August 2016: Conservation Tillage Guide

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Trimming Nitrogen Needs, Relying on Alternative Nutrient Sources, Making More Effective Applications; No-Tillers are Well Ahead of the Fertility Game

By Frank Lessiter posted on July 30, 2016

A few months ago, USDA published a report that offered an in-depth look at a number of practices of special interest to no-tillers. Unfortunately, this Economic Research Service (ERS) data was based on information gathered from corn growers back in 2010.
Read More

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.

By Dan DeSutter and Martha Mintz posted on July 30, 2016 | Posted in Seeding & Planting, Cover Crops, Precision Agriculture

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

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.

By Laura Barrera posted on July 30, 2016 | Posted in Cover 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.
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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.

By Ian Gronau posted on July 30, 2016 | Posted in Cover Crops, Nutrient Management

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.
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10 Tips to Make Combines a Well-Tuned No-Till Asset

Adjustments to sickles, flighting, sieves, stripper plates and other components can keep more grain in the tank and make harvest more efficient.

By John Dobberstein posted on July 30, 2016 | Posted in Equipment, Residue Management

Even with the progression of combine technology today, no-tillers can still lose a considerable amount of grain during harvest if their combine settings aren’t correct.
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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.

By Laura Barrera posted on July 30, 2016 | Posted in Cover Crops, Crop Protection, Nutrient Management

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.
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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.

By Jack Zemlicka posted on July 30, 2016 | Posted in Strip-Till Farming

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.

By Jack Zemlicka posted on July 30, 2016 | Posted in Strip-Till Farming

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.
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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.

By Jack Zemlicka posted on July 30, 2016 | Posted in Cover Crops

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.
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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.

By Jack Zemlicka posted on July 30, 2016 | Posted in Nutrient Management, Precision Agriculture

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.
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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.

By Jack Zemlicka posted on August 5, 2016 | Posted in Equipment

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.
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No-Till Evolution Begins with a First Step

After nearly going broke with heavy tillage and weathered soils, Johnny Hunter is staking his farming future on planting green.

By John Dobberstein posted on July 30, 2016 | Posted in Seeding & Planting, Cover Crops, Water Management

The journey Johnny Hunter is taking isn’t for the faint of heart. It started during the summer of 2012, when a historic drought blasted the Missouri Bootheel and much of the U.S.
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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.

By John Dobberstein posted on July 30, 2016 | Posted in Seeding & Planting, Cover Crops, Water Management

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.”
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Support, Training Keys to Curing Precision Pain Points

Five no-tillers and strip-tillers share their experiences on current challenges and goals to improve productivity with farm technology.

By Jaime Elftman and Jack Zemlicka posted on July 30, 2016 | Posted in Precision Agriculture

While no-tillers are being more conservative with machinery, seed and fertilizer purchases during the ag economy downturn, precision technology is one area where they’re increasing their investment.
Read More

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

July 30, 2016 | Posted in Equipment

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.

By Jim Leverich posted on July 30, 2016 | Posted in Nutrient Management

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

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.

By Jack Zemlicka posted on July 30, 2016 | Posted in Strip-Till Farming

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

Trimming Nitrogen Needs, Relying on Alternative Nutrient Sources, Making More Effective Applications; No-Tillers are Well Ahead of the Fertility Game

By Frank Lessiter posted on July 30, 2016

A few months ago, USDA published a report that offered an in-depth look at a number of practices of special interest to no-tillers. Unfortunately, this Economic Research Service (ERS) data was based on information gathered from corn growers back in 2010.
Read More

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.

By Dan DeSutter and Martha Mintz posted on July 30, 2016 | Posted in Seeding & Planting, Cover Crops, Precision Agriculture

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

For Digital Subscribers: Access Your Digital Flipbook of the August 2016 Issue

July 30, 2016

Now view magazine-like digital flipbooks on your desktop and tablet. Starting with 2015 issues, included for FREE with your Digital or Premium subscription, view the magazine on your laptop, tablet, and mobile device.
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Online Extras

Online Extras

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

August 23, 2016 | Posted in Equipment, Nutrient Management, Water Management

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.
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Video

Market for No-Tilling Yellow Field Peas

March 2, 2016 | Posted in Seeding & Planting

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.
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No-Till Farmer

August 2016: Conservation Tillage Guide

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