Parking the plow helped John Macauley cut five passes across the field, save on fuel and labor and maintain yields as he builds a more sustainable operation.
Some farmers dive headlong into changing their tillage practices. John Macauley, who farms 1,200 acres with his father, Jim, in Groveland, N.Y., is proof that transitioning to no-till can be done in steps.
Some of the soils I helped farm as a child in southwestern North Dakota are probably somewhere in South Dakota now. I grew up in the era of wheat and summer fallow. A lot of the ground around here is very sandy and marginal. Did it ever blow when we were tilling. I remember as a kid getting sent with a disc or a drag to try and make it stop blowing. It seemed so futile, and it was.
No-Till Farmer readers appear firmly committed to using cover crops. The percentage of no-tillers using cover crops grew to 83% in 2017 — a 6-point jump over the prior year, an all-time high in the decade-old no-till benchmark study and the 6th consecutive year of growth.
Boosted by record corn yields, no-tillers eked out slightly better profits in 2017 despite higher expenditures for land rent, crop protection, equipment.
Being “better than average” on a consistent basis usually leads to success. In the 2017 world of farm economics, it took something extra special for no-tillers to finish in the black.
Crop diversity and biological activity in a cover-cropped farming system ensures healthy interactions between plants, roots and soil organisms, says Keith Berns.
Likening a healthy, robust industrial economy to the types of biological activities taking place underground in a no-till, cover-cropped farming system isn’t a stretch of the imagination, says Keith Berns.
While small grains prices lag in traditional markets, General Mills will be using many of the conservation tools you’re already using on your farm to convert 34,000 acres in South Dakota into a guaranteed market for organic wheat.
No-Till Farmer caught up with Nick Bowers, owner of KB Seed Solutions at the 2018 National No-Tillage Conference in Louisville, Ky. A title sponsor of the event, Nick spoke about making good cover crop decisions and how cover crop usage has changed with crop prices.
Keith Berns and his brother Brian co-own Providence Farms and Green Cover Seed in Bladen, Neb. They farm 2,500 acres, including corn, soybeans, rye, triticale, peas, buckwheat and sunflowers using continuous no-till and a variety of cover crop strategies to maximize the health of their soil.
WHEN WE STEP into our office, soil conservation posters serve to remind us why we do the things we do on our farm. Our soils need to be protected and nourished to keep waterways healthy and the nation’s food supply sustainable.
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On this episode of Conservation Ag Update, brought to you by Martin-Till, we’re broadcasting from the road at the 2024 Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa!
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