Post on 25-Jan-2015
description
Joel Gruver WIU- Agriculture
j-gruver@wiu.edu (309) 298 1215
Precision Cover Cropping for organic farms
Are you using precision ag technologies?
Attention to detail is key to success in all types of farming
Have you ever had a bird’s eye view of your farm?
Whatever skill level you bring to the table
can be augmented by GPS guidance technology
No-tilling soybeans into 5-6’ tall cereal rye
Undercutting small grain stubble prior
to planting summer CCs (2 passes w/ 15” offset)
Fallow strip Cover crop cocktail no-till drilled after
undercutting
Triple S mix Sunflowers, Soybeans & Sunnhemp
Dad… just think
what we can do
with RTK guidance
on this farm!
Are you familiar with the term
Precision Conservation?
cover cropping organic farming
What is PRECISION COVER CROPPING???
1) Selection and management of cover crops to achieve specific objectives
2) Strategic placement of cover crops in specific
fields or parts of fields
3) Planting of cover crops with a precision planter
4) strategic placement of cover crop rows in relation to other cover cover rows and/or the following cash
crop rows (often using GPS guidance)
2012 – SARE
Survey Results
Compaction alleviation
Erosion reduction
Higher
priorities
for organic
farmers?
Weed control
Increased yields
Nitrogen source
www.cheneylakewatershed.org/newsletter/2008-Fall.pdf
2012 – SARE
Survey Results
Establishment
Time/labor requirements
Species selection
Termination???
The information is based on the best judgment of the
farmer/industry/agency/academic experts from around
the state who participated in customizing the tool.
cash
crop
season
Other attributes
#1 way to
make cover
crops pay
• Cover crops (winter or summer) can provide high-
quality forage and increase economic return and
farm diversity, but some farmers have been
reluctant to take this advantage due to perceived
“compaction” caused by animal trampling.
• Grazing of cover crops can compact soil, but
not to the detrimental levels often perceived.
Franzluebbers AJ and JA Stuedemann. 2008.
Soil physical responses to cattle grazing cover
crops under conventional and no tillage in the
Southern Piedmont USA.
Soil and Tillage Research 100, 141-153.
www.weather.com/outdoors/agriculture/growing-degree-days/
Relative GDD
LT Average
2011 2012
Aug 1 100% 2107 2209 2317
Aug 15 78% 1653 1739 1813
Sept 1 53% 1125 1180 1253
Sept 15 35% 745 766 865
Oct 1 19% 409 490 600
Oct 15 10% 202 338 307
Nov 1 2% 43 150 166
Growing Degree Days - Aledo, IL ( date -> 12/31, base 40)
There is substantial variation between years.
**If fall growth is key, plant before 9/1**
The new version of
Green Cover Seed’s
Smart Mix Calculator will
include a GDD calculator
More farmer friendly
technologies are needed
http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/34720/pnw636.pdf
New publication
We have made some progress in predicting plant available N
How many of you have
grassed waterways (or
other conservation
structures) on your farm?
Targeted planting of cover crops should
be able to increase the performance of
conservation structures
Targeted planting of cover crops may be
able to substitute for conservation
structures
Cover crops can provide
beneficial insect habitat
along field borders
3 way mixtures along a
field border
Cover crop cocktail
containing rapeseed, radish,
sunflower, buckwheat, corn
and soybeans drilled into a
drown-out area
Aerial application can
target specific parts of
fields or adjust the rate of
application across fields.
The row-bot can
be used to seed
cover crops one
row at a time.
The maximum
payload of 400 lbs
= cover crop seed
for many acres.
This is how I did interseeding
with rye and radishes this year.
It took about 5 hrs to cover 15
acres of standing 36" corn.
Wasn't able to get a plane so
this is what I came up with. It
worked really well surprisingly. I
will be buying a high boy to
convert next year to do cover
crop seeding and spraying with.
NRCS dead line is Sept 15 so I
had to just get it done this year.
Had one close encounter with a
coyote but he was moving pretty
quick.
“I had a hat, safety glasses, full face shield, gloves, long
sleeve shirt with a regular t-shirt over it, jeans and boots.
Only skin showing was on the back of my neck. This is a
buyers seeder had a flow control valve on the bottom and
I could turn the spinner on and off on the bike. I pretty
well kept moving and would stop very few rows to fill. Had
my dad running around on the ranger with seed, water,
rags and gas. We pre-measured an acre at a time he had
it ready when I would get to the end row. I could spread 7
but I overlapped one on each side my goal was 35lbs an
acre rye and 2lbs an acre radishes. So I went about every
5-6 rows. Speed wasn't a problem since I stayed in 1st
gear and pretty consistent. After the first 2 loads we had it
pretty dialed in.”
Opportunities for planting cover crops • Dormant seeding early or late winter
• Frost seeding
• When planting summer crops
• Prevent plant scenarios
• After weed-free window
• After small grains
• After vegetables
• After seed corn or silage corn
• Aerial or high clearance seeding into standing crops in late summer/early fall
• After early corn/bean grain harvest
• After full season corn/bean grain harvest
Clean corn through the rest of the season
= missed opportunity
Durivage Farm
Ontario, CA
Durivage Farm
Ontario, CA
Zumbrun Farm Northern Indiana
http://talk.newagtalk.com/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=338536
“I broadcast 10 lbs/acre of crimson clover at
sidedress time (6/6/12). We got essentially no rain
from the first week of May until the last week of
July. I figured the clover wouldn't grow, but it laid
there until we got rain and by harvest we had a
nice stand.
I'm not sure how this would work in a 'normal'
year, but it sure worked good this year. I left some
check strips and the clover didn't affect the yield.
The seeder was just an old 12V spinner seeder I
clamped onto our N toolbar”
I wonder how well
this crimson clover
over-wintered?
Precision planting
http://www.extension.org/pages/64400/radishes-a-new-cover-crop-for-organic-farming-systems
September 2008
Attempt #1
Attempt #2
Radish planted on 30” rows using small milo plates in mid-August 2010
Attempt #3
Cover crop system Relative
corn yield
Volunteer oats 79%
Radishes planted on 30” 99%
Radishes drilled on 7.5” 91%
Corn following cover crop experiment (2011)
b
a
a
Attempt #4
Corn planted over radish rows w/o GPS guidance
Radishes in fall 2011
Attempt #5
May 2012 +20 bu/a corn in plots
w/ fall cultivation of radish vs. no fall cultivation
Radish planted on 30” rows with RTK guidance on August 29th right before Hurricane Isaac rolled in
Attempt #6
4 days later
10 days after planting
~ 1 month later
Why are the inter-rows so clean?
We had just cultivated the radishes!
~ 2 weeks later
December 2012
Precision planted radishes w/ peas from 5 ft of row
Precision radishes w/o peas
What is the optimal population for precision planted radishes?
The full seeding rate (~ 11 lbs per acre,
~16 seeds per foot) ended up producing
the most root and shoot biomass
Planting corn was a real
struggle due to the extreme
wetness in spring 2013
We seriously considered abandoning our
controlled traffic plans but ended up
prepping the field for planting with
a high residue cultivator.
Planting into weedy ridges fully tested our 4 row ridge-till
planter but we ended up with 20 – 28K across the field
Yields ranged from ~160 to ~ 190
bu/acre with no significant
differences between treatments
We are encouraged to continue with our strategic
row placement research
Crimson clover
Chick peas
Green lentils
Fava beans
Sunflower
Rapeseed
Oats
Phacelia
Planted with a drill in late September 2012
Radish
Cereal Rye
Radish Radish
Cereal Rye
Fall 2013 Attempt #7
?
?
----- Original Message -----
From: "Thomas Björkman" <tnb1@CORNELL.EDU>
To: MCCC@LIST.MSU.EDU
Sent: Saturday, March 1, 2014 6:58:34 AM
Subject: Re: : winter hardiness of winter lentil and common vetch
Fast-growing in the fall and winter-hardy may be a difficult
combination to obtain.
For many fall-established annual and biennial species, it is only
the seedling that will harden off well. Once the plant begins to
grow, the ability to harden is much reduced. As a rule of thumb, to
get maximum hardiness the seedling should be large enough that
the root is anchored against frost heaving, but not so big that the
stem is growing.
A couple of familiar examples; Winter-hardy small grains make
more stems in the fall but they do not grow; winter hardy crucifers
remain rosettes (no stem enlargement), but make more leaves.
+20 lbs N/a
A little extra N can make a big difference
Preceded by spring planted radish :-<
Moisture
depletion by
CCs had a high
price in 2012
Why is there rapeseed on the edge of this bean field?
Insecticide boxes can be used for metering small seeds
Joe Rothermel’s new rig
Cover crops planted with insecticide boxes while stripping
April 2012
Soybeans double drilled with 4” offset
Over a month with almost no growth
NT bean yields ranged from ~ 30 to ~ 60 bu/a
Greater precision in your cover cropping practices should increase the
likelihood of intended outcomes
More positive and fewer negative effects
This is what we were hoping for!
This is what we ended up with :-<
I wish you all success in 2014!