Articles by Martha Ostendorf

Inoculants Eke a Few More Bushels — and Great Returns — Out of Soybeans

Yield increases may seem small, but so is the cost of inoculation, requiring a half-bushel yield response before hitting a payout.

By Martha Ostendorf posted on November 1, 2009 | Posted in Seeding & Planting, Soil Health

First commercialized in 1898, nitrogen-fixing inoculants are the oldest crop input product still on the market today.

Hoping For Rain, Counting On No-Till

No-till has not only been better economically for Angela, Mont., farmer Alan Ballensky, the moisture protected by no-till has helped him raise yields that many would not deem possible in such a dry climate.

By Martha Ostendorf posted on November 1, 2009 | Posted in Equipment, Water Management

Alan Ballensky rolls his 4730 John Deere self-propelled sprayer to a stop in a cloud of dust at a field edge on his southeastern Montana small grains no-till operation.

Are Sprayers A Must-Have For No-Tillers?

Patience is a virtue few no-tillers can afford when the wind is calm and there are weeds or disease putting yields in jeopardy.

By Martha Ostendorf posted on November 1, 2009 | Posted in Equipment, Crop Protection, Nutrient Management

Patience is a virtue few no-tillers can afford when the wind is calm and there are weeds or disease putting yields in jeopardy.

Push Your Planter To New Heights

No-tillers share the attachments and adjustments that help them get planting operations right the first time out.

By Martha Ostendorf posted on November 1, 2009 | Posted in Seeding & Planting, Equipment

No-tillers share the attachments and adjustments that help them get planting operations right the first time out.

Seed Precision Takes Profitability To A New Level

Technologies that place seed in the ideal location eliminate waste,maximize production and make costly seed perform efficiently.

By Martha Ostendorf posted on November 1, 2009 | Posted in Equipment, Precision Agriculture

Today, there’s a lot of incentive to get the right seed in the right place with the right inputs so it can produce to its maximum potential. Seed costs are soaring due to new in-plant technologies and hungry new mouths are born every second.

Do-All Rig Helps Produce Record-Breaking No-Till Yields

Equipment upgrades and expert advice are pushing this no-tiller’s fields to produce to their full capacity.

By Martha Ostendorf posted on October 1, 2009 | Posted in Equipment, Precision Agriculture

A multipurpose tool hooked to your belt is handy, but one trailing behind your tractor is even better.

Passing The No-Till Reins

Fewer tractor hours and inputs help ease farm transition from one generation to the next.

By Martha Ostendorf posted on October 1, 2009 | Posted in No-Till Farming 101, Nutrient Management

Chris Rodabaugh discovered an extremely effective way to drastically cut his hours in the tractor — by passing the no-till torch to his son, Clint.

Take The Pressure Off Your No-Till Soils

Ag engineer Randy Raper offers some helpful hints for no-tillers wanting to tread more lightly for compaction prevention and management.

By Martha Ostendorf posted on September 1, 2009 | Posted in Equipment, Soil Health

Some things, like coal, do their best work under pressure; soils, however, do not. Compaction causes a laundry list of troubles, including ponding water, reduced nutrient availability, erosion, poor root development and the list goes on.

Planting Into Living Cover Yields Picket-Fence Crop

Mellow soils, no compaction and moisture management are all benefits that a Missouri farmer realizes when no-tilling into a living cover crop of cereal rye and wheat.

By Martha Ostendorf posted on September 1, 2009 | Posted in Cover Crops

Hallsville, MO., no-tiller Frank Martin quit raising hogs in 2001 and turned his focus to doing a better job of raising crops — with an emphasis on reducing soil loss. For him, that meant going no-till and integrating cover crops into his system.

Get Up And Get Growing

Dean James uses shorter maturity crops and a stripped-down planter to get more acres of cereal rye cover planted earlier and faster.

By Martha Ostendorf posted on September 1, 2009 | Posted in Cover Crops

Trouble establishing a stand before winter is perhaps one of the biggest reasons some no-tillers steer clear of nutrient-recycling, organic-matter-building cover crops.

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Last-Minute Planter Prep for No-Tillers & Strip-Tillers

On this episode of Conservation Ag Update, brought to you by Martin-Till, precision specialist Chad Baker, co-owner of Baker Precision Planter Works in Orangeville, Ill., helps a first-generation no-tiller with planter setup, and later encounters a couple problems with a strip-tiller’s new 24-row planter. Plus, veteran agronomist Brad Forkner checks in with a couple tips for farmers to keep in mind before they take the field.

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