There have been opinions expressed that you take a conventional farmer, hold their hand as a beginner, and after some length of time, years maybe, he will become a 0-tiller. I do not feel this is the case anymore.
- A beginning 0-tiller is not a beginning farmer.
- The benefits of 0-till are apparent immediately.
This is not to say it won’t be necessary to take a different approach to farming. I fee there are a number of basics to address before starting 0-till.
- Rotation
- Residue Management
- Seed and Fertilizer Placement
- Weed Control
- Rotation: A proper rotation makes the next 3 points easier to handle. It minimizes diseases associated with high residue. It offers opportunity to take advantage of higher moisture levels. It makes it possible to get the most from an economic point of view. The last few years we have had a rotation ½ cereals and ½ broadleaf crops. Due to economics the cereal has been mostly prairie spring wheat. On the broadleaf side we have been increasing peas and reducing flax and canola. The spring of 1992 was wet in our area and wet fields delayed seeding in some cases. We had no trouble getting into our broadleaf crop stubble or semi-dwarf wheat stubble. Our worst fields had been in wheat for 2 years in a row.
- Residue Management: Cut your crop at the height your seeding equipment can easily handle. In our area we want as much snow trap as possible. Chaff and straw must be well spread. Alternating cereal and broadleaf crops helps minimize residue problems.
- Seed and Fertilizer Placement: Many drills are capable of seeding into standing stubble. Personally, we use a Concord Air Seeder. We use ¾" banding knives to seed peas and some wheat. We use 5" shovels on 12" spacing for the rest and split seed and fertilizer when necessary. We used the J.D. disc drill on 200 acres last year and hairpinning was a serious problem. However, less disturbance did mean less weed growth.
Fertilizer placement is a major concern. You must consider the options of fall banding, seed placement, side banding, or broadcasting to decide how it fits into your own cropping plans and time schedule.
- Weed Control; Start by getting a decent sprayer. If spraying cannot be done quickly and efficiently, you will not enjoy 0-till. On our farm we control patches of perennials in the fall, and winter annuals late in the year, if possible. The last 2 falls have left very little time to spend on fall spraying. Most beginning 0-tillers ignore winter annual control and most regret it eventually. We use 1/3 liter/acre 2-4,D. At seeding time we use a burn off or ½ liter/acre of Roundup, either the day before or 4 or 5 days after seeding. We have also used Rustler before wheat. We use 5 gallons/acre of water and 1 ¼ pounds/acre 21-0-0-24.
In crops we use what is necessary. The last few years have been mostly Assert, Avenge, Refine Extra, and Estaprop in wheat. Broadleaf crops have been mostly Poast for grassy weeds plus broadleaf and herbicide. Canada Thistle has been a difficult weed and we have used quite a bit of Lontrel.
Don’t forget cultural practices such as mowing field margins and competitive crops and varieties.
Become informed on herbicides and get the most for your money. Tank mix where possible to save application costs. Rinsing pails on average is worth $6.00/pail. Using 5 gallons of water with Roundup saves surfactant and 21-0-0-24 and makes the herbicide more effective. We believe our herbicide costs are $6 or $7/acre more with 0-till than conventional.
There is no recipe that we can use on every farm, every year. It is up to individual farmers to design the system that fits their own situation. We all have different crops, weeds, climate and equipment. Knowing ahead of time how to handle the basic concerns of rotation, residue management, seed and fertilizer placement and weed control will make it easier to deal with other problems as they arrive. The benefits of increased moisture, no erosion, lower fuel costs, lower equipment costs, and less hours spent on the tractors are there for any farmer who chooses 0-till.