Statewide no-till meeting is a huge success
2008-02-28 (High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal, By Doug Rich )
The first statewide no-till meeting in Oklahoma was a huge success. Over 200 very interested producers attended the two-day conference in Oklahoma City Feb. 11 and 12.

The conference was designed to bring a wide range of information to producers who are new to no-till farming. The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Southern Plains Agricultural Resources Coalition, Great Plains Resource Conservation and Development, Oklahoma Conservation Commission and High Plains Journal sponsored the conference.

"Tillage is part of our history," Dr. Scott Staggenborg, Cropping Systems Specialist at K-State, said. "It was all we could do and we will not apologize for it."

Staggenborg said at one time it was the only way to break up compaction, manage crop residue, and control weeds. Today we know that no-tilling can reduce soil erosion, save soil moisture, use less equipment, and save time.

The most popular sessions during the conference were those featuring actual no-till farmers talking about their no-till experiences. They stressed that there is no book of rules to follow. Every farm is different and every no-till system will reflect those differences.

"Being from an area where no-till is not very popular, it is good to see this many interested people," Todd Vincent said. Vincent is a no-till farmer from Canyon, Texas, who has been no-till farming since 1995.

Vincent said the toughest thing about no-till is that it is a 180-degree turn from everything most producers have been taught. In the early 1990s Vincent was told that no-till would not work on clay soils. His first attempt at no-till was on 70 acres on the back section of his farm surrounded by CRP ground.

Alan Mindemann, a no-till farmer from Apache, Okla., was the first producer on the program. Mindemann has been no-till farming for 12 years. He uses a crop rotation of corn, milo, cotton and a variety of cover crops. He said to keep an open mind and be ready to take advantage of any opportunities.

All of the producers referred to the psychological barriers they had to overcome before they started no-till farming. It helps to find another no-till farmer to talk to when you start no-till farming.

"Take off your tillage head and throw it in the corner and put on your no-till head," said Keith Thompson, a no-till farmer from Osage City, Kan.

"No-till is not perfect; it will be different for everyone," Vincent said.

"Never say that something won't work; you will be proven wrong," Alan Mindemann, Apache, Okla., said.

Producers and Extension specialists all stressed the need for crop rotation to make no-till work on any farm. Dr. Scott Staggenborg said crop rotation makes no-till successful because it helps control weeds, insects and crop diseases. Most agreed that intensity of crop rotation is important.

"The second year of the same crop is never good," Staggenborg said. "In every crop we grow there is a disease that is a problem in the second year. Very few of these diseases crop up in other species, however."

Dr. Jeff Edwards, Small Grains Specialist at Oklahoma State University said wheat after wheat makes no-till more difficult.

"Wheat in rotation is not that difficult," Edwards said.

Hessian fly is a problem with no-till continuous wheat, Edwards said. Hessian flies over-winter and over-summer on wheat stubble. When wheat stubble is buried in the soil with tillage, emerging Hessian flies die in the soil.

Alan Mindemann said to have a plan and to think three years ahead on your crop rotation. He has been no-till farming for 12 years and he uses a crop rotation that includes wheat, corn, milo, cotton and a variety of cover crops.

"The longer you are in no-till the more successful you will be with double cropping," Mindemann said. "If I have a wet year, I will use every drop of moisture I can."

Jimmy Kinder, a no-till farmer from Walters, Okla., had heard this message before. Rotate or do something else. He also heard the message that there is no book for no-till. Every farm and every situation is different.

Kinder has been no-till farming 5,000 acres of no-till continuous wheat for the last eight years. His rotation is not to another crop, but to livestock. Kinder grazes out weed problems and terminates the crop before it heads some years.

As the price of grain has gone up and the price of livestock has gone down, Kinder said they are in transition from livestock to a grain farm. He will not graze out any wheat this year and is looking at doing some crop rotation.

Traditionally livestock and no-till have not been a successful combination, but Keith Thompson, a no-till farmer from Osage City, Kan., is looking for ways to include livestock into his intensive crop rotation. Thompson and his son took a trip to South America where they saw how no-till farmers there were using livestock. Thompson is experimenting with sequencing crop and a forage chain. The forage chain on his farm includes rye, corn, radishes, sunflowers, and wheat.

Equipment needs are drastically reduced with no-till production, but that does not mean that equipment is not important. Alan Mindemann said they sold so much equipment that people thought he was getting out of the farming business.

The most important piece of equipment for no-till farming is the planter. A heavy planter that can cut through the crop residue is essential for seed to soil contact. Improvements in planter design have been the key to the success of no-till farming across the country.

"Buy the best seeding equipment you can afford," Mindemann said. "If you don't do it right the first time you have lost the game."

A combine with a good stalk spreader is vital to a successful no-till system. Most no-till farmers would agree that they never have enough crop residue but it still needs to be managed properly. Seedbed preparation with no-till production begins at harvest with the combine.

Chad Godsey, Extension Cropping Systems Specialist at OSU, said to spread the crop residue out the same width as the header. Godsey said this will be your seedbed for the next year.

The producers said that it took at least two years before they began to see the benefits of no-till. A good reason to sell your tillage equipment is to avoid the temptation to correct problems with tillage. Vincent said that one tillage destroys two years of no-till progress.

As one producer said, minimum tillage is no-till without the commitment.

"Just get started; you won't be any worse off than you are now," said Tony Kodesh, an Oklahoma no-till farmer. "The worst no-till experience will be better than your best tillage experience."

Doug Rich can be reached by phone at 785-749-5304 or by e-mail at richhpj@aol.com.