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Ag producers learn more about no till cultivation practices on Ag Day
Published 8/15/2007 in News : Area coverage By Stephanie Farley
TRIBUNE -- Ray Smith, who farms in part of Greeley County, has practiced both no till and reduced till, cultivation methods that cut down on land preparation and allow crop residue to be left on the field.
The practice is something researchers at the Kansas State University Southwest Research-Extension Center in Tribune have noticed benefits from as far as reduced soil erosion and improved water conservation, with residue allowing more moisture to remain in the soil.
The center's staff shared some of their findings from no till research, as well as other experiments, with producers during Dryland Ag Day on Tuesday.
Smith, one of about 60 to 80 people attending Tuesday's ag day, said this year marked the second he'd kept the majority of his fallow, or land left unseeded or uncultivated, as no till. He said he followed research on no till vs. till done at the center.
Alan Schlegel, agronomist for the research-extension center at Tribune, said the center's emphasis on no till vs. till research had grown over the years, as the center started experimenting with no till about 17 to 18 years ago.
"It's grown into one of the primary focuses," Schlegel said, and was a focus during Tuesday's ag day,.
Water and its availability "by far" is one of the biggest challenges in dryland farming, Schlegel said, and if producers do see rain or other precipitation in the field, they might not be getting it at the right time. Schlegel said no till and allowing more residue to be on the field, which in turn could lead to more water in the soil and plants and eventually a better yield or return, played a role in taking something uncertain, such as rainfall, and making the best use of it.
Schlegel said he, others at the center and producers also were looking at combining dryland practices, such as no till and different crop rotations, with a limited amount of irrigation, hopefully using a little water and getting a lot of return from a minimum amount of usage in the end.
Schlegel said through no till and use of residue, they were aiming for better transpiration, or passage of water through the plant, vs. evaporation of water.
Curtis Thompson, K-State extension crops and soils specialist, said no till and farming with residue in the field helped make dryland agriculture sustainable in southwest Kansas.
There weren't any producers about 20 years ago practicing farming with residue or no till, he said, but many of them are turning to it now.
Schlegel spoke on various no till research Tuesday. Producers and others attending the ag day split into groups and visited stations on the center's grounds, including new weed control technology for sunflowers, economics of continuous wheat, the importance of wheat stubble height, crop response to no till, tillage effects on near-surface soil water contents and growing sorghum in clumps.
In-door seminars during the event included "historical yield performance in southwest Kansas," "wheat variety selection for 2008," "control of jointed goatgrass" and an update on the 2007 Farm Bill.
Jack Schmitt, Scott City, and Ken Remington, Akron, Colo., stood around talking with Smith after the day's speakers and presentations. Schmitt said it helped to come to ag day and other events in which results could be seen from research involving tilling and reduced and no till.
Remington said farming was now an industry in the "information age" and that events like ag day were the place to come for information on no till and other dryland practices.
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