No-Till Farmer editors encounter a variety of articles, social media posts, podcasts and videos that offer a unique look at the grower's world from the lofty digital realm. Here is our favorite content from the past week from across the web:
- No-Tiller: Leaving Harvested Beans Out in Carts Overnight Adds Up to 2.5% Yield Bump
- Will Ripping Solve Compaction Issues in a No-Till Field?
- Decade-Long Study Compares How Previous Management Affects No-Till Fields
- Fertilizer Relay Improves Corn’s Early Season Growth
- No-Till History Book Makes Top Ag Book List
Best of the Web This Week is brought to you by Totally Tubular.
Totally Tubular Mfg Inc produces starter fertilizer products that apply starter fertilizer right where you want it, in the root system of the plant. In tests performed, Totally Tubular produced a 6.2 (5%)/bushel yield advantage in corn. Products are available for a variety of planters and are sold by dealers throughout the US. Visit our website at totally-tubular.net to find a dealer near you, or call us at 888-200-3012.
No-Tiller: Leaving Harvested Beans Out in Carts Overnight Adds Up to 2.5% Yield Bump
After years of leaving dry soybeans out overnight in trucks and his cart, Illinois no-tiller Matt Swanson determined the overnight rest added a 2-2.5% yield bump. And, according to Swanson, it’s not a scale issue either. He answers questions about his calculations and his method in this Twitter thread.
So after years of leaving dry soybeans out overnight in trucks and/or cart and not knowing how much impact it was actually having…I have an answer
— Matt Swanson (@MaxROIFarmer) January 3, 2023
Going through reconciling cart scales to delivery tickets and it appears that the difference averaged roughly 2-2.5%
Will Ripping Solve Compaction Issues in a No-Till Field?
After no-tilling a field for 8 years, Ryan with How Farms Work decided to try ripping as a solution to compaction issues he was having on that particular field. He explains the situation and his decision, plus shows the results of ripping, in this YouTube video. We’re also just going to mention this podcast about using cover crops and continuous no-till as a solution to compaction, in case you’re saying “no, no, no” at the thought of using a ripper.
Decade-Long Study Compares How Previous Management Affects No-Till Fields
A recent case study compared how historic management practices affect the soil health and productivity of no-tilled fields. Britt Farms in Clifton Hill, Mo., allowed researchers to evaluate how a conventionally tilled field and a pasture, both transitioned to no-till in 2011, performed over a decade of no-tilling. In this YouTube video, researchers explain how the pasture-to-grain no-till field outyielded the conventionally tilled field with an average 46% yield increase.
Fertilizer Relay Improves Corn’s Early Season Growth
Farm Journal Field Agronomist Missy Bauer spent three seasons researching a fertilizer relay for corn, using a standard 2x2 band and a fertilizer injection into the sidewall of the furrow at planting. Bauer says putting fertilizer closer to the seed improves early season growth and development, resulting in bigger, greener plants that increase yield by an average of 9 bushels per acre. Read more about her findings in this Farm Journal article.
(Illustration by Lindsey Pound, Farm Journal)
No-Till History Book Makes Top Ag Book List
Looking for some great reading in the new year? AgDaily.com recently polled farmers and ag professionals for their top ag book recommendations and released an impressive list of 32 in four categories. We’re glad to see several no-till tenets made the list, including Frank Lessiter’s From Maverick to Mainstream: A History of No-Till Farming. It was one of 13 selections in Histories & Biographies. Incidentally, the book from No-Till Farmer is in its 2nd printing now (with 32 more pages) and available for pre-sale online.
Photo courtesy of Ag Daily
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Best of the Web This Week is brought to you by Totally Tubular.
Totally Tubular Mfg Inc produces starter fertilizer products that apply starter fertilizer right where you want it, in the root system of the plant. In tests performed, Totally Tubular produced a 6.2 (5%)/bushel yield advantage in corn. Products are available for a variety of planters and are sold by dealers throughout the US. Visit our website at totally-tubular.net to find a dealer near you, or call us at 888-200-3012.
