No-Till Farmer Blog

Not to get too political here, but I’ve been thinking lately about how our tax dollars can best be used when it comes to farming. Let me give you an example.

Should we really use tax dollars just to write a blank check to farmers, or other landowners, just because they own farmland? We’ve all heard the stories of how people living in New York City were collecting checks just because they owned farmland somewhere.

It’s been my opinion that when these checks are given to farmers, they ultimately use it to rent more land. That only serves to drive up rent prices, and the farmer ultimately isn’t being more profitable. The only one who wins is the landowner. Maybe that’s simplified thinking on my part, but nonetheless it’s something I’ve wondered about.

But what if we used our tax dollars to actually change the habits of farmers? If our political leaders really think that no-till is the way farmers ought to farm, then shouldn’t we do something that really helps them make the move to no-till.

One example of this is the REAP program that was designed to encourage Pennsylvania farmers to use conservation best management practices that reduce erosion and sedimentation impacting Pennsylvania’s streams and watersheds — and ultimately the beleaguered Chesapeake Bay.

Eligible producers who purchased no-till planting equipment could qualify for a tax credit on up to $150,000 per agricultural operation. Many farmers used this tax credit to purchase no-till planters or drills. Today, more than 50% of Pennsylvania farmland is considered to be in no-till.

While I may share a passion for no-till in my position as executive editor of No-Till Farmer, I’m not a farmer. I live in the city of Waukesha in suburban Milwaukee. I’m a taxpayer, however, whose tax dollars can end up in the hands of farmers. I’d much rather see a farmer receive a tax credit for doing something that encourages a good behavior than just get a blank check to spend however he sees fit.

We’ve got a lot of folks on the No-Till Farmer staff who still look a little sleepy-eyed the Monday after the National No-Tillage Conference, but we were all very encouraged by the positive comments from attendees. What a great group of speakers and an attentive crowd of no-tillers with a real desire to learn and become better at no-tilling.

While we don’t have an official final count, yet, this fifth event in Des Moines saw record attendance for the city. The previous record of 732 was shattered, as we had 775 registered by Friday. We’ll see where things shake out.

If you attended this year’s event, would share something that you picked up from one of the nearly 40 speakers? Did you come away with 1 big idea? Or a few smaller ideas that you can implement into your no-till system next year?

The law of supply and demand typically rules in a free-market economy, though a little thing called a monopoly can muck things up. So with seed prices soaring these days, you have a classic debate currently underway in the case of Monsanto Co. — no stranger to controversy, it seems.

Some folks are crying foul, claiming that this highly successful company is dominating the landscape to the point that it’s pushing out the competition. Meanwhile, company officials are saying that its success is breeding contempt and that the value its products create for farmers justifies the price of seed.

While the Department of Justice will have the final word on this, I tend to go with the folks who say the market will dictate what you can charge for your product. If demand is high, then the price will be high. If nobody wants your product, you have to lower the price to move it.

The question is: If you don’t want to pay the premium for Monsanto’s GMO and Bt traited products, do you have some alternatives. The answer is “yes,” with more options coming down the road. There’s LibertyLink technology with 2,4-D tolerance and Optimum GAT in the pipeline. There are corn hybrids containing Herculex and Agrisure Bt traits.

Meanwhile, non-GMO varieties or hybrids are popular with some growers because they find the premiums and lower seed prices allow them to be more profitable. A company called eMerge Genetics has been putting a substantial effort into developing improved non-GMO varieties and hybrids.

As a grower, the decision ultimately lies in your hands. Are the prices Monsanto charges for seed — or even other companies, for that matter —  out of line? Or is it worth it?

What say you?

We’re getting October in November, so here’s hoping that you’ve been making up for lost time in the fields. However, with a late planting season, a cold summer that led to slow-maturing crops and then a wet, miserable October, you’re doing well if you’ve nearly got all of your crops out of the field by now.

At No-Till Farmer, we’re trying to determine the effects of this late harvest season on your no-till operation next spring.

• Do you feel that you’ve caused any damage to your no-till fields that will need repairing next spring? Or did you have a strategy that helped you avoid ruts or compaction? Do you have any creative ways to fix problems that will cause minimal disruption to your no-till fields?
• Were you planning to do some fertilization this fall that will have to wait? If so, how will it impact your fertilizer application plans? You know, a lot of fall applications didn’t go down in 2008 due to high fertilizer prices, so what will happen if you don’t make applications this fall?
• Perhaps you had plans to no-till a cover crop and the late harvest prevented that from happening. How will that affect you next spring? Quite often, no-tillers rely on cover crops to help supply certain nutrients, so will you need to adjust your applied fertilizer rates?
• Will this tough fall in any way impact your no-till crop rotations? If so, how?

So just what no-till challenges do you expect to face next spring as a result of this challenging harvest season?

It’s an exciting new day at No-Till Farmer. We’re introducing our no-till blogs.

We’ve recruited nine no-till experts to blog for us on a regular basis. (more…)