Sunlight interception is the name of the game when it comes to producing a good no-till soybean crop, maintains Jim Beuerlein, agronomist at Ohio State University.
Dean Holst, who no-tills 1,700 acres in the hilly, but productive area near LeClaire, Iowa, has made the switch back to 30-inch row corn. For several years, Holst had no-tilled in 24-inch rows.
If they want to continue to use Bt corn, growers need to do a better job of following the rules laid down last year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
While some readers feel fall or spring strip-tilling can overcome concerns about no-tilling corn, others aren't so sure that this is always the very best way to get the job done. Besides using no-till, many attendees at the National No-Tillage Conference in Cincinnati felt using residue conditioning machines could help expand the effectiveness of no-tilling corn
No-Tilling soybeans ahead of corn may not be for everyone. But in some Corn Belt regions, however, yield advantages combined with other benefits are attracting more interest in no-tilling beans as early as the last week of March.
One of the many discussions on the No-Till Farmer sponsored Web site Bulletin Board centers on what to do with leftover cotton stalks when you want to no-till a different crop, such as soybeans.
With 900 acres of corn near Beaver Dam, Wis., Charlie Hammer uses 20-inch rows. He plants 36,000 to 38,000 seeds per acre and finds the narrower rows add 6 to 8 inches to plant height.
Plenty of new ideas are coming along to help you no-till more efficiently by the year 2005. As the No-Till Farmer editors look to the future, here are a few ideas you may be putting to good use within the next 10 years.
With government officials from the European Union objecting to the use of no-till and forest land as no-till carbon sinks, the U.S. recently made concessions in this area for reducing carbon dioxide losses into the atmosphere. This action took place during a recent meeting of worldwide government officials seeking approval of the international Kyoto Protocol treaty to curb climate change.
David Wipf learned a lot about precision corn planting last year, thanks to the Computrol II Monitor that he won at the 2000 National No-Tillage Conference. Wipf, crops manager at the Fairview Colony near LaMoure, N.D., directs production on 2,500 acres of no-till corn and soybeans.
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On this episode of Conservation Ag Update, brought to you by Martin-Till, Westville, Ind., no-tiller Jeff Herrold provides an update on how planting is going so far, and why a potential problem with slugs is causing some early-season anxiety. Herrold also explains why he prefers to plant soybeans before corn.
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