Barry Fisher, Conservation Agronomist

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Jump Start Soil ReclamationwithNo-Till and
Cover Crops
Capturing the Potential of High Soil Quality!
Barry Fisher, Conservation Agronomist NRCS,
Indiana Email barry.fisher_at_in.usda.gov
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We Should Expect High Yields with High Residue
Cropping Systems
Managing for Soil Quality Will Be Necessary
Are Initial Yields Sustainable ?
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Reinvestments That Pay

• Drainage systems
• Lime
• Cover Crops

Soil Quality!
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Reinvestments That Pay

• Equipment
• Technology
• Buffers

Yield and efficiency!
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Poor Structure Yield Loss
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Soil Nutrition

• Management of Base Cations Becomes More
  Important when soil is disrupted
• Ca- 70 Mg- 15 K- 3.5
• High Calcium Lime is preferred for no-till

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Soil Nutrition

• Each 1 of O.M. contains
• 10,000 lbs. of C
• 1000 lbs. of N
• 100 lbs. of P
• 100 lbs. of S

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Manage and Remove Compaction

• Maximize weight distribution

Evaluate depth and extent

• Consider cover crops

• An in-line ripper may needed

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Soil Quality High Yield Potential
Biodiversity is the fastest way to high Soil
Quality Biodiversity provides-Flexibility-Resili
ence-Resistance Above ground diversity is a
mirror for below ground diversity. Getting root
diversity (deep, fibrous, tap) Helps you tap
into nutrients that are otherwise unavailable.
Jill Clapperton 2008 NNTC
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Diversify your cover
Brassicas and Oats
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Build and Maximize Biology and Vertical Structure

• Soybean root following
• previous root channel

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Annual Ryegrass Cover Crop
DeSutter Farm-Fountain Co.
Drilled on Oct. 1 at 15 lbs./ac. Roots down to
51 on April 8
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Corn Roots down 70 in August
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Nutrient Management
No-Till

• We can package a system of soil building
  practices!

Buffers
Cover Crops
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IN FY08 EQIP 19 million

• Nutrient Management-
• 3 million
• Cover Crops-
• 3 million
• No-Till/Strip-Till-
• 3.4 million
• Waste Utilization-
• 2 million

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EQIP Cover Crops Acres per Year
Contracted
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IN FY09 EQIP 11.4 million

• Cover Crops- 2 million

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EQIP Cover Crops of Budget
Contracted
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Field Office Technical Guide(FOTG)

• Section IV
• Seeding Tool
• Google- eFOTG
• March 2009
• Excel

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Create a Mix
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SARE-Managing Cover Crops Profitably
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SARE-Managing Cover Crops Profitably
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Cover Crops

• Year-round bio-mass production should be
  targeted.
• Sequester these gains with continuous
  No-Till/Strip-Till Systems

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How will you seed it?
Manure plus Cover Crops
Tim Harrigan, MSU- Slurry Seeded OSR, Oriental
Mustard, and other CCs. Slurry seeded with dairy
manure produced significantly higher total biomass
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How will you seed it?
Air Seeder on a Harrow

• 43 swath at 10 mph
• Fast
• Cheap
• Provides a random plant spacing

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How will you seed it?
Fly it on

• Most flexible timing
• Fast
• 12-16/ac
• Provides a random plant spacing
• Variable results?

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How will you seed it?
Drill it

• Most time consuming
• Slower
• 12-16/ac
• Provides row plant spacing
• Surest results

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COVER CROPTermination
EXPERTS AGREE

• KILL IT EARLY!

• KILL IT LATE!

IT DEPENDS!
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COVER CROPTermination

• PLAN EARLY
• KILL TOUGH ONES EARLY
• Ryegrass- April 1, or before Jointing
• MAXIMIZE TRANSLOCATION
• Spray on Sunny Days (gt55 degrees)
• Use AMS with Low pH Water
• Avoid antagonism
• NO TRIAZINE
• Use 10 Gallons of Water or Less
• Apply Early in the Day ( quit by 2 PM)

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How will you Kill It?
HerbicideAvoid antagonism!
control Glyphosate 51

• Consider the modes of action

Plumer 2006
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How will you Kill It?
HerbicideAvoid antagonism!
control Glyphosate 41

• Consider the modes of action

Plumer 2006
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Planter set-up and maintenance is critical
No-Till
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Spread the Weight! Spread the due Residue!
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Its best to use a systematic approach
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No-Till planter attachments
Reduced Inner Diameter (RID) Gage Wheel Tires
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No-Till planter attachments
Reduced Inner Diameter (RID) Gage Wheel Tires-
right side
Significantly reduces the weight directly over
the see slot
RID
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Walking Gage Wheels
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Seed Firmer
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Nitrogen Management in No- Till Corn
In order to manage N we must first understand the
changes in Carbon and Nitrogen cycles under No
Tillage
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Wooster OH Carbon Study (0-2 inches)
Continuous corn
Martens et al.
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Organic Carbon to Total Nitrogen Relationship
(Silty soil, 130 years)
Martens et al
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Nitrogen/Carbon management

• Building Carbon in the soil takes Nitrogen

• Plants have a hard time out competing microbes
  for ammonium

• At least 35-70 of N must be available during the
  1st 40 days

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Nitrogen/Carbon management

• When Applying Spring P K use DAP

• If you plan to apply a PP herbicide, use 15-20
  gal. of 28 as carrier

• Side dress as early as possible

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Starter Placement and Content

• 2 X 2 is the best all around system

• Pop-up may be added, or the next best where
  equipment is limited

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Starter Placement and Content

• Starter should have at least 20-50 lbs. of N

• Consider S K in starter

• Having no starter is fine as long as you can live
  with a 10-40 bu. yield loss

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Expect Success!
Barry Fisher, State Agronomist Email
barry.fisher_at_in.usda.gov
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Cover Crop Web Links
http//www.covercrops.msu.edu/ http//www.sare.org
/publications/ http//www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/ http
//www.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/efotg/ http//www.mc
cc.msu.edu/ http//web.extension.uiuc.edu/regions/
ag/ag2.htm