Focus fields

This is the latest spring picture of ARG that was flown on the standing corn last summer. I got an except-able stand this time.

It was still a little variable, I think based on either soil type or elevation in the field.









This is the field of medium red clover and alsike clover at mid April and its time to kill it.



In this field that had hog manure injected last summer the ARG really grew and got thick. Come spring when this picture was taken it created a thick mat that seemed to smother out the new growth this spring.


This is what a dried oil seed radish looks like come spring. Last fall the foliage was two feet tall and the bulb was three inches in diameter. It shrivels up to nothing. It definitely left a hole in the ground. If a corn kernel dropped into it, I don't think it would grow.

This is early April as things are starting to green up. On the left side of the picture is where hog manure was injected last summer and the ARG and Radishes had really good growth. On the right side of this picture the growth was lagging last summer mainly because no manure was applied last summer. It was covered with liquid hog manure last winter at 3000 gallon per acre. The early growth was more vigorous due to the manure and less vegetative cover from last summer.

This field was in wheat last year the '09 crop. I seeded annual rye grass and oil seed radishes in early august last year. This picture was taken the first of April at green up. This field had manure applied through the summer of '09 and through the winter of '10. You can see some of the small clumps of straw manure in this picture. In order for no-till to work I spread the manure thin and never later than March when the ground is still frozen. You just can't make wheel tracks in April or later and expect no-till corn to perform.






This picture was taken about mid April and its time to spray roundup to kill it and hopefully in about five days plant this field.

Year ending thoughts

Sorry for the long delay in updates. We were busy with a house remodel project that was running behind schedule, and at the same time adding to the grain storage facility. Fortunately the beans all were sold and went to town. The construction of a new grain leg and another grain bin was just finished by November 1st. We started putting in corn the next day. So harvest lasted a month longer than normal. Than after cleaning up all the construction mess and normal year end stuff it was Christmas already.
Average yields on the corn and bean crops were the best of my farming career. The corn yield on the field that was land leveled and seeded with annual rye grass cover was 205 bushels per acre. The other field that was showing strip till with the annual rye grass yielded 195 bushels per acre. The field that was showing the strips with cereal rye for cover yielded 181 bushel per acre. For this to make sense you may want to go back and read my previous posts.
Was this profitable when you factor in the extra costs for ARG seed and burn down cost. I will use the field that yielded 195 BPA.
Gross revenue using $3.85 for corn at 195 = $750.75
The machinery charges on this field were $75.00 per acre. This includes charges for lime application and and 3 passes for variable rate fertilizer application. One of these were used to spin on the ARG. Along with the normal planting, spraying, side dress N, and harvest operations.
The input costs seed, fertilizer, chemicals, ARG seed were $384.00 dollars. Leaving $292.00 dollars before land charges.
The one variable that can't be directly assessed is what the effects of long term cover crops do for the soil health. The increased organic matter could lead to using less fertilizer. It could also lead to better and deeper roots on the corn plant itself thus making it better able to withstand dry periods. This could be a key point. If its not higher yields maybe it could be more consistent yields from year to year during weather extremes.
My challenge to anyone thinking about using cover crops would be to pick a field and than commit to putting some type of cover crop on it for four years straight. In a corn and beans rotation this is easy. If wheat is in the rotation the volunteer wheat could be tricky to handle. For those who are going from full width conventional tillage, I would use strip till as an intermediate process for the years that go to corn and no-till the beans. At the end of four years I think you will be amazed at the soil tilth.
I am starting to think in terms of using different blends of cover crops. It seems that the ARG is a little inconsistent with regards to stand establishment and winter hardiness. So maybe putting some cereal rye along with ARG would be better. Or after wheat when you can seed earlier in the summer using a mix of oil seed radishes with ARG. Or using clover frost seeded into wheat in the spring and than add to that some ARG or cereal rye in the summer could achieve a nice mix.
I will start the 2010 season with some pictures of the fields that were seeded to cover crops the previous season. I have 3 fields that ARG was flown on. I have the two manured fields with ARG and oil seed radishes. I have a field of medium red clover and alsike clover following wheat that was strip tilled last fall and will plant corn into those strips.