No-Till Farmer Blog

Will all that dry P and K that we apply this fall be available next spring? That is the question that I struggle with after getting my soil sample results that we pulled this fall.

Since harvest ended so early, I wanted to get caught up with our sampling that needed to be done last year, but was not able to since we had a late, wet harvest. I resisted initially to pull samples this fall because of the dry soil. It seems that when we sample in dry soils, our results are somewhat skewed, especially with low phosphorus levels. But this year, we were up against 3 to 4 years in not pulling samples on some farms and it was a perfect fall to lime. So after a half-inch rain, we pulled the trigger and sampled several hundred acres.

The results are in and just as I expected, the P results were a lot lower than I expected, whereas also some K levels were on the minimum range. Our samples are sent to Midwest Labs to get not only what levels are in our soil, but also what is available to next year’s crop.

My dilemma is this. Should I apply the recommended P and K rates this fall based on my tests and would it be readily available to my corn and soybean crop next year?

I will definitely apply lime based on what is needed, but applying P and K at the full rates is something I’m hesitant to do because I feel my return on investment with $470 per ton of K and $650 per ton of P will not be fully utilized.

My plan of action is this. On my soybean crop next year, I will broadcast what is needed because basically it would be the only opportunity to fertilize what is needed. But on my corn crop, I plan on applying a minimum amount of dry P and K because of the opportunity to put on what is needed with my corn planter and with my applicator.

With my corn planter, I plan on adding 4 gallon of 10-34-0 with my 28% and Thiosal. The agronomist experts have told me that the corn plant uses most of its phosphate up front before tassel and that P moves very slowly, and they say a lot of K is used on the back end of the growing season. So, instead of having my total amount of P and K laying on top in the dry form, why not have it also be readily available in the liquid form in my side band?

Having a minimum amount of N-P-K  with my pop-up fertilizer and adding some with my side band, it seems to me that it would be readily available when needed. Then at sidedress time, I plan on adding 10 gallon of 4-10-10 with my 28 and thio to give me some added K when needed after tassel.

Even though I will have to handle more liquid with the planter and at sidedress time, I really feel that my investment in my fertilizer would be used more efficiently. I also have to manage each field differently with mixing needed amounts on the go, so this will take an extra effort and patience on my part. But having  a full recommended rate broadcast this fall seems like a lot of money that would be a hit or miss for the corn crop.

With the mineralization we have in our no-till soils, I just smile when I see these recommended rates from the universities of what is needed to produce a corn and soybean crop. It would be hard for me to survive financially to spend the kind of money that is applied with the amount of N-P-K that conventional folks use. Another good reason to appreciate that no-till is king.

Last week, I told you some observations about my corn harvest. So this week, I thought I would change gears and give you my insights on our farm’s soybean harvest.

The biggest issue that I notice this year was where I post-applied my glyphosate in Roundup Ready soybeans compared to where I did not post-apply any glyphosate.

My burndown program consists of 3 ounces of Valor XLT along with 12 ounces of 2-4,D E-99 in the spring with a crop-oil concentrate 1 to 2 weeks ahead of planting. The soybean crop was planted from April 22 to May 4, so we actually had a good jump on the calendar this past year.

The crop emerged quickly with plenty of moisture and heat. From mid-May to July 1, we had constant rains that actually slowed the soybeans down, but still a lot of my residual Valor herbicide was holding its own along with the help of a good canopy. With that, I decided not to spray 25% of my soybeans with the post application of glyphosate.

During August,  I had some weed escapes, but nothing that I thought would hurt yields too much. I somewhat make a rule of thumb to put away the sprayer after July 1 because I would likely do more harm than good.

To my surprise at harvest, I’m glad I did put away the sprayer. What I saw with the yield monitor was something that really shocked me.

My yields where I sprayed my post application of glyphosate averaged 59 bushels per acre. With the somewhat weedy part of the field in spots right next to where I post applied my glyphosate, my yields averaged 65 bushels per acre! This field was planted the same day with the same variety with the same soil types and same planter.

The question is why the difference? Could it be that the glyphosate post-applied has something to do with the yield reduction? Is this why our soybean yields have not increased dramatically for the past 10 years, but our corn yields have exploded with our superior hybrids. Surely there has been research done for this, or maybe this is just a coincidence. It sure was not due to wheel tracks from the sprayer because my tires were in-between my 15-inch rows where I applied glyphosate at the R2 stage.

Last year, I had a suspicion that something was going on where I noticed a 5- to 8-bushel-per-acre increase in yield where I post-applied Select and Flexstar on my Roundup Ready 2 soybeans in comparison to where I post-applied the glyphosate. Hopefully, you blog readers can give me some insight to this because I am surely not the only one that has noticed this. Your thoughts are appreciated.

Hard to believe that harvest was finished October 11 for us. It’s good that I have the opportunity to drive the combine because of the many observations I see visually in the cab from the yield monitor to the crop itself.  I will briefly touch on one of the things I’ve recognized from the cab and share more later.

The corn crop was so variable this year. I do many field trials to help me improve my success no-tilling, but the trial that really stood out was the different rates of nitrogen application that I put on with the planter.

This year, I applied with the planter a low-salt NPK package that includes a micronutrient in the seed trench. I am sold on this program and have used it for the past 10-plus years. It seems that it really gets the corn plants off and running and conquers the stress that usually happens early, especially when we plant early like we did this year.

I also applied a side band of 28% with a recipe mix of Thio-Sul (sulfur). I have constantly increased the amount of this mixture to the point that I was applying up to 25 gallons of 28% with 5 gallons of Thio. But this year, I cut back on the amount to 20 and 5. A neighbor whom I share storage tanks with has used this amount. My total amount of nitrogen was still the same as in the past because I increased my sidedressed application to offset the decreased amount that I put on with the planter.

To my surprise, I noticed on the yield monitor a huge variation in yield in one field that I use for my in-field nitrogen studies.  The observation that I could not believe was there was a 30- to 40-bushel yield jump where I increased my planter application from a 20 gallon/5 gallon mix to a 30 gallon/4 gallon mix! The corn was planted the same day with the same hybrid with the same soil type. I varied the amount of the sidedress application to obtain the same amount of total nitrogen and still there was that much of a yield difference.

Now the question I have is this. Should I go back and put on the amount I have had in the past with the planter or should I increase the amount even more? It obviously depends on the weather and the planting date, or does it? Since I can’t predict weather and planting dates (maybe you all might have an inside way of doing that, but I sure don’t), what is the right amount? Your comments are appreciated.

Hi to all from sweltering central Indiana. Last year, we could not buy a 90-degree day, but this year we cannot seem to get out of this heat. Fortunately, we have had consistent thunderstorms that have brought rain to our area. It would be nice, though, for the corn to have a breather at night to extend the growing season.

Here are my observations since I submitted my last blog. After getting slammed with some flooding rains early on, the corn crop looks pretty decent. The rows around are not as much I would like (a lot of 14 around), but if we can get some cooling off and with these rains we have been having, hopefully we can have some good ear fill and high test weights.

Since pollination early in July, I have been seeing quite of bit of gray leaf spot, of which we have sprayed 25% with some Headline AMP. What I have really noticed is a lot of nitrogen deficiency, especially with the racehorse hybrids. The fixed ear or workhorse hybrids have seemed like they are filling quickly.

The observation that really stands out is that where I had annual ryegrass applied last fall, the racehorse hybrids are green from head to toe. The cover crop experts have said that annual ryegrass is a nitrogen scavenger that releases the available nitrate late in the growing season. With keeping a close eye on how the corn crop looks in these fields, I’m becoming a big believer in it.

I purchased a spad meter this year that analyzes the chlorophyll content of the corn stalk. With the results I have been recording with and without the annual ryegrass, I am seeing some dramatic results with the available nitrate that is left. It will be interesting to see how this plays out with the yield monitor this fall.

On the soybeans fields, I have been amazed of how my residual application of just 3 ounces of Valor XLT and 1 pint of 2,4-D 1 week to 10 days before planting have held so well. As a matter of fact, I did not spray a post application of glyphosate on at least a third of my fields. These are on the fields that have had annual ryegrass this past fall or in the past. Sure, I have had some late escapes here and there of mostly giant ragweed and foxtail, but nothing that I should spray late to make the field look completely clean.

I put some strip tests out with and without the glyphosate applications and applied a post grass only in comparison with the glyphosate to see how much if any yield reduction I will have this fall. I also did several strip tests of foliar recipes that some of you had provided me feedback and I’m anxious to see if these will show up with the combine.

Speaking of combines, we better get it ready soon. Looks like my 2.6’s will be ready by the last week of August. Last year, none of our beans were ready until the third week of September. Again, what a difference a year makes. Just one of the many challenges no-tillers have to contend with.

Wow, what a difference one year can be. Corn and soybeans got planted by early May of this year compared to just finishing in early June of last year. Plenty of moisture and heat lately compared to cool and somewhat dry at this time last year.

Crops are off and running so field work that needs to be done is a race to finish. I guess that the changes we have to make to confront those challenges tests our patience and knowledge.

Right now, I still have 300 acres of corn to sidedress and have not even started to spray my post application of Roundup. Fortunately, I applied 80 pounds of nitrogen with the planter and we have a residual herbicide on our soybeans.

Last year, we purchased a Blu-Jet 4010 28% applicator because we felt that our sidedress nitrogen was not as efficient as we would like it to be with anhydrous. We are getting a great deal of release of nitrogen from our soil with the biology sources working now since we have been no-tilling for a long period of time.  The sidedress application of nitrogen is now more evenly distributed and we don’t have the compaction of the anhydrous tank that we use to pull.

Also, since the corn is growing so fast, the concern of breaking off the corn with the low profile NH3 tank is less of a concern than we would have had to contend with in the past. I have always been able to get the sidedressing done without laying any corn down since I have been
farming. This year may be a challenge, though, because of the constant heavy rains we have been receiving lately. One neighbor who sidedresses with NH3 has already thrown the towel in on 200 acres because of the tallness of the corn. Time and Mother Nature will tell me in the next 2 weeks.

I also wanted to update you on the Dawn trashwheels and Curvetine closing wheels I put on my soybean planter this year. We had so much residue to deal with this spring, so we added the single residue managers on our JD 1790 15-inch soybean planter. The residue managers did a good job in not hairpinning the trash in the seed trench. The ease of adjustment made it nice because field conditions would change if the residue was somewhat damp.

The closing wheels really shined where we had our annual ryegrass.  The wheels would crush the sidewalls in without compacting the trench. I have had issues with my spaders in my cover crops in not closing the seed trench. The perfect stand that I constantly strive for have been challenging with the spaders especially with annual ryegrass.

If I was going to put a cover crop on all of our corn acres, I would probably switch my Martin Spaders over to the Dawn Curvetines on the corn planter, but for now I am sticking with the Martin’s with the drag chain. The time may come in the future where I would change if I trade planters for a new one.

Lastly, I wanted to mention that we put the Precision Air Force system on our soybean planter like we have on our corn planter. This is an option that I highly recommend for any planter. The depth placement of the seed is so critical for that even stand and, with the help of this system, it makes planting that much more precise.

Got to get ready for the Indiana Crop Management Field Day that is happening at our farm on the 24th. With the rain delaying our field work, I am thankful that we have long days at this time to get things done. The last I checked was that we now have 186 RSVPs for lunch. If any of you are interested in coming, here’s a Web site you can visit.

Hope to see you then. I would like to hear if any of you have cocktail mixes or ideas for keeping our soybeans from not shutting down for a period of time after spraying glyphosate. It is information from other innovative farmers like you that make farming more enjoyable.

Have a fantastic growing season. 2010 is off to a great start!

Hello everyone from the winter doldrums of central Indiana.

Hard to believe that it’s March 1, because it just seems like yesterday that I finished harvest. Actually, is was practically yesterday and now we’re frantically planning our planting schedule. But first, our family is heading to the warm sunshine of Florida this week for a little R & R. Hopefully I can bring some of that sunshine home with me.

Since harvest, we have taken delivery of a new 1790 John Deere split row soybean planter that we traded for last summer. We had the same model planter the last 4 years, but with some wear and tear on the previous one, we felt we needed to update to a new one.

The new planter will be set up differently than the old one with options that have been released the last few years.

We attended the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville a few weeks ago. This is an annual event that our farm operation attends on a regular basis because we can actually see and discuss directly with the developers of the latest in farm equipment under one (well, several because this show is huge)
roof.

You also see some very interesting people like our own Darrell Bruggink, who I ran into at the show this year. Even writers like to check out the latest and greatest in farming.

We had an idea of what changes we wanted to make ahead of time, but attending the show, we made a few minor changes that we were not planning originally. I would like to share how our new soybean planter will be set up.

The biggest change is that our new planter will not have any liquid on it like our previous one did. We use to apply a bio-stimulant with a micronutrient package in furrow with the old one. We feel that we are getting good biological activity in our soils where it is not as critical to have this product applied as in the past.

What I am concerned about is the glyphosate issue that is starting to blow up in our industry. Read the March issue of No-Till Farmer. I heard about this initially at the National N0-Tillage Conference  and it is something we must pay attention to. This might be the beginning of the end of Roundup soybeans and corn.

Adding micro-nutrients to the soil with a post foliar application 7 to 10 days after application of glyphosate will be our option if needed. We are going to have a Liberty Link soybean plot out this year to seriously consider getting away from the
Roundup Ready technology.

Another major change to our new planter is that we are adding the Precision Planting AirForce system with the 20/20 seed monitor. We had this on our corn planter last year and felt that this is a must on all planters in the future.

With variation in our soil types, the seed depth is consistently at the right depth with adjustment of the down pressure with air while we are planting. The 20/20 monitor told me on my corn planter the adjustments that needed to be made that my GS2 Deere monitor did not.

I am very impressed with this system and feel that money spent on the precision monitor and AirForce is money made.

With the AirForce system, it’s not recommended to have the reduced inner-diameter gauge wheels like we had on our previous soybean planter. This was hard for me to swallow last year with my corn planter, but it really makes sense not to have them.

Sometimes, we have very minor down pressure, and with our soil being so mellow which we attribute to our no-tilled practices, having the RID gauge wheels would have been a detrimental to planting.

Lastly, we are putting on the Dawn XR Curvetine closing wheels. We previously had the Martin spaders with drag chains, but with the new Dawns, the drag chain is not recommended. We did not like the drag chains on our soybean planter, but like them on our corn planter.

We struggled with the Martins in closing the slot with our annual rye grass cover crop. Hopefully, with the new design of the Dawn’s, we will correct that problem. Monitoring these wheels this year will give us something to consider in the
future for my corn planter.

Another recommendation from the owner himself that designed the Dawn Curvetines is that you don’t want the Keeton seed firmers. This one I am really struggling with. I understand the reasoning of why, but I have always had a seed firmer on my planters ever since they were designed. I will keep you informed in the future how this works out.

I would have loved to add the E-Set units with the BullsEye seed tubes, but I can’t see the return on investment. Maybe next year when I get a few acres on my Deere units, but since they are new now, the cost was too pricey. If this was a corn planter, I would have pulled the trigger, but for soybeans, I will wait.

If any of you have had any experience with what I plan on doing, please e-mail me back. I feel that experience that what other no-till farmers have done is the best education that we can have to improve our bottom line. Keep me and others informed and have a great March.

Got to go pack my summer clothes!

2009. A year to remember on the farm. Challenging but rewarding.

Looking back, I feel very fortunate for being a true no-tiller. Not only was 2009 a record year for yields, but a record year for knowledge to obtain those yields. With continuous rainfall in April and May, it was a challenge just to get the crop planted. The first kernel of corn was not planted until May 25 and we finished June 6. I will briefly explain why I feel 2009 was a bin buster.

1. Superior corn hybrids. I stayed with the plan of no-tilling my full-season hybrids even though the planting date was late. The hybrids that are available today are so much better with the added traits. The good news is that they are getting better! I am really excited about reducing my refuge in the future.

2. Soil Structure. The tremendous early rains we had percolated in the soil because of our no-till practices. Air and water constantly moving through the soil was a huge advantage compared to my conventional-till neighbors.

3. Precise Planter Setup. We purchased a new John Deere 1770 planter. The first thing we did was strip it down and set it up for a no-till setup that had worked successfully in the past. An added benefit was the automatic Air-force system by Precision Planting. Our stand was perfect. With our population variable-rated based on soil type and management zones, we had the added benefit to maximize the yield potential of hybrids. Without that picket-fence stand, you’re behind the 8 ball from the beginning.

4. Nitrogen Management. Spoon feeding the corn crop as soon as that kernel is dropped out of the planter is a must to achieve maximum yields. I also feel that we are getting a huge amount of nitrogen released from our soil. By no-tilling the past 10 years, we have reduced our amount of actual nitrogen to just 0.6 pounds per bushel. By doing variable-strip tests for nitrogen, we have found that the optimum level for our soils are from 140 to 160 pounds of actual nitrogen. Our return on investment decreases if amounts increase. We have found out that it’s critical to have thiosul (sulfur) blended with 28% nitrogen. I have seen yields reduced by 8 to 10 bushels per acre without the sulfur mix.

5. Application of Nitrogen. I made the switch this year to not only apply 28% nitrogen with the planter but with my sidedress application. I have always sidedressed nitrogen with anhydrous ammonia but was not satisfied with the compaction, variability between rows and safety of using anhydrous. By purchasing a Blu-Jet 4010 applicator, I satisfied my concerns. Not only was I able to add the convenience of changing rates based on management zones with the Apex software I had with Deere, but had the confidence that every row was receiving the same amount of nitrogen. The safety and speed of applying was an added plus. And, every time I apply 28%, I was getting my thiosul mixed and applied properly.

Of course, rain makes grain, so having the proper rainfall throughout the growing season was a must. The cool temperatures did not hurt, either. Harvest-time was so long because we had to dry every single kernel of corn. With limited bin space and a very wet October (thankful we had a decent November), I never thought we would ever finish.

We kept the cart off the field when conditions got sloppy, but fortunately we did not rut any fields up like I saw with conventional-till fields. The fall spraying got done in the middle of harvest, so I am ready to go plant this spring. But first, let’s take a rest and be thankful for 2009.

I can’t believe 2010 is already here! See you at Des Moines.