No-Till Farmer

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August 2016: Conservation Tillage Guide

Volume: 45
Edition: 8

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  • Table of Contents

    Table of Contents

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    109_NTF_Dan_DeSutter_LB_0516.jpg
    What I've Learned from No-Tilling

    Rejuvenating Acres and Ramping Up Soil Productivity

    No-till is just one component of the system Dan DeSutter is using to break up compaction, store water, increase organic matter and improve yields.
    My dad gets the credit for taking the initial steps of reducing tillage on our farm, but I can probably take some credit for pushing us into a full no-till system. And I do mean system, because no-till is just the tiny tip of the very large iceberg that is our farm management strategy today.
    Read More
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    Interseeding Tools Get Cover Crops Off to Faster Start

    No-tillers can avoid the mad rush to get cover crops seeded after harvest by planting them into standing cash crops.
    One of the most common challenges no-tillers encounter with cover crops is at the very start — getting them seeded. Interseeding — the practice of seeding covers with a drill, spinner spreader, toolbar or sprayer into an established and growing cash crop — may provide a solution.
    Read More
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    Precise Nutrient, Cover Crop Use Cleans Up Chesapeake

    Trey Hill shares what he’s learned from trying to reduce nitrogen leaching, managing inputs and battling slugs on his 10,000 no-till acres.
    Although Trey Hill has been farming around 10,000 acres in Rock Hall, Md., his whole life, he’s quick to mention that he’s more a student than a teacher. It’s this instinct that leads him to perpetually tweak his nitrogen (N) management and cover-crop program, forever in search of more conservative and efficient techniques for the fourth generation family-run Harborview Farms.
    Read More
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    Committing to Cover Crops Brings Added Benefits to No-Till

    After seeing the changes cover crops made to one farm, the Eberhard family is going all in to take out weeds and secure and produce nutrients.
    Fifteen years ago, Lynn Eberhard began farming a field that was in bad shape. The ground was hard and the yields were poor. So he decided to seed cover crops, which he had been using on and off since the early 1990s, on that farm every year.
    Read More
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    Strip-Till Operational Benchmark Study

    Diversity of Methods Produce Strip-Till Stability and Flexibility

    Increased adoption of cover crops and variable-rate fertilizing help strip-tillers maintain corn yields and increase soybean yields in 2015.
    Building confidence in a strip-till system can come through a variety of avenues — utilizing cover crops to strengthen soils, refreshing fall-built strips with a spring pass to create an ideal seedbed, or variable-rate applying fertilizer with a strip-till rig for more efficient placement and usage of nutrients.
    Read More
    Strip-Till Operational Benchmark Study

    Strip-Tilled Corn Acres, Soybean Yields Increase

    The overall average of strip-tilled acres per farm grew by nearly 200, while average corn yields topped 190 and soybean yields jumped 4 bushels.
    For the second year in a row, farmers increased the average number of acres they strip-tilled, despite a minor dip in the percentage of farm acreage strip-tilled.
    Read More
    Strip-Till Operational Benchmark Study

    Cover Cropping, Twin-Row Strip-Till Continue to Rise

    More than 50% of benchmark respondents utilize cover crops, while the percent of strip-tillers planting twin rows has more than doubled.
    As strip-tillers search for efficient, economical ways to retain moisture and nutrients in their soils, an increasing number are turning to cover crops. Analysis of the 3rd Annual Strip-Till Operational Benchmark Study revealed another uptick in their use.
    Read More
    Strip-Till Operational Benchmark Study

    Blending Fertilizer into the Berm, Variable-Rate Application Increase

    Anhydrous and zinc applications decline, while more farmers applied monoammonium phosphate (MAP) and urea with strip-till rigs in 2015.
    Strip-tillers often cite targeted fertilizer placement as a key benefit of the practice, to ensure that plant roots can access nutrients throughout the growing season. But the 3rd Annual Strip-Till Operational Benchmark Study revealed some interesting changes in what type of fertilizer strip-tillers are applying and how.
    Read More
    Strip-Till Operational Benchmark Study

    Shifting Preferences for Brand, Size and Setup of Strip-Till Rigs

    Fewer strip-tillers used mole knives, while brand diversity and the number of row units increased.
    As many strip-tillers can attest, finding the right mix of equipment to maximize performance and productivity in the field is an evolving process. It may takes years or even decades of experimentation with different toolbars, row units and attachments to find the right combination.
    Read More
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    Opening the Door to Change Sparks No-Tilling Success

    Steve Tucker sees a profitable future for his no-till operation with a commitment to cropping diversity and keeping soils covered.
    Steve Tucker still remembers driving around on the farm with his grandfather and hearing him say, “I should hope you never have to go through something like the 1930s and the drought that I went through.”
    Read More
    Directory

    Farm Show Directory

    Following are the farm shows that advertisers in this issue of No-Till Farmer Conservation Tillage Guide are exhibiting at from August through October. Booth numbers and locations are in parentheses
    Following are the farm shows that advertisers in this issue of No-Till Farmer Conservation Tillage Guide are exhibiting at from August through October. Booth numbers and locations are in parentheses
    Read More

    No-Till Notes: Improving Efficiency in Your No-Till Fertility

    Take soil tests, select efficient fertilizer products and consider timing and placement to reduce nutrient loss and economically build up soil levels.
    Every year we evaluate our management practices to see how we can improve our efficiency. Selecting the right hybrids and varieties are key to our success, but fine-tuning our fertilizer program has also paid big dividends.
    Read More
  • Featured Articles

    Featured Articles

    057_Kody_Karluff_JZ_0516.jpg
    Strip-Till Operational Benchmark Study

    Diversity of Methods Produce Strip-Till Stability and Flexibility

    Increased adoption of cover crops and variable-rate fertilizing help strip-tillers maintain corn yields and increase soybean yields in 2015.
    Building confidence in a strip-till system can come through a variety of avenues — utilizing cover crops to strengthen soils, refreshing fall-built strips with a spring pass to create an ideal seedbed, or variable-rate applying fertilizer with a strip-till rig for more efficient placement and usage of nutrients.
    Read More
    109_NTF_Dan_DeSutter_LB_0516.jpg
    What I've Learned from No-Tilling

    Rejuvenating Acres and Ramping Up Soil Productivity

    No-till is just one component of the system Dan DeSutter is using to break up compaction, store water, increase organic matter and improve yields.
    My dad gets the credit for taking the initial steps of reducing tillage on our farm, but I can probably take some credit for pushing us into a full no-till system. And I do mean system, because no-till is just the tiny tip of the very large iceberg that is our farm management strategy today.
    Read More
  • Digital Edition

    Digital Edition

  • Online Extras

    Online Extras

    [Video] Furrow Runner Tool Saves Irrigation Water, Sidedresses Corn

    Dexter, Mo., no-tiller Johnny Hunter discusses his Furrow Runner implement that cuts narrow trenches in the soil for irrigation water to flow in high-residue no-tilled fields. Fashioned from an old 18-row Orthaman Mfg. BedLister, he also uses the unit to sidedress corn with 28-0-0-4 or 32% at V2-V4 with the help of CDS-John Blue Visa-Gage II flow monitors, John Deere GreenStar rate controller and a 1,700-gallon tank pulled behind.
    Read More
    Video

    Market for No-Tilling Yellow Field Peas

    Venango, Neb., no-tiller Steve Tucker talks about adding cover crops to his rotation of wheat, corn, millet, sunflowers and yellow field peas, and shares tips for successfully adding peas to a no-till rotation in the semi-arid U.S. Tucker also helped start a seed company for the crop, AgriForce Seed.
    Read More

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