by Randy Henke

Better too wet than too dry is a saying I've heard many times over the years. I used to believe it too, until the spring of '95. Being too wet in western N.D. is not better, its just different. My problem with excessive moisture began in 1994 with record rain fall. Fortunately the rainfall subsided at harvest time to help the combine get through the field, but the soil profile was basically saturated. In the first 10 days of October we received an additional 10 inches of rain which set me up for major problems in '95.

Below normal temperatures and mercifully below normal precipitation is what mother nature had in store in the spring. On May 15th I had nothing planted and my standing wheat stubble was basically mud. A 4x4 pickup was no match for these fields. Every badger and fox hole had water sitting in the bottom. I have never seen anything like it. Water could be running out of the ground just about anywhere. After much deliberation, I decided the only way I was going to get this mess planted was to start burning. This is definitely not part of my long term plan but sometimes a drastic problem needs a drastic solution. I do not want large acres of saturated fallow. My Honda 4 wheeler was outfitted with a propane torch (which I ended up pushing half the time) and we set out lighting up the wheat stubble. Even after burning, a surprising amount of residue remains in a field that has been zero tilled many years. All of the upright residue burns but maybe only half of the horizontal residue. About 10 days after burning we attempted to harrow this ground hoping to dry the surface enough to support the weight of the seeder. Overall I think the harrow did increase the trafficability of the land. Unfortunately, the seed bed behind the harrow is poor. I ended up with a inch of dried soil and organic matter insulating the mud underneath. At this point in time I was pretty happy just to get the seed in the ground.

So how am I gonna handle this problem in future years?

1. CROP ROTATION

Crops like sunflowers, flax and corn tend to have a drying effect on the ground and can generally be planted earlier the following year. Low residue, late season moisture use, and dark colored residue are some of the reasons this seems to work. These are the crops I have experience with. I'm sure there are others. On June 1, the only fields that I had planted was the old flax ground (1/4 of my rotation in '94). How thankful do you think I was to have planted flax in '94? Because of their drying effect on the ground, these types of crops will always have at least a small percentage of my rotation.

2. DRILL SELECTION

A seeder that can handle too wet conditions has always been important, but after my experience in 95, it is even more important. I am currently running a 5800 Bourgault which can handle too wet conditions fairly well. A couple features I like are it's lighter weight and the ability to adjust the weight on the press wheels. Lower draft openers, wider row spacing and fall fertilizer banding will also be beneficial.

3. FIRE

If I am ever faced with exactly the same situation, I would burn some wheat stubble (maybe 1/2) in the fall. This insulating effect of the stubble and the snow trap are no longer your friends, they are now the enemy. When I've just got 10" or rain on an already saturated profile, why do I want to trap more moisture? I can't remember the last time anything about farming had me scared, but on June 1, 1995 I was plenty scared. It was a feeling I will never forget. One 2" rain would have closed my planting season abruptly. What if above normal precipitation had fallen instead of the below normal precipitation that I received. The chances of receiving massive rain like this again are remote (I hope). If fall burning is what it takes to get my crop comfortably planted, so be it. What more closely mimmicks nature, fire or a chiesel plow?

One comment I've heard many times is that zero till sounds fine but what's going to happen in a wet year. Sure I had major problems but so did all my conventional till neighbors. I got started planting as early as any one. I was one of the few continuous croppers in my area to actually get every field planted in 1995.