BACKGROUND IN FORMATION

My father Martin , my brother Greg , and myself own, rent and operate 1 5,000 acres in South Central South Dakota. Of those 1 5,000 acres, 6,500 is cropped and the remaining 8,500 is pasture and hay ground. Along with the cropping, we also run 1,000 herd cows consisting of purebred Angus, Simmental and commercials. in addition, we have a 2,000 head backgrounding and finishing feedlot. We also have a 1,200 sow farrow to finish operation which produces some 10,000 head of seedstock and 20,000 head of butchers annually.

The crops consist of 1,700 acres of winter wheat, 300 acres of spring wheat, 1,000 acres of silo, 1,100 acres of corn; either for silage or grain, 700 acres of oats; either for silage or grain, 400 acres of silage cane, 400 acres Pea/Oats for forage, 500 acres alfalfa and 100 acres of grazing cane used as set aside and game production, 200 acres millet and 200 acres of oilseeds.

The soils consist of mostly Milboros or commonly known as "GUMBO" and the topography is gently rolling. The soil pH runs from 6.9 to 8.2 and organic matter levels currently average 3.5. Our average annual rainfall is 22 inches.

TRIALS

Unlike many in our area, we did most of the prosperous 1970's expansion in the early 1980's. By 1982, we had doubled in size from where we were in 1979. The early 80's were abnormally good, however, we found we were falling behind because of the additional ground to till. At that time, our basic rotation was winter wheat, silo and fallow. It seemed all we got done was field work and very little time was left for real management decisions.

A neighbor had been dabbling in No-Till for a few years prior to 1984 when he urged us to use chemical weed control in some of our row crop to help eliminate some of the time wasted on cultivation. We did try and had good luck thus paving the way for the slow transition to No-Till. That same fall we applied Atrazilne* with our nobel blade on the wheat stubble. We had excellent weed control in the spring but found planting very difficult If not impossible In wet conditions.

I practiced this until 1987 when I sprayed our wheat stubble in the fall rather than blading it. That In itself was a major accomplishment to park the blade for the sprayer. I had always thought that the nobel blade was the perfect tillage tool because it killed weeds without disturbing the ground too much. What I didn't know was that even though It left residue relatively undisturbed, it didn't prevent soil erosion caused by heavy rains in the spring of 1988, I enjoyed great success planting silo into the No-Till wheat stubble. I noticed that the silo emerged later than the conventional because of the cooler soil temperatures. I must admit that the newly emerged No-Till silo looked terrible for about three weeks. It looked as though I had made a big mistake with No-Till. Just when I was about to tear it out and re-plant, the silo suddenly looked better. After about the fourth or fifth week, that silo exploded into growth and soon was out growing the conventional. It out yielded the conventional by 25%.

I now knew that No-Till had potential but since I was depending on chemical weed control, I had to develop a rotation that was suitable for the residual chemicals. I was using Atrazinee on our row crops and Glean for oats. Naturally these two chemicals led us to a basic four year rotation of two years of cereal grain to be followed by two years of row crop. For the most part, I was getting two years of weed control for the price of one.

In 1989 I decided to expand the No-Till program Into the cereal grains. I No-Tilled the oats Into silo stubble and planted winter wheat that Fall into oats stubble and chemical fallow. The No-Till oats wasn't what we expected it to be at planting time. It didn't really adapt to the cooler tiltheir environment. However, it did yield about the same as conventionally tilled oats. The No-Till winter wheat yielded 5 bushel less than fallow wheat but with far less cost.

By the spring of 1990, we had tried No-Till on all of the major crops. I decided to try planting alfalfa Into silo stubble without a nurse crop. I planted two forty acre fields which both had two years of silo stubble. it was the first week of May and planting conditions were excellent. We got an inch of rain two days after planting followed by a warm spell. The alfalfa came up fast and even. Normally, we never harvest an alfalfa crop the first year, but this time we took two, three ton per acre cuttings. The next season, however, I wasn't as lucky because of poor planting conditions and lack of seasonal moisture.

1991 proved to be a year of experimentation. Not only were we approaching 100% No-Till, I also tried some alternative crops. Because of the 1990 Farm Bill, I had some flex acres to experiment with some oilseeds. Since I don't like sunflowers, I decided I would try flax. Because of the early heat stress and lack of moisture, it only yielded fifteen bushel per acre. Not much but still better than summer fallow. I used four quarts of Ramrod' for weed control and had fair control. I had to be careful what herbicide I used because I wanted to plant winter wheat into the flax stubble and I didn't want any carryover. The best thing about the flax was the stubble. It was about five inches tall and very stiff and stood well that winter.

On the forage side of the crops I tried a trapper pea and triticale blend called Tripper. This strange combination fit very well into the rotation behind the two years of row crops. Because of the seed combination, there was no labeled herbicide that I could use. Weed control In Tripper relies on early planting and high population. I planted the first week in April and by the end of the month it had already canopied. We cut, chopped and bagged the peas the second week of June. There were no weeds present at harvest and the stubble was perfect for No-Till winter wheat. I used Round Up RT once after harvest and once before wheat seeding. The Tripper didn't yield enough to cover the thirty five dollar per acre seed cost but the silage has proved to be fantastic feed and again, it's better than fallow.

The next season rather than purchasing blended seed, I purchased the seed separately and blended it. Also, I inoculated the pea seed so that it fixed nitrogen to further enhance the payback.

During the 1 992 season, I started chemically killing alfalfa after the first cutting in preparation for winter wheat seeding. Planting Into alfalfa stubble is more difficult than, for example oats stubble, however, if you can penetrate to moisture In alfalfa stubble the seed tends to get better soil contact because the soil is more firm. I did discover that "seed lock" wheels do not work well In these firm soils. What they do is inhibit opener penetration.

There are three major advantages to seeding Into alfalfa stubble:

1. 40 to 60 lb. of Nitrogen.

2. No expensive tillage costs.

3. No-Till eco-system already In place.

Recently I began experimenting with planting Into established sod or native grass land. I believe the potential for this practice is very good. My hopes are that if it succeeds, producers can use No-Till to get many of the acres in CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) back into production. Since most of the CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) acres are HEL (Highly Erodible Land), It only makes sense to use No-Till.

It was quite successful the first year, however, I did learn a few lessons:

1. Spray the established sod in the fall rather than the spring.

2. Watch planters closely to ensure good seed to soil contact.

Don't expect the first year back into production to be real productive.

EQUIPMENT

Planting equipment has caused us many trials and tribulations. After trying everything from hoe drills to air-till drills, we have finally settled with disk type openers. I feel that disk openers work better in No-Till conditions because they don't move as much soil. Granted, lack of penetration can be a problem with disk openers but after several years of continuous No-Till, penetration problems begin to disappear. Depth control continues to be the most difficult to maintain on our disk openers. Equipment manufactures are addressing this problem and there are a few disk openers with good depth control on the market. Maintenance and durability may very well be the next problems to overcome on many openers.

We also have a sixteen row John Deere Max-Emerge' with Acra-Plant' notched disk openers and Martin' row cleaners. This is an excellent No-Till machine. However, it is very high maintenance and has thirty inch space which is too wide for silo. I have found that these planters are too expensive to own and maintain to keep just for one or two types of crops. We also have a thirty six foot Great Plains' three section folding press drill with seven and half inch space. We have had this drill since 1992 and have found it to work very well in all No-Till situations.

There are several things to consider when choosing disk openers. First, disk openers penetrate residues better if they are offset. In other words, one disk leads the other by about a 1/4 of an inch. Secondly, if openers have been used, make sure they are sharp. Dull disks tend to hairpin residue rather than slicing through it. Finally, select openers that do not rely on the packer wheel for depth control. There simply Is not enough measure of control of depth In varying soil conditions especially In rough or high residue situations.

The most important piece of equipment for a good No-Till system is the sprayer. Whether you do your own or you hire a custom applicator, make sure the spraying equipment Is up to date and working properly. The herbicides used today are very concentrated, some as low as one twentieth of one ounce of active material per acre. These kinds of products require precise measurement and application. Each chemical has Its' own set of requirements such as amount of carrier for optimum performance, environmental conditions and compatibility with other chemicals In, for example, a tank mix.

Tip selection is also very Important. I recommend an extended range tip because It maintains good patterns In a wide variety of pressure ranges.

We recently purchased a 100 foot Summerse sprayer with wind screens. It also has a dual tank chemical Injection system. This sprayer provides a wide selection of spraying heights and wind becomes less of a threat with the screens.

Finally, it is imperative that you have a good straw and chaff spreader on your combine. If you combine a thirty foot swath, you should also spread your straw about the same width.

FUTURE EQUIPMENT

Since the start of the No-Till revolution, the equipment manufacturers have come a long way in design and innovation on No-Till equipment. The seeder opener technology has made a great deal of progress in the last few years. I would like to see the single disk opener design coupled with an air delivery system. This combination would be better suited for larger more diversified operations than the current planting equipment.

I would also like to see more track technology being used. I plan on purchasing a track system to be shared on a grain cart, silage wagon and a manure spreader. I know first hand the advantages of tracks since I have had a Challenger* 65 since 1987.

OUR NO-TILL PROGRAM TODAY

After ten years of No-Till experience and five years of continuous No-Till in our operation, we have a set program that we adhere to. This program is based on the four year rotation we originally designed in the 1980's. The schematic (Figure 1) shows the flow of the vicarious rotational options we employ.

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of establishing a sound rotation. The system must fit your individual operation and also fit an agronomic system as well. By that I mean the rotation must best use moisture and other environmental conditions to its best potential. You can see right away that we don't let land set idle during any growing season. it is simply not economical to do so.

Our chemical and fertilizer program is simple yet very effective. Most all of the herbicides used go on pre-plant as do most of the fertilizers.

As you can see on Figure 2, we use just a few herbicides throughout our whole program. The first year of the rotation has minimal herbicide use because we rely on early planting and high plant population to compete against weeds. Round RT' is used after harvest twice before winter wheat seeding. Amber' is used to control broadleaves in the winter wheat. It provides control all the way to wheat harvest. Round-up' is again used twice after harvest. Two pounds of Atrazine' are applied with the second burn down in late September. The next spring, Dual * will be applied to the wheat stubble In preparation for your number three of the rotation. After the third year harvest, no herbicide is used until the following spring at which time I will decide which rotational option I will follow. If I plant silo or cane, I will use Dual' and about 3/4 of a pound of Atrazine'. Again, no herbicide will be used after harvest until the following spring at which time the rotation repeats.

Each Fall, I soil test each individual field for fertility. I give the soil lab three rotational options and three yield goals for each field. They send me recommendations for each and I chose which one fits into my final plan. After I have decided my plan, the fertilizer recommended for each field is spread in December.

Along with the fertilizer that is spread in December, 1 also use about ten gallons of liquid starter with everything I plant.

ERRORS

Along with the many successes, we have had with No-Till there have been many mistakes also. Among these mistakes many were caused by poor timing or equipment problems. But most of the mistakes were due to poor management. Early on we didn't understand the importance of the three major components of a good No-Till system; rotation, sanitation and competition. One of the worst mistakes made was trying to raise an oats crop on ground where Atrazine * had been applied the fall before. Not only was this a rotational misfit, it was also a major record keeping mistake.

In 1988 we had some excessively heavy wheat residues and found out the hard way that the straw and chaff were not spread good enough. This caused a sanitation problem because the excess straw caused a herbicide and nutrient tie up and made planting difficult.

In the Spring of 1991, we encountered some extremely tough planting conditions on the silo and at best only about 60% of the seed planted actually germinated. This led to a competition problem in areas where the herbicide could not make up for the lack of competition.

SUCCESSES

I think there are several major successes we had have so far with our No-Till program. First, we have reduced our per acre production costs by over forty percent simply by taking out the tillage Therefore, we also have more time to concentrate on other areas of our operation. Second, after just six years of No-Till, we have increased total per acre production by nearly twenty percent. Third, we have had better than average production with below normal precipitation. Fourth, with No-Till we have brought our soils back into nearly the same condition they were in before they were broke many years ago. Fifth, No-Till has made us better managers because of the intense record keeping requirements. Finally and most importantly, No-Till allows me more time to spend with my family.

SUMMARY

We have been in No-Till for only ten short years, but already we have seen and will continue to see the true benefits of a good No-Till system. I will be the first to tell you that No-Till is not for everybody yet. No-Till requires much more planning than most conventional systems ever did. The learning curve can be discouraging and costly. However, as we learn more as individuals and as research progresses as It has, that curve becomes less of a threat to the new No-Tillers. I must remind you that what I have presented to you here is not a recipe of success for your operation, but merely a representation of our system. Those of you who are serious about starting, must follow the proven guidelines that are available and customize the rest td fit your needs. No-Till Is no longer just a way to cut operating costs. It is fast becoming a means of preserving our greatest resources: the soil and our water.

Figure 2. Jorgensen Farms Herbicide/Fertilizer Use
	Herbicides Used			Fertilizer Average Values
Rotation	Pre Plant	Post Plant	Post Harvest	Applied as recommended by Soil Lab
				Dry	Liquid
Year 1	Round-Up RT 12-16 oz/acre	Banvel (optional) 2-6 oz/acre	Round-Up RT 12-16 oz/acre	Urea 50-100 units/acre	10-34-0 Starter 10 gallon/acre with seed
	2-4D Amine 16-24 oz/acre	Ally (optional) 1/6 oz/acre	2-4D Amine 16-24 oz/acre	Phosphorus 10-40 units/acre Applied in December
Year 2	Rount-Up RT 6-10 oz/acre	NONE	Round-Up RT 16-20 oz/acre	SAME	SAME
	Amber .56 oz/acre		2-4D Amine 16-24 oz/acre
			Attrex Atrazine 1.5-2lbs/acre
Year 3	Round-Up RT (optional)	Banvel (optional)	NONE	SAME	SAME
	Dual II 32 oz/acre
	Attrex Atrazine .75 lbs/acre
Year 4	Round-Up 12-16 oz/acre	Banvel (optional)	NONE	SAME	SAME
	2-4D Amine 16-24 oz/acre
	Dual II 32 oz/acre
	Attrex Atrazine .75 lbs/acre
Year 5 Alfalfa (optional)	Round-Up RT 12-16 oz/acre	Poast Plus 24 oz/acre OR Pursuit 1/3 oz/acre	NONE	Phosphorus 10-50 units/acre	NONE
	2-4D Amine 10-16 oz/acre

TOP TEN NO-TILL TIPS FOR SUCCESS

1. PLAN AHEAD: Develop a long term rotation plan for at least the next three years.

2. SOIL TEST: Test your soils for fertility, soil pH and organic matter and follow fertility recommendations rigidly.

3. KEEP GOOD RECORDS: Keep accurate records to analyze productivity and to avoid costly mistakes.

4. SANITATION: Spread straw and chaff evenly and keep weeds from seeding.

5. SPRAYERS: Keep your sprayer calibrated and replace worn tips on a regular basis.

6. PLANTING EQUIPMENT: Keep your planter precisely tuned and keep your openers sharp to promote better plant population.

7. COMPACTION: Avoid excess traffic on your fields such as trucks and large grain carts.

8. CHEMICALS: Read and understand chemical labels to avoid costly crop damage or rotational conflicts.

9. PEER PRESSURE: Keep your neighbors on their toes wondering what you are doing.

10. DILIGENCE: Keep the faith and avoid the tilling temptation.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

HERBICIDES

Ally* - ÆTrademark of Dupont.

Amber* - ~rademark of Ciba-Geigy Corporation.

Attrex Nine-O Atrazine * - ÆTrademark of Ciba-Geigy Corporation. Banvel* - ÆTrademark of Sandoz, LTD.

Weedone LV4 2-D Amine* - ~rademark of Rhone-Poulenc Agriculture Company.

Dual II * - ÆTrademark of Ciba-Geigy Corporation.

Pursult* - ÆTrademark of American Cyanamid Company.

Round-up RT* - ÆTrademark of Monsanto Company.

EQUIPMENT

Challenger 65 * - Trademark of Caterpillar.

Great Plains Grain Drill* - ÆTrademark of Great Plains Manufacturing.

Maximerge* -Trademark of Deere and Company.

Summers Sprayer* - Trrademark of Summers Manufacturing.