Timing is everything, especially when it comes to controlling weeds, insects and diseases. Spray delays of even a day or two, in some instances, can cause substantial erosion in yield potential.
As much as Shane Reinneck values residue, the Freeburg, Ill., no-tiller knows residue slows the warming of his soils, forcing him to be a little more patient than conventional-till neighbors when it comes to planting.
Tougher stalks from Bt corn hybrids, increased use of fungicides and the chance to trim fertilizer needs are bringing more attention to effective residue management at harvesttime.
In a recent entry on The Mitchell Farm Web site (www.mitchellfarm.com), I wrote that “effectiveness comes from getting the one piece of information necessary to make a decision and leaving the rest unseen.” I was referring to how easy it is to get smothered in GPS field-generated data, but often not knowing how to put it to work.
Taking full advantage of a mid-June opportunity to educate New York City investment fund managers on American agriculture, three outstanding growers made an extremely strong case for the many benefits of no-tilling.
Many costs are on the rise, but increasing farm prices also provide revenue for implementing new technologies that can improve no-till operations, efficiency and profits.
It’s times like these when the sticker shock of rising costs combined with the opportunities presented by rising prices leads resourceful growers to take a new look at the way they run their operations. New and innovative technologies available today can help you reduce the use of materials and take fuller advantage of the assets you already have.
The first time i heard about no-tilling was at Kansas State University in 1973. We talked about studies being done in Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri and other places where no-till first took hold. I came home from those discussions and thought about putting no-till to work on our farm, but we faced a tough challenge. Based on KSU’s no-till handbook, our clay soils (shallow topsoil, super-tight subsoil) are classified as “needing special management” for no-till.
Implement steering and compatibility with other equipment are key features that could grab attention and address common challenges of precision farming.
More no-tillers, especially many who are adopting strip-tillage, are investing in assisted steering to make their efforts easier and more accurate. Assisted steering of both tractors and implements can boost precision field operations.
Get full access NOW to the most comprehensive, powerful and easy-to-use online resource for no-tillage practices. Just one good idea will pay for your subscription hundreds of times over.
On this episode of Conservation Ag Update, brought to you by Martin Industries, Vincennes, Ind., no-tiller Ray McCormick explains why it’s going to be tough to “not lose a lot of money this year” on corn. Plus, we ask our readers, “On a scale of 1-10, how concerned are you about drought this year?” Hear why some farmers are worried, and why others aren’t very worried at all.
Needham Ag understands the role of technology in making better use of limited resources within a specific environment by drawing on a wealth of global experience to overcome the challenges facing today's farmers, manufacturers and dealers.
The Andersons grows enduring relationships through extraordinary service, a deep knowledge of the market, and a knack for finding new ways to add value as we have done for nearly 70 years.