It's May the 3rd and its been wet forever. The winter weather was not kind to the annual rye grass cover crop this year. Going into fall we did not get a lot of growth. Today as this picture was taken a root dig revealed visible roots down about 7 inches. This was not as deep as one would normally expect, but given the weather conditions last fall and this spring it is what it is.
Than in February the ground lacked snow cover and we got wind with 0 temps and it froze out most of the plants. This combination was also hard on the winter wheat on the high ground.
It is time to spray burn down on the annual rye grass. I waited for two reasons, one it was wet and two I wanted to let what rye grass that was there grow a little longer. It seemed to be struggling to grow this spring. In the picture where I have the rye grass with strip tillage it survived better where there was some protection either buildings or fence lines or woods. For the best spraying results use the full rate of glyphosate for the product you are using. Ammonium sulfate or citric acid also needs to be added to help correct the ph of the water. Do not add any atrazine product in this mix for the first spray. Try to spray from late morning to early afternoon with temps at least 60 degrees daytime and minimum 40 degrees at night. This helps the trans location process work quicker. This past winter I learned that air induction nozzles and low water volume (ie spray coupe and 9 gpa) don't work well either. There just is not enough of the leaf surfaces covered to get a good kill. A flat fan noozle with moderate preassure will give good results. I will start spraying on Monday May the 4th weather permitting.
In the other field that was tilled conventional and land planed to level some recent tilling, even less of the annual rye grass survived. This past winter erosion was quite severe in a lot of fields. This was due to a surface thaw and than recieving a large amount of rain. Any soil loosened from the frost was carried away where there was a concentrated flow of water. In the above picture at the other end of the field is a long slope feeding a valley and I had gullies as deep as it was chiseled. The grader blade and the Bobcat were busy moving a lot of dirt back into place. IT'S A MUST TO HAVE A GOOD COVER CROP GROWING AFTER EXTENSIVE TILLAGE AND LAND PLANING. I will still plant this field without doing extra tillage. Planting photo's will follow. It will dry up soon I hope.
Another practice in cover crops that's been around a long time but not used much because wheat is not used in the rotation as much any more. With nitrogen costs where they are I wanted to try and grow my own. I over seeded wheat with a mixture of Medium Red Clover and Alsike Clover.
I mixed it with the urea and spread it on with a fertilizer buggy. This was done about the end of March when field conditions were dry enough. I used 10 lbs. per acre of Medium Red and 2.5 lbs. per acre of Alsike Clover. This field will be planted to corn in 2010. I plan to do fall strip tillage this coming fall. The clovers won't be killed until the spring of 2010. I plan to adjust my nitrogen rates based on there growth and a soil nitrogen test. Stay with me on this one and we'll see how it works.
Later I will attempt to do a cost to benefit analysis. Margins have always been tight in farming and there has to be profit. Do cover crops add to the bottom line.
