Jack Maloney used to be your typical farmer when it came to managing soil and fertility. He relied heavily on his local co-op for recommendations — after all, their agronomists had spent years in school studying science, chemistry and biology.
A recent report from Caterpillar indicates no-till should not be attempted in fields with excessive erosion unless the ground has been deep ripped for at least 2 years.
No-tillers may choose not to rip their soils, but some situations make a strong case for the practice, suggests Dean Holst, who farms 1,700 acres of hilly but productive ground near LeClaire, Iowa.
A no-tiller's soil has been getting harder every year and he wants to know what he can do to loosen it and develop a more normal root system. So, he asks fellow no-tillers on the No-Till Farmer sponsored Web site Bulletin Board. This and other questions have produced a flood of discussions lately.
While there are certainly many concerns about no-tilling corn into cold and wet soils, it always seems to come back to the fear of reduced yields which keeps more farmers from giving this idea a try
A veteran no-tiller who’s definitely been successful with both no-tilled corn and soybeans is Dean Holst of Le Claire, Iowa. He’s been so successful that he expected to no-till 5,000 acres of corn and soybeans this spring.
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During the Sustainable Agriculture Summit in Minneapolis, Minn., Carrie Vollmer-Sanders, the president of Field to Market who also farms in Northeast Indiana and Northwest Ohio, shared why it is important for no-tillers and strip-tillers to share their knowledge with other farmers.
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