Download or read book Alternatives for Reducing Tillage in an Organic Grain silage Production System written by Rebecca Champagne and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many organic farmers would like to reduce tillage to aid with soil conservation and decrease labor and fuel costs. However, tillage is still necessary for weed control and incorporation of nutrient amendments. One strategy for reducing tillage revolves around cover crop-based, organic rotational no-till, which employs cover crop mulches and no-till cash crop planting. Primary tillage occurs in the fall at cover crop establishment, and in-season weed control relies on suppression by the cover crop mulch along with supplemental inter-row cultivation. We initiated a cropping systems experiment to study several strategies for reducing tillage frequency and intensity within an organic grain/silage rotation in the Mid-Atlantic. Four cropping systems (S1-S4) were examined before soybean and corn crops. For soybean, either a cover crop mixture interseeded into corn harvested for grain or fall sown cereal rye after corn silage and before soybean was terminated via tillage or roller-crimper, respectively. Soybean were either seeded into the tilled cover crop mixture (S2 and S4) or no-till planted into the cereal rye mulch (S1 and S3). Cover crops preceding corn included two systems of hairy vetch/triticale sown after spelt harvest (S1 and S2) and primary tillage, and two systems of red clover/timothy frost-seeded into spelt in late winter (S3 and S4). One hairy vetch system was terminated via roller-crimping (S1), while the other three systems relied on spring tillage to incorporate the cover crop and livestock manure. One hairy vetch and red clover system were grown for corn silage (S1 and S3), while the other two were harvested as grain corn. The results showed that for the soybean crop, while the interseeded mix generally produced around 2,000 kg ha-1 biomass, cereal rye typically produced about 5,000 kg ha-1, with upwards of 8,000 kg ha-1. Weed suppression varied from year to year based on environmental conditions which sometimes hindered in-season cultivation. Weed control was good and subsequent biomass production was as low as 95 kg ha-1 in 2015, but reached upwards of 2,000 kg ha-1 in 2016, when weather conditions prevented effective mechanical weed control. Despite differences in both soybean stand and weed biomass, yields were comparable between the no-till and tilled soybean systems, ranging from 1,800-3,000 kg ha-1 across years. For the corn crop, red clover/timothy produced 3,300-4,500 kg ha-1 cover crop biomass, while hairy vetch/triticale was more variable, producing 3,600-7,500 kg ha-1 biomass over the three years. Although weed biomass at the time of corn planting was below 78 kg ha-1, in-season weed control varied by both treatment and year depending on the effectiveness of in-season cultivation. Late-summer weed biomass levels ranged from 300 kg ha-1 up to 2,700 kg ha-1, with less effective weed control resulting when environmental conditions prevented timely blind tillage and inter-row cultivation. Corn grain yields were not different from year to year; however, corn silage yields were different between systems every year likely due to later planted corn and a reduced nutrient supply. Finally, the weed seedbanks were measured to the plow layer each March preceding the cash crop growing season. Our results show that poor in-season weed control greatly drives the density of the weed seedbank, with seeds m-2 increasing after a droughty 2016 which hindered in-season cultivation efforts. Foxtail species dominated the seedbank in all three cash crops (corn, soybean, spelt), comprising at least 40% of the germinable seedbank. Other prevalent species included purslane speedwell, yellow woodsorrel, Eastern black nightshade, common lambsquarters, and redroot pigweed, among others. Seedbank trends showed that seed density increased after the corn and soybean phases, but decreased after the spelt phase. No-till corn and soybean systems tended to have lower seed density relative to tilled systems, but this was dependent on successful in-season weed control. Our results also show that interseeding a cover crop in corn can help reduce returns to the seedbank, with seed density being lower than corn systems which did not employ interseeding.
Download or read book Managing Cover Crops Profitably 3rd Ed written by Andy Clark and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2008-07 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cover crops slow erosion, improve soil, smother weeds, enhance nutrient and moisture availability, help control many pests and bring a host of other benefits to your farm. At the same time, they can reduce costs, increase profits and even create new sources of income. You¿ll reap dividends on your cover crop investments for years, since their benefits accumulate over the long term. This book will help you find which ones are right for you. Captures farmer and other research results from the past ten years. The authors verified the info. from the 2nd ed., added new results and updated farmer profiles and research data, and added 2 chap. Includes maps and charts, detailed narratives about individual cover crop species, and chap. about aspects of cover cropping.
Download or read book Building Soils for Better Crops written by Fred Magdoff and published by Sare. This book was released on 2009 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "'Published by the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, with funding from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture."
Download or read book Die neueren Sprachen written by and published by . This book was released on 1969 with total page 640 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Economic Analysis of Alternative Tillage Systems for Delaware Grain Farms written by Judy Ohannesian and published by . This book was released on 1979 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Alternative Farming Systems Economic Aspects written by Karl Schneider and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Biodiversity In Agricultural Production Systems written by Gero Benckiser and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2006-07-19 with total page 429 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While modern science has always recognized the central role that biodiversity plays in the ecological processes that maintain the Earth's equilibrium, our increasing knowledge of nature has deepened our appreciation of this principle. Consequently, those involved with implementing and maintaining sustainable agriculture systems have begun to take a
Download or read book No Till Intensive Vegetable Culture written by Bryan O'Hara and published by Chelsea Green Publishing. This book was released on 2020-02-21 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "No-till farming is the new best practice for preventing soil erosion, building soil biology, and providing growing conditions for vibrant, healthy crops. But for organic vegetable farmers and gardeners-and any farmer who wants to avoid herbicide use-the seemingly insurmountable dilemma with no-till has been how to control weeds without cultivating. In this thorough, practical guide, expert organic farmer Bryan O'Hara provide the answers. O'Hara systemically describes the growing methods he developed and perfected during a multi-year transition of his Connecticut certified organic vegetable farm to a no-till system. O'Hara asserts that this flexible, nature-friendly agricultural methodology is critical to vegetable farming success both economically as well as to maintain the health of the soil and the farm ecosystem. His methodology has proven itself over years of cropping on his home farm, Tobacco Road Farm, as well as other farms in his region, often with stunning results in yields, quality, and profitability. In No-Till Intensive Vegetable Culture, O'Hara delves into the techniques he has experimented with and perfected in his 25 years of farming, including making and using compost, culturing and applying indigenous microorganisms to support soil biology, reduced tillage systems, no-till bed preparation techniques, seeding and transplanting methods, irrigation, use of fertilizers (including foliar feeds), pest and disease management, weed control, season extension, and harvest and storage techniques. O'Hara also explores the spiritual understanding of the nuances of the soil and a farm ecosystem and how that influences practical production decisions such as when to plant, water, and fertilize a crop. O'Hara goal is to pass on his knowledge to those who feel the impulse to make their livelihood in harmony with nature, requiring a relatively small land base of a few acres or less and little capital investment in mechanization. Home gardener and large-scale farmers will also find value in his methods. This manual will provides farmers with an advanced agricultural methodology not available in any other single book on organic vegetable production, a methodology that will allow farmers to continue to adapt to meet future challenges"--
Download or read book Ecological Intensification and Sustainable Intensification Increasing Benefits to and Reducing Impacts on the Environment to Improve Future Agricultural and Food Systems written by Aaron Kinyu Hoshide and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2023-10-31 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Risk Analysis of Tillage and Crop Rotation Alternatives with Winter Wheat for South Central Kansas written by Matthew J. Pachta and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study examines the economic profitability of reduced-tillage and no-tillage systems for corn, soybeans, and grain sorghum production in annual rotation with winter wheat, and monoculture wheat and grain sorghum in south-central Kansas. Net returns to land and management per acre for each of 13 production systems are calculated several different ways. Net returns are calculated using the 10-year average yield for each crop, the average crop price from 2009, and 2009 input prices. A distribution of net returns is also calculated using the actual historical yields and crop prices from 1997 to 2006 and 2009 input prices. This process is repeated, except average crop prices from 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 are now used. Finally, net returns are calculated using simulated yield and price distributions based on actual historical yields, four historical monthly price series, and 2009 input costs. Overall, the reduced-tillage wheat-soybean systems (RTWS) have the greatest net returns for each of the net return distributions. No-tillage wheat-soybean (NTWS) generally has the second highest net returns. Stochastic Efficiency with Respect to a Function (SERF) is used to determine the preferred management strategies under various risk preferences. SERF analysis indicates that RTWS is the system most preferred by all producers, regardless of their level of risk aversion. NTWS is typically the second most preferred system to RTWS. Using historical annual prices for 1997 to 2006 and the simulated monthly prices series for 2006 to 2009 and 2007 to 2009 to calculate the net return distributions, managers with higher levels of risk aversion prefer reduced-tillage wheat-grain sorghum (RTWG) over no-tillage wheat-soybean (NTWS). Sensitivity analysis shows that as the price of glyphosate falls, no-till systems become relatively more profitable. SERF analysis using the historic yields, 2006 to 2009 simulated monthly prices, and 2009 input costs with reduced glyphosate prices indicate that NTWS would be the system most preferred by producers at all levels of risk aversion. RTWS closely follows NTWS as the next preferred system with those conditions also for all levels of risk aversion.
Download or read book The Drought Resilient Farm written by Dale Strickler and published by Storey Publishing. This book was released on 2018-06-12 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rainfall levels are rarely optimal, but there are hundreds of things you can do to efficiently conserve and use the water you do have and to reduce the impact of drought on your soil, crops, livestock, and farm or ranch ecosystem. Author Dale Strickler introduces you to the same innovative systems he used to transform his own drought-stricken family farm in Kansas into a thriving, water-wise, and profitable enterprise, maximizing healthy cropland, pasture, and water supply. Ranging from simple, short-term projects such as installing rain-collection ollas to long-term land-management planning strategies, Strickler’s methods show how to get more water into the soil, keep it in the soil, and help plants and livestock access it.
Download or read book Southern Region SARE ACE Annual Report written by SARE/ACE Program. Southern Region and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Report and recommendations on organic farming written by United States. Department of Agriculture and published by . This book was released on 1980 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Soil Biology Primer written by and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book No tillage Seeding in Conservation Agriculture written by C. John Baker and published by Food & Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO). This book was released on 2007 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a much-expanded and updated edition of a previous volume, published in 1996 as "No-tillage Seeding: Science and Practice". The base objective remains to describe, in lay terms, a range of international experiments designed to examine the causes of successes and failures in no-tillage. The book summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of no tillage and highlights the pros and cons of a range of features and options, without promoting any particular product.
Download or read book Paying the Farm Bill written by Paul Faeth and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 90 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The changes needed to protect U.S. agriculturral resources and income over the long term are analyzed and critical links that are missing in the current debate about sustainable agriculture are forged
Download or read book Building Soils for Better Crops written by Fred Magdoff and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
