More than 100 years ago, long before all the Y2K hype, talk of the millennium and the existence of no-till, Charles Down’s great grandfather bought a farm. He tilled the soil, used draft horses and walked every step of the 240 acres behind his plow. The farm prospered and was systematically inherited by the next generation.
The endless search for new ways to reduce costs while reducing soil erosion has kept Butch Fisher busy. This no-till farmer and district conservationist with the Douglas County Soil and Water Conservation District in Tuscola, Ill., has spent countless hours researching direct seeding.
This family says relay intercropping soybeans after wheat in the same field in the same year has boosted yield, income, family time and available acreage—while dropping chemical costs in their no-till operation.
Keith Thompson of Osage, Kan., was at his wits end. His family's no-till operation just wasn't up to par and he knew if something wasn’t done soon, something had to give.
Bill Mckibben believes in the many benefits of no-till. He's put on numerous meetings for interested farmers. He promotes it to clients - but he does so with a realistic picture of the no-till conversion. "Some universities promote no-till but forget about minimum tillage," he says. "We use it as a good transition from conventional tillage to no-till."
When you see the number of no-till acres growing significantly in areas outside the Corn Belt, one of the interesting things is the complexity of many rotations. No-tillers in other areas of the country are getting more crops into their rotations and are making them work.
As a veteran no-tiller, Paul Schaffert has worked with no-till seeding equipment for more than 20 years. And he’s always advocated that harvest actually begins when you no-till your crops in the spring.
When something works, it’s hard to make changes. Conversely, without change, it’s hard to make improvements. That’s what’s leading more no-tillers to on-farm testing to validate the value of change.
Corn and soybeans. Soybeans and corn. To many no-tillers, these are the staple crops of their farming operations. But for the Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Western Canada regions, farmers often concentrate on small grains-proving that no-till works for other crops.
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On this episode of Conservation Ag Update, brought to you by Martin-Till, Brian and Darren Hefty, fourth-generation farmers and hosts of Ag PhD, share tips for treating tar spot in corn.
Needham Ag understands the role of technology in making better use of limited resources within a specific environment by drawing on a wealth of global experience to overcome the challenges facing today's farmers, manufacturers and dealers.
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