Avoid Compaction

We went into harvest with wetter than normal soils.  Driving on wet soils should be avoid if possible. This No-Till Farmer article on Minimizing Soil Compaction During Harvest is timely.  It is short but thorough.

Soil Condition Today

I did a septic tank investigation today north of Litchfield.  I was surprised that the soil was frozen 6 inches deep.  It was softened a bit, but I still needed the hammer.  Subsoil moisture was excellent.  I was surprised there was no water table, but it was sloping, so some of the deluge ran off.

Corn Planting Started

We have heard rumors of corn planting in Illinois.  It is on well drained soils, but even so I question whether or not we are dry enough.  We have been doing some sampling and soils are wet.  I spotted some fields near Edwardsville where Anhydrous was being applied.  Yes in general it is too wet for that too.  If you see vapor, your trench is not closing properly.  Compaction lasts for years in some cases, so heavy loads on wet soils are not a good idea.  Soil Temperatures are surprisingly warm.  

Wet Harvest

This year's harvest would be memorable even if we had not harvested the largest crop ever. Wet weather and later than usual planting dates drove the harvest into late November and for some into December. I saw a rather large field of beans being harvested today.

The photos below are very representative of how many of our late harvested fields look.  Wet weather plays a role, but maybe too much deep tillage as well.   Deep tilling every year every year creates a nive rooting medium, but is can also create a loose base.

If you have deep ruts as below, how do you fix them.  I have seen some have success by tilling parallel to the ruts to close them up a bit and then going at an angle to level them off.  Certainly you should wait for drier or frozen conditions before trying anything, but water in the ruts will be slow to go away.

In the end, I don't think you can till deep enough to remove this kind of compaction.  Deep rooted cover crops may be needed to correct the compaction in the long term.   

Compaction and Fall Soil Moisture

Soil moisture this fall is likely to be relatively high even if we do not get much more rain.  Controlling compaction is critical to keep soil in top condition to produce.  Compaction is actually less likely to be a problem in long term no-till soils because the existing macro-pores (worm channels and root channels) are well established.  Controlled traffic especially with grain carts can help as well.  Adding duals or tracks can reduce the negative effects.  No-Till Farmer gives a lot of good advice in this article. 

Soil Compaction

Yesterday we did a septic tank investigation.  One of the borings was difficult as we got deeper because of moisture issues.  We were on a ridgetop near a steeper slope, so excessive rainfall runs off fairly easily.  What does this have to do with farming?  They hose was already built.  Construction equipment had compacted the soil under the dry hole.  The other two holes were moist if not wet.
This little observation showed how compaction can affect soil moisture.  Water is the top need to produce high yielding crops.  When you affect infiltration and subsoil moisture, you are setting yourself up for poor yields.  Here is some additional information on compaction:

• Practices that help reduce compaction
• Top Ten Reasons to avoid soil compaction

Subsoil Moisture and Frost

I ventured into the field for the first time today to do a septic tank investigation near Brownstown.  I make three soil borings to a depth of 5 feet.  The surface was fairly firm although I did pick up some mud on my boots.  The top five or six inches was thawed.  I then hit 4 to six inches of frozen ground.  I was able to hammer through it fairly easily.  Subsoil in that area was moist, but I did not hit a water table.  Normal spring rains will continue to add moisture.  At least in that area, subsoil moisture should be good going into the growing season.  Keep in mind that this was in an area that had more or less average amounts of rain last summer and fall.  I will be doing more borings later in the week. 

Soil Compaction

Last year, we went into the fall expecting to need to hammer the probe into the ground because of the drought.  It turned out that we got some rain early in harvest and the ground was fairly loose to start with because it had not been compacted at all.  This year the soil is just downright hard.  I can get the probe into the ground, but I must choose to bore mostly in places with no tire tracks.  A wet spring and  dry summer seems to have lead to the hardness.  I don't have many customers who are no-tillers in the fall, so I am not sure how the no-till has held up.

Erosion was a Problem this Spring

We had several storms this spring in the 3 inch plus range.  Very few farmers came through the spring without any erosion, but some were worse than others.  I have been wanting to write this blog since I took the pictures, but wanted to have time to do it justice.  The photo below shows an ephemeral gully on a hillside planted to corn.  The gully will be erased by tillage, but a grassed waterway or Water and Sediment Control Basins would help control this type of erosion. It also might save a broken axle.

The waterway below has an Ephemeral Gully parallel with it.  this problem can be avoided by planting and tilling as close as possible to perpendicular to the Grassed Waterway. 

Erosion is being held in check below by the crop residue from last year.   

This photo below is from the same field as above There was not as much residue on the slope and more  was needed to control erosion.  No-till would be in order on these kinds of slopes.

Below is a grassed waterway under construction

Even though the field has lots of eroding area, the dry dam below is keeping most of the sediment on the farm.

In the field below a water and sediment control basin was effective in controlling ephemeral gullies and trapping sediment. 

The draw below has a Grassed Waterway in it, but not far enough up the hill.  

 The Ephemeral gully below is in the center of a newly constructed grassed waterway.  A way to fix the problem is to backfill with sod or use rock checks.  

Cover Crops Day Two

Cameron Mills kicked off the morning session I attended on Day 2. Mills talked about his use of annual ryegrass.  He stressed the need to plant when it is time to plants.  He says sometimes he might need to run some green through the combine, but that does not bother him much.  He has 30 inch row corn and narrow beans.  He likes drilling if possible but many times it is not.  He says vertical incorporation is ok with high residue, but it is not his favorite.  Likes airplane seeding. Seeding time is when soybeans start turning yellow, but before September 15.  Timing is critical and earlier is better. Winds need to be 7 mph or less.  He says not to mix seeds that have different sizes and weights such as peas and annual rye. His take home points about flying are:

• Timing is critical
• Soil condition when flying  is important
• Plane elevation and pilot treetop level

      Mike Shuter had high clearance equipment that he uses for seeding, applying Nitrogen and seeding cover crops. He says your herbicide program needs to be geared to cover crops.

Dave Stutzman is using vertical tillage to incorporate cover crop seed blended with DAP.  He likes an Airflow spreader but says custom spreading works better with harvest.

Terry Taylor reaffirmed the need to seed early.  He says wheat is not a good cover crop because of disease problems. He says to use cereal rye instead. He added that producers need to make sure the implement you use for seeding will throw seed properly.

Ron Althoff pointed out that radishes need 60 day growing season.(Plant early).  He says ryegrass is a no brainer for cattle farmers.  Someone asked about roots in tile systems.  He says that it happens but.  Ryegrass roots are fine so not a problem. Radishes sometimes clog tile.  Althoff says that if you want to use Crimson clover as a nitrogen source you need to plant corn later because it does not grow in fall much.  The spring growth is what fixes the largest amount of nitrogen.  He says a good choice for first timers is oats and radishes. Others said first timers should try cereal rye.

Joel Gruver talked about his research with organic farming and cover crops.  He is renting machinery from local growers to simiulate real conditions.  Precision cover cropping is the strategic placement of cover crops. He says that cover crops are multifunctional. Gruver’s Cover crop management summary points are:

•  Avoid haphazard management
•  Anticipate planting windows
•  Match species with objectives
•  Make sure seeding equipment is ready
•  Confirm seeding availability
•  Identify realistic termination method
•  Allocate labor 
•  Have contingencies

Gruver suggested looking at Midwest Cover Crops Council website and using their decision tool.

 
Allen Williams is a farmer who is using farming systems comparison trials.  He has lots of covercrops comparison trials.  Williams would be an excellent resource for a beginner.  He is using organic and conventional farming methods.  He says if he gets in trouble on the organic fields and uses a rescue treatment, it only takes him 3 years to get the organic certification back. 

Ron Moore of the Illinois Soybean Association discussed the need for high quality soybeans.  That means high protein and high oil high yield.  He says they are focusing on three legs of sustainability; economic - environmental – social. Environmental performance is only one step. Moore shares a graphic on improvements in soybean sustainability.  He also suggested that farmers can use the Fieldprint-calculator to assess sustainability. 

The Agenda gives biographies of all the speakers and additional information.  Also be sure to click on all the links for more information.  

Points I took away from the conference:

• Cover crops are all about soil microbiology
• The goal is living roots all year
• Cover crops require the same attention to detail as cash crops - maybe more
• Match species with goals
• Cover crops seem to be a perfect enhancement to no-till systems
• One of the speakers  said to find a mentor or start a support group
• Even though we talk about soaking up excess nitrogen fertilizer, the N may not be available in the next crop year unless there is a legume in the mix
• Farmers need to do a lot of research before jumping in feet first
• Long term cover crop adherents are still learning too

Cover Crops Day One

I have been asked a number of times recently what I know about cover crops.  Unfortunately until I attended a recent conference in Decatur Illinois, I had to respond that I know almost nothing.  I will try to sum up the gems of wisdom I picked up.  The conference kicked off with Dan Towery, Terry Taylor and Mike Plumer conducting an earlybird session that they called cover covercrops 101.  They gave a general summary of growing cover crops including details on what to plant and why.  Jim Gulliford of Soil and Water Conservation Society summed up their presentations by saying that “The goal is still the corn and soybeans.”

Doug Hanson of Pro-Harvest seeds kicked off the afternoon session.  Doug uses cover crops on his 80 acres farm to support a cow calf operation. One of his topics was cereal rye grazing.  He also uses oats and peas seeded in Mid-March to be grazed in early summer.  Annual ryegrass and white clover were used over seeding on pasture.  He worked it in with chain link and add alfalfa to the mix in May. Hanson wants a root in the ground 365 days for improved soil health. It cost him $8000 including some one time only costs to take off $9000 in forage.

Cameron Mills said he makes $1500 per acre in soybeans and cover crop rye forage.  He also got some nitrogen management benefit.  He says he got into cover crops because it made him more money.

Terry Taylor said his cover crops support microbes and beneficial macro invertebrates such as nematodes and earthworms.

Hal Brown says he is using oats and or crimson clover to boost radish growth.

Barry Fisher says we are trying to make happy soil.  A quality no-till system
needs a greater range of pathways for primary production and ecological processes. He say that researchers have a difficult time with cover crops because it is hard to have replicated research on a dynamic system.  He says more carbon in soil means less in atmosphere.  We are using atmospheric carbon to build organic matter.

   
Fisher says there are two cows worth of microbes in soil; Gotta feed the cows.  Rhizosphere is the area surrounding plant roots.  He says Albrecht found that it took 26000 gallons of water to support a crop on infertile soils.  It took only 5600 gallons  for fertile soils. No-till beat minimum till by 40 bushels per acre in  some of the driest areas this year.  Fisher says that cover crops can speed up the implementation of no-till.  He says that using cover crops creates a system of relentless pursuit of soil health.  He responded to a question about manure usages with a recommendation to look into low disturbance manure injection.   

Jim Hoorman introduced us to the term Ecological Farming. He says it combines no-till and cover crops. Hoorman says that microbes process 90 percent of energy in soils. He says that Natural soils give off sugar to feed microbes.  Keeping a continuous living cover on the soil helps to mimic nature.  His records show that Organic Matter has gone from 0.5% 15 yrs ago to 4.5% because microbes harvest and recycle nutrients.  Hoorman asked if anyone had ever seen how a cleared fence row will have much healthier crops than the surrounding cropland.  He suggested that we need to build organic matter in field instead of depleting fence rows.   

Hoorman says that nitrogen efficiency is about 30-40%.  He says that cover crops prevent loss of nutrients in micro pores.  He wants producers to us cover crops to mimic prairie. He discussed the importance of micorrhizae and how cover crops support them. He also discussed how Carbon to nitrogen ratios greater than 20 tie up nitrogen. 

The Agenda gives biographies on all the speakers.  Click on all the links for more detailed information.  

Cover Crops Conference

Sorry for missing a chance to post yesterday.  I was attending conference on cover crops in Decatur, Illinois.  The program was one of the best conferences of any kind that I have ever attended.  There was a good blend of programs from the "experts" in government and academia to the real experts, the farmers who were actually using cover crops.  Over all the take home message was that cover crops can improve our soils by helping to feed the microbes that help to make plant nutrients available for crop production.  One of my tweeps said that he dreamed about fungus last night.  The farmer participants were unanimous that cover crops enhance their bottom line.  Most of them stressed that their way of implementing soil management with cover crops was not the only way.  Producers need to make the transition based on their own skills, farm tools and land.  Watch for more specific insights later this week. 

Soil Health

The cover story on my just arrived Crops and Soils magazine is "Soil Health".  I was interested because we assist with soil health.  The article starts out talking about the fact that in the past, soil health was most often related to soil fertility.  I would venture that a good balance of plant nutrients is still needed to maintain a healthy soil from the standpoint of crop production.  Maybe a bit of a definition is in order.  Susan Andrews of NRCS says in the article that soil health is the capacity to soil to do what it was intended to do.  She says that in the case of crop production, productivity, nutrient cycling to prevent nitrogen leaching, holding water for plant use, filtering contaminants, and resisting erosion.

I would contend that all of the listed functions start with soil fertility.  We cannot maximize productivity without maintaining proper fertility.  We need to have healthy crops to take up the nitrogen fertilizer we use.  Good plant root systems create macro pores that move and store water in the soil.  Healthy soil has healthy microbial populations that help break down contaminants, and healthy soil has good tilth which increases water infiltration and reduces soil erosion.

I tell my customers that in the realm of simple soil testing, the best indicator that you are maintaining healthy soil besides the nutrient levels is the organic matter content.  Organic matter test levels can vary a bit from year to year because of randomness, but over time we hope to maintain organic matter levels.  We maintain organic matter in two ways.  First we need to produce a lot of plant material so that as it decomposes, it replaces organic matter that has oxidized during the growing season.  In addition, we want to prevent excessive soil erosion.

Erosion prevention is pretty simple too.  Avoid burying more residue than necessary and avoid unnecessary tillage trips.  No-till is the most effective in reducing soil loss, but judicious tillage can be a useful soil management tool on less sloping soils.

Healthy soils tend to support aerobic microbes.  Drainage practices can help remove excess water and promote healthy microbes.  Proper soil pH can also support healthy microbes.  Avoiding field operations on wet soils avoids compaction.  Compaction reduces the air content in soils, reduces water movement in soils, reduces water holding capacity, and makes root penetration more difficult.

In the East and Midwest, cover crops are enjoying a surge of popularity.  Why?  Cover crops help with the issues that Ms. Andrews pointed out.  Cover crops can help with uptake of excess nitrogen and making that nitrogen available for future crops.  Cover crops open more pores improving uptake and transport of water.  More water entering the soil is less water to create erosion.  Cover crops can also help the soil recover from the effects of compaction and in some cases will even help prevent compaction.  All of the positive effects of cover crops generally translate into more productivity.  In arid and semiarid regions, cover crops may not be helpful because of water conservation issues.

Having healthy soils is not impossible even with high levels of productivity, but NRCS's Norm Widman cautions in Crops and Soils that "you can screw it up fast, but it takes a long time to fix it."

Living soil

I recently read an article by someone who investigated the ecosystem of a corn field.  The author visited acorn field in Iowa and said that the only living thing he found was the corn.  He implied that herbicides, insecticides, GMO crops and other crop protectants had turned the soil into a sterile environment.  The first fact is that yes, farmers are trying to eliminate competition from other species in terms of water, nutrients, and organisms that may attack the corn plant and reduce its efficiency to convert sunlight into energy. We seem to have done that very efficiently. 

On the other hand, the soil is still full of life despite all that we have done.  The soil is full of organisms.  Bacteria, nematodes, Protozoa, algae, insects, worms, and fungi all inhabit the soil below the surface.  The fact is that if the soil is sterile, crop growth would be nearly impossible.  Bacteria convert nitrogen fertilizer into forms available to the plant, whether the source is soil organic matter, fertilizer or manure.  All of the above also mention organism are essential in the breakdown of organic crop residues that are left in and on the soil.  This breakdown is essential for nutrient cycling.  Mycorrhyzae are are special fungi that are found in the soil.  They have filaments throughout the soil that help feed nutrients and water to the plant roots.  We all know about the value of nitrogen fixing bacteria to legumes.  Yes there are also some organisms that can be harmful to crop production as well.  One of the ways that we minimize their effect is to balance plant nutrients.  Another way is by using varieties that are resistant to the harmful organisms.  This does not mean that we eliminate the harmful organism. it means that we just reduce its harmful effects.  Sterile soil in a corn field?  Impossible!  To learn more read this from Colorado State University. 

Crop Progress and Soil Condition

I am seeing lots of soybeans that look like the ones below.   It looks like maybe 10 days till harvest.  Corn harvest has been slow because of rain.  It looks like we may be 50% done.  Some farmers will get done with corn this week and get a break before soybeans.  I expect to see lots of combines in the field tomorrow.  A few were going this afternoon.

Soybeans maturing

There are still a lot of crop reporters still saying topsoil moisture is short.  Our topsoil moisture is good to excess.  You can see the standing water in this low spot and ruts were cut by the combine. 

How does the drought affect my soils?

With at least a moderate drought seeming to be locked in for now, we might want to consider soil management for next year's crop.

• If your crop is a failure should you save money on fertilizer next year? 

That is a big maybe.  If you have a reliable soil test, check it to see where you might be.  Some sampling done early last fall may not be reliable because of how dry it was then.  Soil test at several days to a week after a real soaking rain if you are not sure.  Yes that will happen sometime.

• Your no-tilled soils are really hard, should you till them?  

I would give this a big no.  Those cracks out there are really helping do what tillage would do.  They are opening up the soil to air intake and moisture intake.  Hang in there on this and don't ruin how your soil has gotten into condition over the years.

• Is this a good time to rip your ground?  

If you are in a system where you till, this might be a good time to get more aggressive with it.  If we are still really dry after harvest and you have some compaction issues, rip it as deep as possible.  Keep in mind that rippers will pull hard and bring up bring chunks, but that is not a bad thing.  Just know that you will need a smoothing pass in the spring.  If you have destroyed corn or if you did not double crop the wheat, tillage could begin now if your conservation plan allows it.

• Are those big cracks a problem?  

Only if you drop something into them.  The big cracks are one of nature's ways of doing tillage.  They will help get rid of some of your compaction issues.  5 years of wet springs left us with lots of them.  As dry as it is, places that were worked or harvested wet still look worse than everywhere else. 

• Will your soil test be accurate?

Pretty much everything can be a bit off when soil is sampled very dry.  That includes pH, potassium, phosphorous, and micro-nutrients.  We were sampling in moist soil all spring, so we should be good.  It depends on what your conditions were.  I do like spring soil tests in general.

Fire Your Consultant?

I feel compelled to do one more blog on the National Farm Machinery show.  This hit close to home, so I had to write something.  The sign said "Fire Your Consultant"  The man was in a small booth and Was selling a biological soil treatment and a liquid fertilizer formulation.  He said that farmers do not need an expensive soil consultant to tell them what to put on their soils.  Just buy his magic juice and overcome all your soil limitations.  He had a crowd around him.

What is wrong with the picture?  First many biologicals just do not perform.  Most soils have maybe millions of species of micro-organisms in them.  If a particular species is not there it is usually because the soil does not have the proper habitat to support them.  There are some exceptions like legume inoculants, but you are creating the environment to support the bacteria by planting the legumes.  You cannot underestimate the value of micro-organisms in releasing plant nutrients, but the soil needs to have ideal soil test levels to support the right organism.  Just applying magic bugs is not likely to work.  I have no argument if you want to try some strips or better yet, some replicated plots on your farm to see if these things work.  It is possible.  Just don't quit all the other right things you are doing.

I guess I should not even need to explain this but there is just not a one size fits all for fertility.  Variable rate fertilizer would not be nearly as popular as it is right now if that were the case.  Nutrients are removed at different levels depending on yield, crop, soil type, drainage and a host of other factors.  The magic juice might be OK for a starter, but getting all your nutrients to their ideal level should be top priority before adding the magic juice.

DON'T FIRE YOUR SOIL CONSULTANT.  He or she can help you test magic products so you can make valid determinations.  Stick with sound management.  Your soil consultant should be able to tell you where you can cut back for a year or 2 and not cost yourself money or yield. 

Greenfield Corn Ground

I sample today in the Greenfield and Carrollton area.  I did not get a report on yield, but judging from stover and cobs, the corn was pretty good.  This was early planted corn.  I did get an indication however that the corn did not reach it's entire yield potential.  Leaves were dried down but still green.  Kind of like hay.   It has to run out of water very fast for that to happen.  Soils were very dry, but I waws able to find places to bore without hammering.  I suppose the corn was planted before the soil got really wet and did not get compacted.  I also found moisture in low lying areas, but even there the corn dried green.  The plant could not take up water fast enough to offset low humidity and heat. 

There were a few more combines in the field today than yesterday, but still not near everyone.  With stalks weakened by disease and drought, I would think people would be ready to go.  The corn I sampled today did have sturdy stalks.  At least they were sturdy enough to blow a tire on my 4 wheeler.

Drought or Compaction

This photo was taken from the levee near Valmeyer, IL.  The corn in the foreground is clearly showing some drought stress.  The corn in the middle of the picture looks OK.  The yellow corn is clearly still showing wetness stress.  Oddly enough the better looking corn is on fairly sandy soils.  Probably Landes Sandy Loam for those familiar with soil types.  The soils showing the drought stress is heavier Nameoki and Fults soils.  The heavier soils should have more available water, but it looks like the field was worked and planted too wet and so the soils that should look bad if moisture was short are looking pretty good because they were drier when the fields were worked.  This illustrates pretty well why compaction is a problem. 

Staunton - Livingston

Sampled in the Staunton - Livingston area today.  It was interesting because soil conditions were highly variable depending on the customer's desire to plant.  Some fields were rutted badly.  Others were just very firm.  Some planted around wet spots.  Our first customer of the day ended up planting very late for the most part, but his fields were in perfect condition.  I hope his patience paid off.  Those who missed the early April window had to wait long time for good conditions to return.