A new cover crop seeding rig, an ATV sprayer and a lot of patience helped this Ohio family improve tough soils and stabilize yields with no-till and cereal rye.
When Nathan Wilson first considered no-tilling corn and soybeans he was worried it might not work well. He had seen some poor stands and weed control problems on other farms and field days. But it turned out Nathan just needed to set foot on the right farm to see the possibilities.
Circleville, Ohio, no-tiller Ryan Wilson explains the cover-crop seeding tool his family created with a Flexi-Coil air cart, Kuhn Krause Excelerator vertical tillage tool and some well-placed brackets and hoses. The family is in their 6th year of seeding cereal rye on their farm.
We’re not farmers, ranchers or loggers — we’re resource managers. That’s one of many mindset shifts our family has made as we transition from generation to generation farming wildly varying terrain near Lewiston, Idaho.
For Jeremy Wilson, the road to raising consistent crops in a colder northern climate runs through improving soil health, rather than using iron to manage cropping challenges.
Strip-tilling helps manage residue, increase continuous-corn yields and protect the soil, say four Iowa strip-tillers and an ag retailer who have been using the system for years.
“Years ago, I got lazy,” jokes Montana no-tiller Arnold Gettel of why he first tried no-till. While fewer hours in the tractor seat was a legitimate appeal for Gettel, the economical benefits are really what drove the transition.
Many producers may ask how continuous cropping can work in a semi-arid environment. For southeastern Montana farmer and rancher Ben Minow, the question isn’t if producers can make it work, it’s how anyone could economically raise a crop any other way.
Tougher stalks from Bt corn hybrids, increased use of fungicides and the chance to trim fertilizer needs are bringing more attention to effective residue management at harvesttime.
It’s not often that someone has the chance to influence the future of another nation. However, that opportunity now exists for no-tillers visiting Farmers’ Forum at www.no-tillfarmer.com.
Get full access NOW to the most comprehensive, powerful and easy-to-use online resource for no-tillage practices. Just one good idea will pay for your subscription hundreds of times over.
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.
The Andersons grows enduring relationships through extraordinary service, a deep knowledge of the market, and a knack for finding new ways to add value as we have done for nearly 70 years.