From The Ground Up
From The Ground Up
Volume 1 | Issue 3 August 2013
Time to start thinking about Cover Crops By Jeff Gunderson, Staff Agronomist
As wheat harvest wraps up in the Midwest it’s time to start thinking about cover crops. The window between wheat or corn silage harvest and the end of the growing season can be a favorable time to establish a cover crop, but it is important to plan ahead and consider your options before moving forward.
nutrients coming from manure applications. Cool season crops include field peas or red or white clovers. These crops may establish better as we move into cooler fall weather, although N fixation from clovers may be minimal if they are terminated the next spring. Winter rye, oats and triticale are options for fall planting as well. Many cover crop mixtures including Cover crops can help to contribute, retain and small grains and/or legumes along with radishes may efficiently cycle nutrients, suppress weeds, protect have utility; however, remember that timing of the soil from wind and water erosion, and enhance soil establishment is important. Seeding tillage radish after quality. However, to maximize the benefits you receive early September may still have benefits, but roots will from your cover crop there are two main things to not develop the girth commonly seen in consider: (1) crop selection based on need and (2) seed advertisements. costs and proper establishment of the crop. Selection depends on what you hope to get from the cover. Are you looking for a crop to add extra nitrogen? Or for a fast growing hay crop for extra forage? Or for a crop to break up soil compaction? Possibly there is a need for some ground to spread excess manure and a cover crop to hold on to that manure. Many growers will be looking to fill the niche after wheat or corn silage with a cover crop that will winterkill or can be terminated easily in the fall or spring. Therefore an annual crop may provide a good fit. Summer annual legumes such as soybeans, crimson clover, cowpeas or sunn hemp can provide extra nitrogen, and will winterkill. Tillage radish can help to break up compacted layers. Sorghum-sudangrass or millet can be a good choice for producers looking for emergency forage or to simply hold on to the
Wh deciding d iddi what h cover crops to plant, l i When seedd cost is a large factor. Seed costs can be high, especially for radish or legumes like crimson clover, and many growers are not interested in investing a lot in cover crop seed. Low cost covers work just fine for some growers depending on expectations. However, if a good, solid stand is desired that is going to produce large amounts of biomass and/or fix
(Cover Crops cont.) significant amounts of nitrogen, then quality seed is important. Remember the worn-out, but easy-to-forget adage: you get what you pay for. That said, return on investment is a very important consideration, which is why crop selection should be done thoughtfully. Establishment of a cover crop is another area for consideration. Seedbed prep can range from no-till, heavy residue situations to a clean, even surface. Nothing will reduce your return quicker than poor establishment, so the appropriate seeding method to ensure good soil-toseed contact should be used. For instance, broadcasting into residues, even with subsequent incorporation may result in poorer soil-to seed contact than drilling. Crop species and seed cost are important drivers when considering planting strategies. Spinning on rye is probably less risky establishment and return-wise as compared to radish or clover. Seeding rate is another factor that must be managed correctly. Rate recommendations for cover crops vary
widely. Make sure to note the germination % on the seed tag and correct for low germination, and use the seed catalog’s recommendation if applicable. Then experiment to see what suits your operation. When working with mixtures using the correct ratio of seed ensures an even stand across species. One last note is that when working with less typical crops, such as radish, be aware of herbicide plant back restrictions that may negatively affect establishment.
Examples of Cover Crop Seeding Rates Crop Rye Oats Tillage-type Radish Sunnhemp Soybeans Crimson Clover Oat/Pea Rye/Radish Oat/Clover
Feed Inventory, Do you have enough?
Seeding rate/acre 1.5-2 bu. 1-2 bu. 4-8 lb 15 lb 60 lb 15-18 lb 1.5 bu./60-90 lb 1.5 bu./3-5 lb 1-1.5 bu./10-12 lb
By Dave Meidl, Director of Nutrition Now is a very good time to evaluate what you have and Remember to take into account harvest and storage what you still need to put in storage to make it through losses in planning your needs. Harvesting at the proper this next year. Due to the drought of 2012, wide spread moisture along with processing and treating with winter-kill this spring, wet conditions for planting corn inoculants to maximize dry matter recovery and and low carry-over of feed inventories have left some digestibility is critical. challenging situations. Due to these variables In order to do this you do need to know what your harvesting the same amount of acres for a certain forage does not work. Also harvesting, storage and feed livestock inventory is. This may also be a good time to evaluate your culling parameters to control the number out shrink must be taken into account. of animals that you have to feed. Start by looking at Too many times we have received calls saying “I’m out individual groups of animals along with their rations so of certain forage.” Feed inventory is critical and always you can calculate how many lbs (divide by 2000=tons) to determine your needs for each group and then changing, it is something that needs to be tracked on all dairy farms. Knowing what the nutrient composition multiply for length of time. Add up the feeds from each group of animals and subtract from current is so that there is a plan in place before you run out is important. It also helps position different quality forages inventory (know what your storage holds). The result is the amount of feed that will be needed to feed your to different animal groups to maximize production and economic value. herd for the selected amount of time. Now add in harvest, storage and feed out shrink to determine the amount of additional feed needed to harvest or By this time you have a pretty good idea of how much purchase. Don’t be afraid to ask for help! Your hay you have and can forecast what you will be consultant can help or there are spread sheets and getting for the next cutting. So, how much corn silage do we need to chop? Or do we have a summer annual software programs available to track your feed. to harvest yet? Or do we need to seed alternative forage that we can harvest this fall or next spring?
(Feed cont.) Shrink is real and something we don’t see happening. Total forage dry matter losses can easily range from 10%-20% coming from losses associated with filling, seepage, fermentation, surface spoilage along with birds, rodents and tires tracking feed. This is something every producer needs to acknowledge and take steps to reduce. It is worth taking the time to evaluate your operation and see where the opportunity lies to reduce this profit robber.
Farm:
Producer Profile: John Jorasz; Jorasz Brothers Farm - Wilson, MIchigan
250 cow dairy, along with dairy beef & heifers for a total of 800 head. Runs 5000 acres of corn, beans, alfalfa, wheat & barley. Has used the Midwestern BioAg program since the early 90’s. Product Highlight: Liquid-Carbon Based Fertilizer 10-14-1 It all started in the early 90’s when John Jorasz stumbled across Gary Zimmer at one of his meetings. He believed that what Gary said held a lot of promise and a lot of truth. After that encounter, he took the initiative and learned more about biological farming and what he learned made a lot of sense to him; the rest, they say, is history, John has been implementing the BioAg system on his farm ever since. This past year, John used L-CBF 10-14-1 as a starter on his corn ground. What intrigued John about this product was that it was molasses based. Molasses is a natural sugar product and is more soil friendly than other liquid starters which made it ideal for John’s management plan. John also purchased a new planter this year which could only utilize a liquid starter and he looked to Midwestern BioAg to supply him with an easy to use product to suit his needs. His new planter handled the liquid very well and also allowed him to experiment with different application rates. John settled on a rate of 10 gallons/acre placed at 1 inch beside and 1 inch below the seed. He had absolutely no issues with flow or the planter, even at higher rates; in fact next year he plans to apply 12-15 gallons/acre because of the impact that the L-CBF made on his corn. The L-CBF seemed to do a lot more for the corn and because he had no issues with the handling of this product he is looking forward to being able to apply it at a higher rate and see even more positive results. Not a boastful man himself, John insisted that his corn was just as good as everyone else’s; but this year he did notice that his neighbors were commenting on his corn and comparing it to others insisting that there was nothing else in the county quite like it.
Field Days
August 20th & 21st 1-4pm at BioAg Learning Center
Day 1: Crops & Soil Health Day 2: Livestock & Nutrition 6600 Hwy 130 Avoca, WI 53506
Dear farmer agribusiness person, It’s amazing how well things seem to be doing on the farm this summer. They’re late, I know,and at a few times this growing season I wasn’t so sure that we would have much to harvest. We do get tired of always having to switch to ‘plan B.’ Our field days are coming up (Aug 20 and 21) and we are ready to show and present what we do here on Otter Creek Organic Farm. Not everything works perfect on every acre every year, but our soil health and resilience, fertility and tilth definitely take out some of the environmental hits. What do all those words mean? Not all is black and white, not all is easy to measure. Being organic and having to cultivate was a good thing this year, following all the rain in July and the resulting tight soils. Depending on biological nitrogen (from manures, cover crops and soil life) does stop or reduce the nitrogen loss. Our corn got darker every day while corn in our area got more yellow. Split applications of nitrogen would really have helped our conventional neighbors, also getting more air in the ground would be a big plus for them. Never forget, we have jobs to do as farmers and planting and harvesting are just two of them! Field Days have new format this year Our field days have changed this year, with Otter Creek hosting two afternoon-only biological farming events Aug 20 and 21. We are an organic farm and as such we do things around the organic system, using biological practices. Even if you’re not organic, you can certainly learn from the principles (they remain the same for everyone) even though some production techniques would be different. We have also split the event into two days, trying to get more opportunity to share what we do with a smaller group. The first day, Soils Day, will be looking at the chemical, physical and biological aspects: how we manage nutrients, rotate and use cover crops, manage carbon inputs, select fertilizers; what we do about tillage and how we feed, evaluate and take care of our soil life. On the second day, Livestock Day, we will be sharing how we feed and manage the cow, the heifer, and the calf. We’ll talk about not only the rations, but also the work and management we do to feed that balanced ration and feed the feeds we grow, both pastures and forages. You can’t violate the principles of the cow or the soil. Come and learn those at our field days. All are welcome, see you Aug 20-21,
Midwestern BioAg, Inc 10955 Blackhawk Drive Blue Mounds, WI 53517
Volume 1 | Issue 3 August 2013
Time to start thinking about Cover Crops By Jeff Gunderson, Staff Agronomist
As wheat harvest wraps up in the Midwest it’s time to start thinking about cover crops. The window between wheat or corn silage harvest and the end of the growing season can be a favorable time to establish a cover crop, but it is important to plan ahead and consider your options before moving forward.
nutrients coming from manure applications. Cool season crops include field peas or red or white clovers. These crops may establish better as we move into cooler fall weather, although N fixation from clovers may be minimal if they are terminated the next spring. Winter rye, oats and triticale are options for fall planting as well. Many cover crop mixtures including Cover crops can help to contribute, retain and small grains and/or legumes along with radishes may efficiently cycle nutrients, suppress weeds, protect have utility; however, remember that timing of the soil from wind and water erosion, and enhance soil establishment is important. Seeding tillage radish after quality. However, to maximize the benefits you receive early September may still have benefits, but roots will from your cover crop there are two main things to not develop the girth commonly seen in consider: (1) crop selection based on need and (2) seed advertisements. costs and proper establishment of the crop. Selection depends on what you hope to get from the cover. Are you looking for a crop to add extra nitrogen? Or for a fast growing hay crop for extra forage? Or for a crop to break up soil compaction? Possibly there is a need for some ground to spread excess manure and a cover crop to hold on to that manure. Many growers will be looking to fill the niche after wheat or corn silage with a cover crop that will winterkill or can be terminated easily in the fall or spring. Therefore an annual crop may provide a good fit. Summer annual legumes such as soybeans, crimson clover, cowpeas or sunn hemp can provide extra nitrogen, and will winterkill. Tillage radish can help to break up compacted layers. Sorghum-sudangrass or millet can be a good choice for producers looking for emergency forage or to simply hold on to the
Wh deciding d iddi what h cover crops to plant, l i When seedd cost is a large factor. Seed costs can be high, especially for radish or legumes like crimson clover, and many growers are not interested in investing a lot in cover crop seed. Low cost covers work just fine for some growers depending on expectations. However, if a good, solid stand is desired that is going to produce large amounts of biomass and/or fix
(Cover Crops cont.) significant amounts of nitrogen, then quality seed is important. Remember the worn-out, but easy-to-forget adage: you get what you pay for. That said, return on investment is a very important consideration, which is why crop selection should be done thoughtfully. Establishment of a cover crop is another area for consideration. Seedbed prep can range from no-till, heavy residue situations to a clean, even surface. Nothing will reduce your return quicker than poor establishment, so the appropriate seeding method to ensure good soil-toseed contact should be used. For instance, broadcasting into residues, even with subsequent incorporation may result in poorer soil-to seed contact than drilling. Crop species and seed cost are important drivers when considering planting strategies. Spinning on rye is probably less risky establishment and return-wise as compared to radish or clover. Seeding rate is another factor that must be managed correctly. Rate recommendations for cover crops vary
widely. Make sure to note the germination % on the seed tag and correct for low germination, and use the seed catalog’s recommendation if applicable. Then experiment to see what suits your operation. When working with mixtures using the correct ratio of seed ensures an even stand across species. One last note is that when working with less typical crops, such as radish, be aware of herbicide plant back restrictions that may negatively affect establishment.
Examples of Cover Crop Seeding Rates Crop Rye Oats Tillage-type Radish Sunnhemp Soybeans Crimson Clover Oat/Pea Rye/Radish Oat/Clover
Feed Inventory, Do you have enough?
Seeding rate/acre 1.5-2 bu. 1-2 bu. 4-8 lb 15 lb 60 lb 15-18 lb 1.5 bu./60-90 lb 1.5 bu./3-5 lb 1-1.5 bu./10-12 lb
By Dave Meidl, Director of Nutrition Now is a very good time to evaluate what you have and Remember to take into account harvest and storage what you still need to put in storage to make it through losses in planning your needs. Harvesting at the proper this next year. Due to the drought of 2012, wide spread moisture along with processing and treating with winter-kill this spring, wet conditions for planting corn inoculants to maximize dry matter recovery and and low carry-over of feed inventories have left some digestibility is critical. challenging situations. Due to these variables In order to do this you do need to know what your harvesting the same amount of acres for a certain forage does not work. Also harvesting, storage and feed livestock inventory is. This may also be a good time to evaluate your culling parameters to control the number out shrink must be taken into account. of animals that you have to feed. Start by looking at Too many times we have received calls saying “I’m out individual groups of animals along with their rations so of certain forage.” Feed inventory is critical and always you can calculate how many lbs (divide by 2000=tons) to determine your needs for each group and then changing, it is something that needs to be tracked on all dairy farms. Knowing what the nutrient composition multiply for length of time. Add up the feeds from each group of animals and subtract from current is so that there is a plan in place before you run out is important. It also helps position different quality forages inventory (know what your storage holds). The result is the amount of feed that will be needed to feed your to different animal groups to maximize production and economic value. herd for the selected amount of time. Now add in harvest, storage and feed out shrink to determine the amount of additional feed needed to harvest or By this time you have a pretty good idea of how much purchase. Don’t be afraid to ask for help! Your hay you have and can forecast what you will be consultant can help or there are spread sheets and getting for the next cutting. So, how much corn silage do we need to chop? Or do we have a summer annual software programs available to track your feed. to harvest yet? Or do we need to seed alternative forage that we can harvest this fall or next spring?
(Feed cont.) Shrink is real and something we don’t see happening. Total forage dry matter losses can easily range from 10%-20% coming from losses associated with filling, seepage, fermentation, surface spoilage along with birds, rodents and tires tracking feed. This is something every producer needs to acknowledge and take steps to reduce. It is worth taking the time to evaluate your operation and see where the opportunity lies to reduce this profit robber.
Farm:
Producer Profile: John Jorasz; Jorasz Brothers Farm - Wilson, MIchigan
250 cow dairy, along with dairy beef & heifers for a total of 800 head. Runs 5000 acres of corn, beans, alfalfa, wheat & barley. Has used the Midwestern BioAg program since the early 90’s. Product Highlight: Liquid-Carbon Based Fertilizer 10-14-1 It all started in the early 90’s when John Jorasz stumbled across Gary Zimmer at one of his meetings. He believed that what Gary said held a lot of promise and a lot of truth. After that encounter, he took the initiative and learned more about biological farming and what he learned made a lot of sense to him; the rest, they say, is history, John has been implementing the BioAg system on his farm ever since. This past year, John used L-CBF 10-14-1 as a starter on his corn ground. What intrigued John about this product was that it was molasses based. Molasses is a natural sugar product and is more soil friendly than other liquid starters which made it ideal for John’s management plan. John also purchased a new planter this year which could only utilize a liquid starter and he looked to Midwestern BioAg to supply him with an easy to use product to suit his needs. His new planter handled the liquid very well and also allowed him to experiment with different application rates. John settled on a rate of 10 gallons/acre placed at 1 inch beside and 1 inch below the seed. He had absolutely no issues with flow or the planter, even at higher rates; in fact next year he plans to apply 12-15 gallons/acre because of the impact that the L-CBF made on his corn. The L-CBF seemed to do a lot more for the corn and because he had no issues with the handling of this product he is looking forward to being able to apply it at a higher rate and see even more positive results. Not a boastful man himself, John insisted that his corn was just as good as everyone else’s; but this year he did notice that his neighbors were commenting on his corn and comparing it to others insisting that there was nothing else in the county quite like it.
Field Days
August 20th & 21st 1-4pm at BioAg Learning Center
Day 1: Crops & Soil Health Day 2: Livestock & Nutrition 6600 Hwy 130 Avoca, WI 53506
Dear farmer agribusiness person, It’s amazing how well things seem to be doing on the farm this summer. They’re late, I know,and at a few times this growing season I wasn’t so sure that we would have much to harvest. We do get tired of always having to switch to ‘plan B.’ Our field days are coming up (Aug 20 and 21) and we are ready to show and present what we do here on Otter Creek Organic Farm. Not everything works perfect on every acre every year, but our soil health and resilience, fertility and tilth definitely take out some of the environmental hits. What do all those words mean? Not all is black and white, not all is easy to measure. Being organic and having to cultivate was a good thing this year, following all the rain in July and the resulting tight soils. Depending on biological nitrogen (from manures, cover crops and soil life) does stop or reduce the nitrogen loss. Our corn got darker every day while corn in our area got more yellow. Split applications of nitrogen would really have helped our conventional neighbors, also getting more air in the ground would be a big plus for them. Never forget, we have jobs to do as farmers and planting and harvesting are just two of them! Field Days have new format this year Our field days have changed this year, with Otter Creek hosting two afternoon-only biological farming events Aug 20 and 21. We are an organic farm and as such we do things around the organic system, using biological practices. Even if you’re not organic, you can certainly learn from the principles (they remain the same for everyone) even though some production techniques would be different. We have also split the event into two days, trying to get more opportunity to share what we do with a smaller group. The first day, Soils Day, will be looking at the chemical, physical and biological aspects: how we manage nutrients, rotate and use cover crops, manage carbon inputs, select fertilizers; what we do about tillage and how we feed, evaluate and take care of our soil life. On the second day, Livestock Day, we will be sharing how we feed and manage the cow, the heifer, and the calf. We’ll talk about not only the rations, but also the work and management we do to feed that balanced ration and feed the feeds we grow, both pastures and forages. You can’t violate the principles of the cow or the soil. Come and learn those at our field days. All are welcome, see you Aug 20-21,
Midwestern BioAg, Inc 10955 Blackhawk Drive Blue Mounds, WI 53517
