NONSTOP LEARNING. Well after her general session presentation concluded, soil microbiologist Jill Clapperton continues to field questions from no-tillers in hotel hallways.

NNTC Insights...

Slow Down at No-Till Planting Time

Try to keep your no-till planting speed at less than 5 mph, suggests Scott Davidson. The no-tiller from Bethany, Ill. (an attendee of all 25 National No-Tillage Conferences), says most planters are designed to drop a 30,000 population at 4½ mph.

Davidson also says to avoid calibrating your no-till planter at 4½ mph when you will be planting at 7 mph.

What You Need to Know About Carbon Sequestration

Recognize that heavy clay soils respond slower to management, says Dan Towery of the Conservation Technology Information Center in West Lafayette, Ind. Since adding no-till soybeans to a rotation results in less carbon, he suggests seeding a cover crop following soybean harvest.

Towery says a single pass with a chisel plow can erase much of the potential for carbon accumulation in no-tilled fields.

CTG February 2017 Contents