Choosing & Implementing the Right Cover Crops for a Strip-Till System

Dr. Joel Gruver

Western Illinois University

August 6, 2015

Be sure to learn everything you can about CCs

Steve Groff’s farmalmost 20 year ago

Dr. Ray Weil

Ray McCormick

Jamie ScottSteve

Groff

Mike Shuter

Cameron Mills

Steve & Dennis Berger

Dave Brandt

Academia is my foundation but interacting w/ farmer

innovators has taught me the most about CC management

Tyler Vollmershausen

Dean Sponheim

Frank Moore

Charlie Hammer & Nancy Kavazanjian

Cade Bushnell

Clay Mitchell

Tomhave Family Todd Mooberry

Blake Vince

Huey MeierLoran

Steinlage

Recent Communication

Andy Thompson Jim Bassett

Strip-till collaborators

What is your context for

selecting CCs?

In other words, what

pieces make up

your puzzle?

Where are you located?

Do you farm HEL soils?

Do you farm poorly drained soils?

What is your standard crop rotation?

When do typically plant/harvest?

Do you have livestock?

Where are you located?

Do you farm HEL soils?

Do you farm poorly drained soils?

What is your standard crop rotation?

When do typically plant/harvest?

Do you have livestock?Which of t

hese are m

ost adjustable?

Managing your cash crop to cover crop effectively

NoTill Farmer Webinar – 4/7/15 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFA6oXevOQk

What are your human resources?

McCracken, R.J. 1993. Evangelists, scholars,

historians, lab types, computer buffs, map makers and auger

pullers in the soil survey. Soil Horizons. 34:61–71.

Interesting discussion of the human resources needed to

create a good soil survey

Who are the people who grow the seed, sell the seed, custom plant the seed, share on-farm experiences w/

you, inspire you, caution you…?

These people are your CC human resources and they are a key part of YOUR CONTEXT for making sound

decisions about CCs!

Some people see opportunities in every problemothers see problems in every opportunity

~ 700 acres of continuous strip-till corn

After no-tilling for many years, Loran built his first strip-till rig in 2006,

using a modified 12-row Rawson zone-till bar.

After 2 years,he began adding capacity to apply fertilizer including an anhydrous shank

Currently runs a 12 row Krause Gladiator with a mounted Montag box

Dry blended fertilizer and NH3 are delivered into the row

Frequently evaluates new equipment setups and nutrient management practices

Loran Steinlage – West Union, IA

12-row Kuhn Krause Gladiator

with mounted Montag fertilizer

box

Tomhave Farms (Wayne, John and Austin)

Jacksonville, IL

~ 3000 acres mostly 50:50 corn:beans w/ some continuous corn and longer corn rotations

moldboard - > chisel plow -> ridge-till -> strip-till

“often first to try something new”

JD 2510 S strip-till barcustom built strip freshening system

Sometimes as many as 6 N applications:Fall anhydrous, 28% while freshening strips,

3-18-18 pop-up, 1-2 sidedress applications of 28%, late N

Tomhave Farms

~1800 acres, 50-50 corn soybean rotation currently (7 years of all continuous corn in recent past)

Started strip-tilling in 2001, motivated by a couple other farmers in the county who were already strip-tilling

Started with 350 acres, local coop ran their anhydrous barFollowing year he rented an anhydrous bar from the coop

First 4 years he strip-tilled without GPS guidanceHe started using RTK guidance in 2005

Uses 8-row Orthman 1 trip stripper with a Montag cartP+K (and sometimes S + pellet lime) are delivered into strips

1 blend for corn, 1 blend for soybeans (rates varied based on previous yield)

Todd & MacKenzie Mooberry Lowpoint, IL

Strip freshening system designed by

Todd Mooberry

Interseeding research in MN using Mooberry units

Meier Land and Cattle (Huey and Matt)

~ 570 acres of strip-till corn & ~1000 cattle in finishing buildings

All corn grain is sold.

Cattle are fed byproducts from food manufacturers, ethanol plant and corn stalks.

~6,000 gallons of manure are injected on every acre every year, supplying almost all of the

nutrients for the corn.

Dakota, IL

Blake Vince – Merlin, Ontario

1300 acres of corn, soybeans and winter wheat

Dad was a no-till pioneer, beginning in 1983

Blake began strip-tilling in 2006 and purchased a Soil Warrior in 2007

Now 100% continuous no-till

Heavy clay soils

Used this system for~ 5 years

Tomhave Farms

1200 acres of cereal rye drilled in 2014, 20+ acres/hr

20 – 30 lbs/a Mostly in September!

cereal rye @ 40 lbs/a, radish @ 2 lbs/a 40+ acres/hr

Aerial seeding of ARG for 5 yrs on Tomhave Farms

>300 acres in 2014

Uneven stands, inconsistent kill, higher seed cost

Probably will NOT continue with ARG

Todd Mooberry’s first attempt at cover crops was a blend of 60% ARG and 40% crimson clover (25 lb/a)

flown onto 600 acres of standing corn on 9/25/11

He harvested the next day and immediately went over all acres with a Great Plains Turbo-Till.

The ARG and crimson clover grew 3 to 4 inches tall before he strip-tilled on 11/10.

Todd was pleased with the results (including higher corn yields the next season) and has expanded his

use of CCs

Mooberry Farm – fall 2011

Much of the CC appeared to be buried immediately after strip-tilling but quickly reemerged

Tomhave Farm

Frank Moore in Cresco, IA finds that ARG works well for him. He gets about 4” of top growth and 30” of roots to help hold soil in place. Ideally, much of his ARG winterkills, saving him

the effort of having to kill it himself in the spring.

“Last year all my ARG, except for the end rows, winterkilled, which I loved because I didn’t have to kill it with an

herbicide,” Moore says. “I would’ve had to wait for the ARG to start growing again for it to even absorb the herbicide —

that would have pushed me into a situation where I’d have to plant later and lose yield potential.”

He doesn’t expect that ARG will always winterkill completely, and he’s still on the lookout for a variety that will, while still

providing the same benefits.

From Strip-Till Farmer magazine:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8HL5Nfhw1o

Faster and truck has a scale allowing calibration

As applied map

Ask aerial applicators how they calibrate

Looks better from the road

but erosion rills developed during a

heavy rain

No visible erosion

1.5 more hrs of day light12 degrees warmer

DRILLED AERIAL SEEDED when

Good stand and good kill of ARG

Cameron Mill’s FarmWalton, IN

Looks intimidating

Rapid residue decomposition

(< pH 5.5)

ARGFrom Cameron Mills’ webinar

3+” new growth

Waiting for canopy to begin opening may be important in northern locations with higher corn populations

Interseeding at V5

Interseeding Rig, Meier Farm – Stephenson Cty, IL

Photo taken by Huey Meier on 8/3

Loran interseeded ALL of his corn this season using a rig

he built last winter

Small seeds & low seeding rates

ARG, rapeseed, clovers

Seeding while harvesting on Ray McCormick’s Farm (Vincennes, IN)

Precision planting

Best seeding technology available!!!

D

Using technology to improve CC

seeding on Shuter Farm

New diffuser required to spread cover crop seed

wider

Dean Sponheim – Osage, IA

has had good success aerial seeding CCs into STRIP INTERCROPPED fields

Surest way to make cover crops pay!

http://www.mccc.msu.edu/

Midwest Cover Crop

Decision Tool

+30

http://www.greencoverseed.com/

From http://soilwarrior.com/

Will this someday be your strip-till

system?