sign-up. There are even some bonus incentive payments for signing up. I believe these bonuses end at the end of September. Tied in with no-till, you could certainly do a nice job of controlling any erosion problems on your fields.

I am doing an A.P. Environmental project

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: AASubject: I am doing an A.P. Environmental project Email: I am doing an A.P. Environmental Science Project. I was wondering if someone could explain why no-till cultivation is productive, and what the benefits of it are. I need this information as soon as possible, I am having a hard time finding it online. Thanks!

Reply to I am doing an A.P. Environmental project

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Jim Email: ashfarm1@juno.com Others could explain it better then I, but since they haven't I will try. It takes a few years before it becomes productive. The benefits, which then make it productive are: Elimination of compaction, then the roots can grow deeper and find moisture. The mulch from the old crop, laying on top also helps to conserve moisture. Increased organic matter. More earth worms, tillage kills earth worms. Earth worms help with organic matter and also create tunnels that the plant roots use to travel through the soil profile. No-Till helps with soil erosion. When you have water or wind erosion, it is your best most productive soil that has moved away. Less fuel used, Less time spent in the tractor seat, leading to more time with family or working off farm, or farming more acres. Ability to cover acres without hiring additional labor. Increased wildlife, Pheasants, quail, ect. And for me it is much more relaxing to farm my no-till farms then my tilled farms. With tillage you have more equipment running and more break downs and up keep, leading to expenses. And also worrying if the man running the tillage tool is doing it the way you want it done.

Reply to I am doing an A.P. Environmental project

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: David Darnall Email: ddarnall@hopkins.k12.ky.us I am a high school ag teacher and no-till farmer. I will be glad to try to help you. What kind of information do you need. Have you tried the extension service in your county. The land grant universities have their extension publications on the internet.

Fine tuning striptill ridges

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: StuSubject: Fine tuning striptill ridges Email: What can I do to not get a depression at each side of my strips? They are left from the cover blades.They are not from water washing.In the fall it can look fine but by spring the edge may be low.The mound center is always above "grade".It concerns me when I don't keep the planter on the center of the strip.To me the cover disks are running to aggressive...Is the adjustment I should make sliding the cover disks up the shank? Spring pressure is very low on the disks.The unit originally had 13" blades which didn't capture enough soil.I went to 18" notched blades.The unit is an older Progressive Farms 12 row tool bar with c-shanks,coulters,Mole knives,spring loaded 18" cover disks,and is mounted on a Yetter coulter caddie.Because of the design of the center link I am able to tip the tool bar for and aft on the go which helps in fine tuning the ridge,but I still feel it could do better!? Thanks!

Reply to Fine tuning striptill ridges

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: notillr Email: webbfarm@heart.net I'm going to say that your problem is being caused by the fact that your covering blades are notched. The main reason for a notched blade, on anything, like a disk or even a planter marker, is to get the blade to cut in better.

Reply to Fine tuning striptill ridges

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Talking to myself Email: Thanks notillr. This is Stu after another go around with my rig. I moved the closing blades up the c shank about 1.5" and am very pleased with the results! Think I'll be happy in the spring too.

volinteer trees

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: jimSubject: volinteer trees Email: jec@plattevalley.net I have been no-tilling for about 12 yrs. with a corn/bean rotation. my problem is i am getting alot of volinteer trees in the field, mostly locust trees but some others also. I have tryed using tordon on them afer i cut them off but dosen't seem to always help. seem like I'm fighting a loosing battle. this year for instance all it seem to do is kill the ground around the area treated but not all of the trees. I am looking for some suggestion. thank you.

Reply to volinteer trees

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: JIM Email: I use SPIKE. It is a granular, but will spoil the ground around tree if you use to much. Also had a chemical rep tell me he had used straight roundup to kill sapplings.

Reply to volinteer trees

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: John W Email: Check this site as they list several herbicides made to work on various woody plants and trees.

Reply to volinteer trees

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Steve Email: pod@netins.net I had the same problem some years ago. I also went out and cut them, then put a little Toradon on the stump. Coincidntally that was the same year I started using roundup beans(2 applications per season) I haven't had any problem since. I'm not sure if the roundup got them or I just did a good job of finding all the existing trees and no new ones reseeded.

Reply to volinteer trees

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: David Darnall Email: I do not know if this rotation will work for you. I plant corn, wheat, double crop soybeans. I cut the wheat for hay, allowing me to plant my beans on time. The thick cover the wheat provides along with cutting any existing weeds short when I cut and bale the hay helps reduce weed problems. It seems to have helped with the volunteer trees I was seeing. The trees tyring to get started in my fields were mainly sweet gum.

Reply to volinteer trees

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Jon Email: I have been able to kill locust trees with 24-D. On other harder to kill trees such as Maple and Mulberry I have added Harmony and crop oil. Liberty on Liberty Link corn is also effective on many trees.

Ridge-tiller attempting no-till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Dan MillerSubject: Ridge-tiller attempting no-till Email: abmillerfarms@hotmail.com Our operation is currently using a semi-mount, 30" spacing planter with Yetter residue movers on an irrigated corn/soybean rotation. We are ridge-till and want to try no-till. What seems to be working best for other, in particular, Western Corn Belt irrigators when it comes to coulters, residue cleaners, both or neither. Secondly, where are you placing the seed with the best results, on/off or splitting the old row?

Reply to Ridge-tiller attempting no-till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: David Darnall Email: I am in western KY. I no-till everything but my wettest river bottoms. If you are planting 30" rows for corn and soybeans, I would definitely split the old corn rows. I only use no-till coulters and have good luck getting a good stand. Others swear by the row-cleaners. With the higher yields from irrigation, row cleaners might not be a bad idea.

Reply to Ridge-tiller attempting no-till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: JR Email: Improving yields might be as simple as this. Worth reading. You ridge tillers are not far off when it comes to planting techniques. Planting into the same row area pays benefits for those who figure out how to do it right. Using row cleaners and/or coulters will likely not be the answer for doing the job right for no-till. Too much previous crop residue to contend with for even seeding depth and emergence, especially for corn. You likely dig a trench to remove residue, even with treaders / depth bands, and still have rough ground conditions for the planter unit to ride over. Results: poor uneven stands, lower yields.

Reply to Ridge-tiller attempting no-till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Dan Miller Email: abmillerfarms@hotmail.com I agree that the best row placement is down the old row for best nutrient utilization, water uptake and for best root penetration due to the least compaction. But, I still am concerned on how to get the rows planted on the old residue. If row cleaners and residue movers are not the answer, what is? Do you plant off to the side a few inches, therefore not being exactly in the old row, or do you rely on shredding or chopping old corn stalks to plant down the old rows? Many of you experienced no-tillers say shredding and stalk chopping is a waste of time and is not needed. I am starting to wonder whether no-till is going to fit our operation or whether we should continue ridge-tilling!

Reply to Ridge-tiller attempting no-till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Paul in SE NE Email: pjasa1@unl.edu We've been doing no-till in Nebraska with no coulters or row cleaners on our planters since the early 80s. Too often coulters dry out the seed zone, fine for poorly drained soils "back East" but not a desired outcome in the "Western Corn Belt." When the soil is wet, coulters pull up mud that sticks to the depth gauge wheels so we just avoid them all together. Coulters tend to get dull quickly and start hairpinning residue, then the seed furrow opener cannot cut the residue, only hairpins it further. By removing the coulters and keeping the double disk openers adjusted, we've greatly reduced hairpinning.

Reply to Ridge-tiller attempting no-till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Cardinal Farms Email: cardfarm@netins.net If you are successful now with ridge-till, why do you feel you need to switch to no-till? I use both systems in my farm operation, but prefer to ridge-till for a number of reasons. From my experience it's alot easier to plant in last years rows if they are ridged up and using ridge cleaners on my planter. The ground is much more mellow with ridges out there than just flat no-till ground. The ridge is just an ideal seedbed. It's always warm, moist & mellow. If it's a wet year you can dry the ridges out with a quick pass of a rotary hoe. As for chopping stalks ahead of the planter, I have ridge planted in both chopped and unchopped stalks and have had good results either way.

Reply to Ridge-tiller attempting no-till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Mark Dallmann Email: gator_farmer@hotmail.com I think moving away from ridges might be a mistake.

Permission to Hunt

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: George PaulSubject: Permission to Hunt Email: majotoy@tds.net Check out www.PermissionToHunt.com

Organic or partially conventional?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Christopher WadeSubject: Organic or partially conventional? Email: nimril@yahoo.com Greetings,

Reply to Organic or partially conventional?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Larry Email: There is research in organic farming with notill crops a few years in the rotation. Really depends on what type of crops you plan on growing.

Reply to Organic or partially conventional?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Christopher Wade Email: nimril@yahoo.com I prefer growing fruits & vegetables. Currently work for an organic farm in the Bay area, CA right in the city about 75-100 acres. We grow lots of vegetables & melons using conventional tilling techniques. I'd like to persuade the owner to take on conservation tilling such as ridge & mulch tilling as a transition (possibly to No-till eventually).

Reply to Organic or partially conventional?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Larry Email: The web site you would find very interesting is http://www.cedarmeadowfarm.com/

continuous no-till corn

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: S.L. BradySubject: continuous no-till corn Email: mandybrady@netzero.net Would you chop the stalks ahead of drilling cover crop. Also if Joe answer this let me know who you are got me thinking you must know me because you asked about the tobacco.

Reply to continuous no-till corn

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Ed Winkle Email: ewinkle@voyager.net No, chopping is not necessary with today's seeding equipment. It looks nice but does not accomplish much. I beleive a little N and corn syrup would do more for breaking the stalks down and feeding the micro-organisms you would to keep.

Reply to continuous no-till corn

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: S.L. Brady Email: mandybrady@netzero.net I don't plant with the new style planter. I have a 333 no-till Allis Chalmers planter with model 74 plate planter units. It's nothing fancy but, it's paid for.

Reply to continuous no-till corn

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Joe Email: Well S.L., I got to tell you that the old AC planter does a fine job planting. It's a terrible shame we didn't have enough rain to make all the corn crop. Hey I see you moved the 6620 and took the platform off. Have you started into the corn yet, I think we will try a little Friday or Saturday. Really no hurry on the corn, beans got plenty of time yet and ain't planting any wheat this year. Going to plant all full season beans and going to plant them early in the spring.( on going experiment )Boy the early beans sure did shine this year, if it wern't for them I wouldn't need a combine. Hey what about that tobacco? all done?

continuous no-till corn

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: S.L. BradySubject: continuous no-till corn Email: mandybrady@netzero.net In continuous no-till corn is a cover crop a good/bad idea?

Reply to continuous no-till corn

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Joe Email: S.L.

nt manure incorporation

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: jeff allanSubject: nt manure incorporation Email: allan@tcc.on.ca I am considering attempting to hang a toolbar on the back of a liquid manure tank, with a 2" hose pointing to the void left behind each coulter, maybe a 7" spacing between coulters staggered front and back on a 7" square tube. Has this been tried before? Can I fluff in about 4000 gals/acre and still leave a level field? I don't like the chisel plows on the market now. jeff

Reply to nt manure incorporation

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Joe Email: vermunt@hay.net Not sure how it will work for you . An option might be to use an Aerway . Have a nieghbour who injects with a deep ripper (5 shank ) with a drag hose . Seems to work o.k. and leaves the field fairly smooth . Not sure what pionts he has on it . Don't think they are no-till pionts .

updating bases and yields

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Mike Subject: updating bases and yields Email: grain@earth1.net Has anyone had any luck trying to update a farms yield to higher than your total average yield for all acres in a specfic year. All production is comingled in bins. Example: Farm A yields 150 bu/ac. Total production that year averages 120 bu/ac. Farm A's production was mixed with other farms production. My FSA is saying I have to use the average.

Reply to updating bases and yields

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Jim Email: My guess would be if you don't have documentation that Field A yielded 150 bu/ac they wouldn't take it. Did you have the bin measured per field or are you going off what the yield monitor said? Seems like every FSA office is different, some are easy to get along with and some aren't. I do business with one elevator and the won't separate your fields out or show splits on load sheet, just one sheet for all corn or beans you hauled in that year. It is a real mess deciphering back to 1998.

Reply to updating bases and yields

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Scott Carlson Email: sac@dtgnet.com As long as you can prove your overall avg. you should be able to use the information you reported for crop insurance to divide up the bushels to individual farms.

need a pep talk

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: GTSubject: need a pep talk Email: thompsonfarms@crosspaths.net OK guys I need A pep talk. Have been having a devil of a time getting consistent corn stands in no-till the last few years and have been catching myself dreaming of how pulling a field cultivator would solve all problems. The seed and agronomey guys are sure that's all it takes. We use a 1760 deere planter with 13 wave coulters and seed firmers with pop-up fertilizer. Our stand problems are concentrated in the poorly drained areas of the fields. Some seed rot but mostly the corn dies just as it is breaking through or at an inch in hieght. Wondering if residue managers are the answer, spoked closing wheels or what? Any suggestions would be helpful

Reply to need a pep talk

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Ed Winkle Email: ewinkle@voyager.net Take the coulter off Mr. Thompson. Add a row cleaner, we use Martin's. Put on Case IH guage wheel tires. Change your press wheels to Martin spading wheels and add the drag chains. If you need help, I will come and show you how to do it. There should be someone closer than I am but I am willing. You are ready for Paul Reed's setup. Don't go back to tillage.

Reply to need a pep talk

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: GT Email: Thompsonfarms@crosspaths.net Thanks for the advice!!! Can you tell me what the coulters are doing to cause these problems? Also, treating seed beans has made a huge improvement in our stand, is there a seed treatment for corn that will help with the pitium?

Reply to need a pep talk

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Ed Winkle Email: ewinkle@voyager.net I think the notill coulter is causing too much hairpinning of residue and sidewall compaction, making pythium and fusarium a haven in your soils. There are many good seed treatments available and even more are soon to be launched. Apron Captan has been our best treatment for corn and most companies use Maxim. I would try an adapted variety with Captan Apron beside the same or similar variety with Maxim and measure the results. I saw one like that in Iowa this summer and the Apron Captan made about 180 bu and I would imagine the Maxim treatment yielded 100 or less!

Reply to need a pep talk

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: village idiot Email: from what you describe i'd say you have wireworm troubles? maybe not though?

Does notill work ?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: JeffSubject: Does notill work ? Email: I am in a dilema about upgrading tillage machinery or going to more no till. I live in western MN. Soils are flat and black. I've found that no till will yield with conventional tillage if both are planted at the same time. Question I've got is will I lose the ability to plant in a timely fashion or have to wait too much. Will the low ground, basically drained potholes, which are a large portion of many fields, become too much of a problem? Will I need to keep 2 sets of machinery to make the system work?

Reply to Does notill work ?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Ed Winkle Email: ewinkle@voyager.net It sure does, Jeff. I visited your area in September and thought, wow, this could all be no-till but tillage reigns supreme in Minnesota and Wisconsin. I would suggest you vist www.dakotalakes.com and visit with Dr. Beck. I think he would convince you how to notill.

Reply to Does notill work ?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: jeff Email: jmolson@farmerstel.net Thanks Ed for the response! You are not kidding when you say that tillage reigns supreme around here. Landlords also equate standing corn stalks with having too much to handle or poor farming practices. I know it takes some education on my part.

Reply to Does notill work ?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: John Email: jrlk@evertek.net I am 10 miles south of Worthinton and have been notilling for 10years. I gets better every year. I have a wide variety of soil including a river bottom that floods most years. I am now using the nutill attacments with good success. 2 years ago we had a muddy spring and I was as timely as my neighbors. I have planted thru standing water with the nutill sysem but that never works out well. For me the labor, machinery and soil savings makes it all worth while. I know in your area ridgetill works well but that takes a lot more power and labor.

Reply to Does notill work ?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: jeff Email: Thanks for the response. I live near Madison and would like to find out what nutill is. I am familiar with strip tillage but am unfamiliar with nutill. Is there big differences between no till drills.

Reply to Does notill work ?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Brian Email: loeffb@rconnect.com We farm near Mankato. We still call ourselves ridge-tillers but are trying to gain some of the benefits of lower labor and equipment investments of no-till as well. The biggest change I guess is that of cultivating. No longer do we cultivate soybeans and really feel there is no need to do much in corn either other than to rebuild the ridge. We are trying to get as close to no-till as possible without losing the elevated seed bed and controlled traffic patterns; which I firmly believe allow us to maintain consistant high yields that do not take second to any system.

Reply to Does notill work ?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Jeff Email: We have a couple of ridge tillers near by and they are great farmers. My question is regarding traffic patterns, when you are picking corn, do you have trucks on both ends? I imagine that you don't use grain carts.

Reply to Does notill work ?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Brian Email: loeffb@rconnect.com Yes we unload on each end; we have lots of cheap labor:-) However, I know of several ridge-tillers using carts and dumping on-the-go. They obviously have set their carts up to fit the rows but I don't think it was very expensive or difficult. Other guys split their feilds and dump in the middle.

Reply to Does notill work ?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Jeff Email: Part of my reason for asking about dumping on both ends was that labor is not plentiful for me, and it is best if I can park on just one end instead of filling more than one vehicle at a time. Therefore do I dump on both ends and have more vehicles, a cart, or what. I do like having a cart for making better use of combine hours. Its like having another 25% combine capacity. I have not seen the tracks show up but the arguement can be made for not having the extra traffic in the field.

Reply to Does notill work ?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Cliff SEIA Email: cornboy9@hotmail.com We no-till our corn using the Martin system on a JD 7200 planter and have found that we can no-till into wetter ground than you could pull a field cultivator through. We can start planting as soon as most of the field has dried enough to get a very thin crust so the guage wheels don't build up with mud. This year we used that planter to no-till some beans in the mud where we almost got stuck several times and had water in the ruts before we pulled out of the field but the beans looked great even though they only got .7" of rain in the first 8 weeks after they were planted.

Reply to Does notill work ?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: jeff Email: Thanks for the response. When you say Martin system are you talking about Martin row cleaners? Do you run them into standing corn stalks? If so do you move slightly off the row or do you run down the middle?

Beat up farm

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: kornkurtSubject: Beat up farm Email: My son rented a farm that has had maximum tillage for many years. The ground is really hard. We strip till our corn and no till our beans. Should we just start no tilling this farm, or rent some type of ripper and loosen it up one time? Your thoughts would be appreciated. Forgot to mention it is heavy black soil in Iowa, no hills.

Reply to Beat up farm

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: swNEBR Email: If it were mine I would rip it deep, then no-till or strip till from here on.

Reply to Beat up farm

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Marty Visto Email: mvisto@drtel.net An article in the Farm Journal magazine talked about vertical tillage (ripper) and horizontal tillage (disk, cultivator). Basically one horizontal tillage pass will potentially negate all of the benefits of the vertical tillage pass. So if you rip this ground be sure to use one of the rippers that is the ultra low disturbace kind so that you don't have to do any horizontal tillage just to be able to drive on it again.

Minimum tillage

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Roger SmallSubject: Minimum tillage Email: smally9@xtra.co.nz My question is to any European farmers regarding the shift from no-till to minimum till. After reading Michael Horsch article where they have gone back to professional minimum tillage i wondered whether this is common.? We are having similar problems with no-tillage regarding slugs and grass weeds(brome grass)in New Zealand. It seems unless you burn stubbles or have lots of stock in the rotation no-tillage is an expensive option .We have just come through a season of high slug pressure and have baited paddocks up to three times at$60nz per aplication.

Reply to Minimum tillage

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: laurent lorre Email: airelles1@aol.com here in Europe true no-till is uncommon. so, it's difficult to say that a lot of farmer come back to min-tillage. In France , we see people who go to no-till after several years of min-till, and people who tend to stop or avoid moldboard plowing to seed no-till weath . We are more and more to try no-till in covers crop, and we see that slugs is sometimes a problem due to excess of insecticides which kill good insects like carabs( they eat slugs). the land i min-tilled for 10 years before i no-till 2 years is the land i see the less slugs, when my neighbourg in the land just near , who molboard plow, is often worried by slugs;

Reply to Minimum tillage

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Roger Small Email: smally9@xtra.co.nz thanks for the reply Laurent ,it is interesting you are heading down the no-tillage path. we have been no-tilling some paddocks for 6years now and haven't seen a drop in yield but our chemical bill because of slugs has climbed dramatically. We are retaining all of the residue which has increased moisture retension for better yield but also is great environment for slugs. I have been talking to a French farmer who uses a heavy harrow called an Eco-mulch harrow . he uses this to manage his residue and to level his field which he claims also helps slug and mice control.It lies the residue down so that birds can get into catch the mice. Do you know of such an implement ?

Reply to Minimum tillage

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: laurent lorre Email: airelles1@aol.com I know wath is the eco-mulch harrow, it look's like the brandt harrow, a heavy harrow with 3 feet long and 1/2 inch diameter tines. need to be used when it's dry, 3 or 4 times after harvesting. a lot of french machinery manufactures are now copying that implemment and sells +-light versions. a lot of to sugar beet growers buy this here, because they have a lot of money ,don't want to pay income tax, and love to spend days and days working soils , seeting in their "top of the art" big tractors.

Reply to Minimum tillage

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Christopher Renner Email: rennerc@aol.com Rodger,is your main problem slugs eating seeds before they germinate? If so we are advised to drill cereals 4cms deep and roll.

Reply to Minimum tillage

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Roger Small Email: smally9@xtra.co.nz Thankyou Laurent and Christopher for your replies. We have had problems in the early winter and the early spring when the crops are growing slowly but the slugs are still feeding so your thoughts on timing of sowing may well be helpful. We do roll after drilling which does restrict slug movement but they will still damage the growing seedling. This last season has been particularly bad as we had a very wet cool early summer and they bred like mad especially after peas and clover . I think in hind sight i should have baited then to stop the numbers building up so bad. Grass weeds seem to be getting worse in this district and i would say after driving around some farms yesterday that the cultivation guys have them worse than the no-tillers . In theory your idea of creating a stale seed bed Chris would seem ideal but perhaps rotation is the most important key as the farms that have them worst have been growing more than two wheats in a row.

Reply to Minimum tillage

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: John W Email: A well known authority on no-till systems in South Dakota and other places, Dr Dwayne Beck, says rotation in no-till has to take the place of tillage in controlling weeds and disease. His answer to no-till problems is rotation, rotation, rotation. Here is a link to reseach farm that Beck manages.

No-till video

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: MelSubject: No-till video Email: nature@bikerider.com There's a no-till video available online, with the founder of Greenpeace supporting it:

Reply to No-till video

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Ed Winkle Email: ewinkle@voyager.net I just viewed it and it is well done. It is about 7 minutes long and may take awhile to load on a rural computer connection. High speed connections makes viewing fast.

wet weather

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: ColSubject: wet weather Email: colin@mitchell347.freeserve.co.uk I farm in Scotland where the weather is wet to say the least, this year we will average over 700mm of rain, the average rainfall is creeping up with us having had several wet years recently. The question is considering the fact that we are so wet with a fair amount of it falling august to november (when we do most of our harvest and sowing) can we carry on min-tilling. What sort of amount of rainfall do other people get around the world. we have only been min-tilling for 3 years and the soil does appear to let water away quicker but when it does rain the worked soil turns to mush quickly. No-till is not an option 'cos we grow potatoes. Also how does everybody cope with rain do you have enough tackle to get everything done in a wet year or do you budget for an "average" year? Previously we used a mouldboard plough and a power harrow and drill combination because this was a very weather-proof way to work but it was taking too long.

Reply to wet weather

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Ed Winkle Email: ewinkle@voyager.net Welcome! My mother's mother was a Gray, orginating from Scotland. Where we live it is very flat and wet so surface drainage or ditching is our number one practice. Farmers are encouraged to tile drain or subsurface drain their land. This produces our highest yields. Many farmers lime their soils via the Albrecht method with 65% plus calcium and 15% magnesium on a base saturation using the ammonium acetate soil extraction method. Some farmers are using gypsum here to open the soil surface pores by causing the clay colloids to bridge over. One ton of gypsum every other year seems to work very well for these farmers. We had one who did not get the whole field applied last fall and could only no-till corn on the part that was applied. You could see the soil was drier and water ponded on the non-treated part. He harvested 140 bu/ac off the treated part but had to plant the rest of the field to soybeans later and they only yielded 8 bu per acre. Quite a contrast in just one application. These are some of my ideas.

Attn. Ed and others (No till corn)

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: DaveSubject: Attn. Ed and others (No till corn) Email: Ed

Reply to Attn. Ed and others (No till corn)

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Ed Winkle Email: ewinkle@voyager.net What I am saying is that corn seed seems to have most genetic flow in the middle of the cob. I admit that rounds on the ends could have better emergence thand flats in the middle but the flats could have better genetic transfer.

Reply to Attn. Ed and others (No till corn)

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Dave Email: Ed,

Reply to Attn. Ed and others (No till corn)

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Ed Winkle Email: ewinkle@voyager.net Everything I have ever planted since I was a child was a test to me, Dave. I watched in curiousity as these plants grew over my years. I did a search on www.google.com for "corn seed size" and came up with this article.

S.L.-GOT YOUR EARS ON ?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: JoeSubject: S.L.-GOT YOUR EARS ON ? Email: S.L.

Reply to S.L.-GOT YOUR EARS ON ?

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: S.L. Brady Email: mandybrady@netzero.net Yes planning on spreading as soon as i get soil sample results.Time as of now unknown,probably myself,already have one person wanting me to spread for him. May be able to help you out,but not 100% sure depends on weather and progress of tobacco stripping.Let me know how much your looking to spread.

December 2002 No-Till Farmer

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: NebraskaFarmerSubject: December 2002 No-Till Farmer Email: juehling@midlands.net In the article "Jump Start Your No-Till Crops" the table, how tillage, starter fertilizer influence continuous corn yields and surface residue, has me confused. The way I read it, starter has a negative effect on the yields in the plot. Is this a misprint or a statement on how high testing soil do not benefit from starter, but still to yield less than no starter seems odd. Just curious if anyone else saw this.

Reply to December 2002 No-Till Farmer

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Bill Moyer Email: It's no unusual to see this happen in plots once in a while. Particularly if you have done a lot of them. A lot of things happen in plots that are at times hard to explain. Having said that, it is unusual to see it happen with every treatment under all conditions.

No till doesn't work....

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: rrupeSubject: No till doesn't work.... Email: rrupe@swnebr.net No till doesn't work...at lest not very well when you get only half of the rain that you norally do. Here we had 11.5 in and our average is 21 in. But it still works better than tillage does. A couple questions....One, how many acres will my 1560 drill run before the bearings start going out? Two, what is the best spiked closing wheel and do they work on all situations? Otherwise happy holidays to all.

Reply to No till doesn't work....

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Scott Donoghue Email: bigacres@msn.com From what I have found out on this board is that No-Till does not work everywhere, Where are you at in Nebraska? I am from around the Columbus area. A good place to find out about your bearings would be http://talk.newagtalk.com/forums/MachineryTalk/index.html, they will treat you pretty good there! I know what you mean about the rain, pretty hard to farm in the sand that we farm in even with most of it being irrgated ground. Well I better go, I hope this helps a little, Scott Donoghue

Reply to No till doesn't work....

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: notillr Email: webbfarm@heart.net Like the old Abe Lincoln saying 'You can't fool all of the people all of the time......' No-till doesn't 'work' all of the time or every year. There WILL be years when tilled soils will make more grain & anyone who says otherwise is either a liar or hasn't no-tilled long enough to know better, plain & simple. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but there it is.

Seasons Greetings

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Joe Subject: Seasons Greetings Email: vermunt@hay.net to all who frequent the No-till Farmer .

Reply to Seasons Greetings

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: FL Email: hope everyone has a wonderful day with friends and family--it is raining here, no snow, guess santa had to use wheels on the sled around here--i can see he spent a lot of time here--HAPPY HOLIDAYS

coverting to no till

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:01:23 -0500

Name: Stan MosherSubject: coverting to no till Email: ForSaleWyo@aol.com I know nothing about no-till farming, would someone please tell me the basics of no till farming, from crop rotation to what type of additives is added to the ground and when and what tpe of drill work best. I farm in western Nebraska. Thank you, Stan

striped gophers