Gabe Brown, Bismarck, ND

The Brown Gelbvieh ranch is located near Bismarck, North Dakota. The cropland is primarily Williams loam soils. Moisture has been our limiting factor. In 1994, we purchased a JD 750 drill. The conversion to zero-till has allowed us to diversify our cropping system and start growing crops with higher water requirements. We added field peas to our cropping rotation in 1993. Our initial reason for the conversion was their nitrogen fixing ability. Now peas are in our rotation for a variety of reasons, which include excellent feed value, crop diversity, nitrogen fixation and their positive impact on soil health. Our peas are normally hayed or green chopped by mid July. Once the canopy was removed it left a chance for weeds to germinate and grow. This is where Hairy vetch enters into our system. We were searching for a legume that would compliment the peas and be a high nitrogen producer, which would help us move toward a more sustainable cropping system.

Hairy vetch is a fine stemmed, viney legume that adapts to most soil types. It has a very rapid growth rate and will reach a length of up to 5 feet. It tends to lodge due to its fine stems. It has a high leaf to stem ratio, much higher than alfalfa. We have found that it will retain its leaves throughout the fall and even into winter, if left for winter grazing. Perhaps the most attractive feature of hairy vetch is its ability to produce nitrogen. North Dakota research data indicates Hairy vetch is capable of fixing up to 177 lbs of nitrogen in the above ground biomass. We are still searching for data as to the amount of nitrogen the root mass contains. Inoculation of the seed is a must. It requires the same inoculant as peas. The common label name for the inoculant is "C" peas-vetch-lentils.

I am going to take you through two years of my cropping system to illustrate how I am using hairy vetch and the impact it has on helping me move to a sustainable cropping system. I seeded 12 pounds of hairy vetch with 15 pounds of Paul (hulless) oats and 90 pounds of Arvika Forage Peas per acre. This was seeded directly into corn residue on April 18^th. I did not use any fertilizer; however, as with any legume some phosphorus would be beneficial. I prefer to seed this mix very early thus bypassing the need for a burn down.

Some of the fields were seeded with a 12-row 30-inch JD 1770 planter, as I wanted to find out how far the vetch would spread or "canopy". The mix was seeded at a 1 inch seeding depth. Germination and emergence was very good even in heavy residue. We found that the vetch tends to be a bit slower starting as compared to the oats and peas. This may be due to the oats and peas "shading" the vetch early on. The vetch grew about 1 foot in length. Then waited underneath the oat and pea canopy for the opportunity to harvest sunlight. As we expected the mix planted in 30-inch rows did allow some weeds to germinate due to the length of time it took to canopy. The mix overtime canopied the entire width between the rows. The solid seeded, which was 7.5-inch row spacing, canopied fast and had very few weeds germinate.

On July 5^th, 78 days after planting, the mixture was cut with a 1475 – 18 foot New Holland haybine. The next day it was chopped for haylage. Analysis prior to feeding revealed a protein content of 18.6% on an air-dry basis.

Forty-five days later, August 20^th, the hairy vetch showed tremendous regrowth. There was very little regrowth to the oats and peas. We cut this regrowth, and it yielded 4,200 pounds of hay per acre.

We did not cut 60 acres of this hairy vetch regrowth and elected to graze yearling heifers. The heifers readily adapted, and we had no incidence of bloat. The heifers did have some native pasture access at the same time. I should have strip grazed some fields, since the cattle did "walk down" a fair amount.

In early September, I spread approximately 20 tons of manure per acre. This manure had previously been piled and allowed to compost. I have this custom applied with commercial spreaders that are equipped with triple beaters. I have found that this results in the manure being spread evenly allowing us to plant the following crop without harrowing the fields.

In 2001 we followed by planting corn on April 27^th in 30-inch rows. We planted 25,000 seeds per acre and banded 150# of a 30% urea and 70% Black Diamond, which is a rock phosphate fertilizer. I think it is important to note that I do not use anhydrous ammonia. I quit using it in 1998 and I have noticed a definite improvement in my soil health since then. The corn I used was Roundup Ready – BT variety. A split application of Roundup, at 12 ounces each time, was applied to the corn at 4-8 inches and 18-24 inches tall.

In 2001, between July 31^st and until the corn crop was harvested we received zero rainfall. The corn in this rotation showed no signs of heat stress throughout August even though it was very hot and very dry.

The corn was harvested on October 15, 16 and 17^th. The fields in this rotation yielded from 172 to 184 bushels per acre and it weighed 57 pounds per bushel. After harvest we were left with a large amount of residue, which gave us the opportunity to graze the cowherd on this throughout the remainder of the fall and into early winter.

One result of this type of rotation in a zero till system is an increase in the worm population and other microorganisms in the soil. These in turn will lead to healthier soils, increased water infiltration and retention. I can’t stress enough the success of any cropping system depends on good soil health.

Sustainability is what I’m working towards. Not only sustainability in my grazing and cropping systems but sustainability of the ranch also. My father-in-law started this ranch in the 1950’s and I hope my son will continue ranching after me. It is imperative that in order to insure viability for ourselves and for future generations that we practice and promote sustainability.