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Direct Seed Annual Cropping in the Intermedate Rainfall ZoneMichael
Stubbs Background
/ Motivation for Direct Seeding and Annual Cropping Our
farming operation is located in Whitman County, just west of Dusty in
the 16" rainfall zone. The soil is a Walla Walla silt loam, with
the topography ranging from flat ground to 40+ degree slopes. I am a fourth
generation farmer who believes that by direct seeding and annual cropping
the soil will become healthier and more productive. My goal is to be able
to pass this farm on to my children in as good, and hopefully better condition
than it is now. Our
motivation to change stemmed from watching our yields and our soil quality
decline after decades of being bound to a system that offered very little
flexibility and future promise. The system that I speak of is winter wheat--fallow
or winter wheat--spring barley--fallow. We practiced conventional tillage
and used either deep-furrow or double-disk drills to seed the crops. We
progressed to a minimum-till system in the mid- to late-1980's, but we
were still experiencing moisture loss, erosion, increasing grass weed
infestations and limited cropping options. No-till annual spring cropping
introduced the possibility of reduced erosion, moisture conservation,
flexible cropping options and a renewed sense of pride in restoring the
identity of the farmer as a caretaker of the land for all living creatures.
Our system challenges the stereotype that a farmer is indifferent to soil
erosion, uses excessive pesticides and contributes to drinking water contamination.
We feel that by direct seeding and annual cropping, we can begin to show
the non-farming community that progress is being made in the afore-mentioned
areas. Our
System As we
began the transition to no-till and annual cropping, our system consisted
of alternating spring wheat and spring barley crops. We also started with
small acreages of yellow mustard because we wanted to spread risk and
introduce a low residue crop in conjunction with breaking up disease cycles
in an all grains rotation. We did find root diseases to be a problem and
the mustard seemed to be a nice fit, so a 3 to 4 year rotation was developed.
It has since been shown in field trials that adding a Brassica crop may
not necessarily break the Rhizoctonia root rot cycle (W. Schillinger,
personal communication). Despite this development we continue to include
mustard in our system because it has excellent yield potential in our
area and lower residue levels that allow for seeding into warmer soils
in the spring. In trying to develop our system we have tried many other
crops including linola, safflower, triticale, garbanzo beans, oats, barley,
and hard spring wheats. We have had varying degrees of success with each
crop; however, we continue to strive for a system that strikes the delicate
balance between environmental harmony, government programs and economic
success. Equipment Our
first experiences with direct seeding were in 1996 and 1997 when we rented
a Concord 3010 air-drill from North Pine Ag Supply (Rosalia, WA). In 1998,
we rented the same 3010 and a Concord 3612, because we wanted to compare
the 10" spacing vs. 12" spacing. Upon seeing the benefits of
wider spacing and the "ribbon seeding" of the Anderson opener,
we decided we were ready to purchase our first drill; however, we also
wanted parallel linkage and an independent packing system for each opener-features
that were lacking on the Concord. We knew that AgPro (Lewiston, ID) had
been using this technology for some time. After months of planning, they
were able to design an AgPro 2815 drill to our specifications. The AgPro
air-drill is a 35' machine on 15" centers with the seed boots equipped
with Anderson-style openers. The openers deliver a 5" wide band of
seed that reduces the space between openers to approximately 10".
Each opener has its own independent packer wheel for depth control and
its own hydraulic cylinder with constant down-pressure and parallel linkage
for flotation. These features aid in seed placement and in following the
contour of the ground which usually are the weak points of a hoe drill.
This drill gives us the ability to fracture the soil below the seed zone
for disease control, and place fertilizer approximately 3" below
the seed band. The Crary fan is hydraulically driven, as is the Hypro
pump delivering the fertilizer. A 1,500 gallon cone-bottom poly tank is
mounted on the drill along with the 110 bushel seed box. A fourth hydraulic
valve maintains constant down-pressure to two cylinders that distribute
the weight of the drill across the implement. The fertilizer and seeding
rates are controlled by a Mid-Tech monitor located in the cab. With interchangeable
seed rollers, the AgPro drill has seeded all of the crops we have tried,
including a test trial with sunflowers. In the
fall of 2000, we decided that we needed to acquire another drill in order
to cover more acres in the spring. We purchased a modified JD-750 drill
with an extended grain box for greater capacity (90 bushels) and standard
7.5" seed spacing. A 1,400 gallon cone-bottom tank is mounted on
an extended rear frame that sits inside a pair of combine tires that improve
side hill stability of the drill. Deep-band fertilizer rates are controlled
by a Micro-trak monitor located in the cab. Starter fertilizer rates are
controlled by an electric pump that is adjacent to the 800 gallon stainless
steel tank on the front of the drill. This pump is activated by a switch
in the cab. In one year of use, this drill seeded cereals and small chickpeas.
Two
additional pieces of equipment are crucial to the success of our direct
seed system. We firmly believe in preparing for the following year's crop
at harvest with the residue being chopped and then spread by an effective
chaff spreader. Our combine is equipped with a Vittetoe chaff spreader.
The other vital piece of equipment is a reliable sprayer. We are currently
using a Brandt sprayer that we have found to be low maintenance and operator
friendly. Rotations We have
tried many crops and I would like to think there are some that we have
yet to try, but we feel the key is to stay flexible in thinking about
a cropping system. Our rotations vary from straight cereal, to three and
four year rotations depending upon history and location. If we were to
be locked in to a rotation, we would try for 3 years of cereals out of
a 5 year cycle. We continue to experiment with wheat and barley in combination
with Brassicas and legumes. Our rotation will be guided, in part, by the
fact that we are raising more acres for seed contracts. Typically this
means a seed crop follows a mustard crop, due to the soil-cleansing benefits
that we receive from the mustard. Also, the long taproot of the mustard
helps break-up hardpan spots, so the succeeding crop can have greater
access to moisture. The
weeds that concern us are broadleaf weeds in our Brassica and legume crops
and the multiple flushes of wild oats in our cereal crops. Patience and
timeliness seem to be the key in successful wild oat control for us. We
have used the wild oat herbicides Puma and Achieve in cereals and had
success with these. With very limited broadleaf herbicide options for
our alternative crops, weed control is a challenge. Residue
management This
practice begins at harvest with proper chaff distribution. The AgPro air
drill, with its 15"centers, was designed to handle a rotation that
favored consecutive years of cereals. We are able to move residue in between
the furrows and keep the "speed-bumps" to a minimum. This drill
will not perform as well when the stubble has been harrowed, disked or
otherwise disturbed since harvest. The JD-750 is a lower disturbance drill
within the seed row, but in heavy residue we encounter straw tucking and
hairpinning as do most farmers who use this drill. If yellow mustard and
garbanzo beans continue to be part of our system, they will provide us
with low to medium residue situations. These lower residue situations
are ideal for early spring seeding due to the ground warming-up faster
and more rapid seed emergence. Advantages
of Direct Seeding / Annual Cropping There
have been numerous advantages to our direct seeding / annual spring cropping
system. Among them are more time with family, less equipment to work on,
and the satisfaction of seeing a crop growing on 100% of our acres each
year. Part of the greatest satisfaction we have gained from adopting this
system is pride in seeing the soil stay where it belongs and watching
the increase in the wildlife populations. We have enjoyed the flexibility
of being able to watch the commodity markets through the winter and early
spring prior to making planting decisions, rather than being locked in
to one or two crops. This system gives us the freedom to choose crops
that will give us the highest returns and help achieve the goals we have
set for our system. This system has provided the opportunity to clean
up fields with weed and disease problems, and save moisture to the extent
that we are raising crops for seed, which means a higher profit potential.
We have had opportunities to meet other people with similar philosophies
and form relationships that we would not have been able to otherwise.
In a profession where our biggest unknown and controlling factor is the
weather, our system allows us to be proactive with Mother Nature instead
of being reactive. Future
Challenges There
are a number of challenges that we are still working on to improve the
profitability of our system. Among them are: broadleaf weed control in
alternative crops, increasing the profitability of Brassicas so that they
are comparable to cereals, increasing populations of rodents, and the
ability to harvest legumes with a standard wheat header. We continue to
be on the lookout for alternative crops with similar profitability to
wheat to further diversify our rotations. One of our biggest challenges
is proving to prospective landlords that this is not the no-till that
they saw in the 1970's and early 80's-our system is succeeding, and will
continue to succeed, due to improved equipment, crop genetics, pest management
and increased knowledge. Advice
to New Direct Seeders Who in the world would take advice from a 34 year-old "kid" farmer who is annual spring cropping in Dusty, WA? We have been warned that this system will never work and we will be switching back to conventional farming at some point. For us, going back to conventional farming is highly unlikely, especially since we have sold most of our conventional tillage equipment! My advice to others would be to start small with a few acres and be dedicated to those acres. You must believe in yourself and the people around you, and do your homework. For us this homework consists of reading, traveling, visiting with successful direct-seeders and being willing to change your mindset on how you approach dryland farming. Once we began to see the changes in the soil with increased infiltration rates, decreased crusting and an emerging earthworm population, this indicated to us that we have healthier and more productive soils in only a few years of direct seeding. When there is increasing life below ground and increasing numbers of wildlife above ground, this is a signal to us that we are making progress in our attempt to improve the quality and productivity of our farm. I would like to end with one final quote that summarizes the commitment that our family has made to direct seeding, and to improving the condition of our land: ...generally, the type of soil management that gives the greatest immediate return leads to a deterioration of soil productivity, whereas the type that provides the highest income over the period of a generation leads to the maintenance or improvement of productivity.
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 Contact
us: Hans Kok, (208)885-5971
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