My No-Till Experience

My dad first started no-tilling in the mid seventies when the local White dealer brought a new White 5100 no-till planter to the farm. I was teaching ag 30 miles up the road and we were all looking for a better way to save soil on hilly farms and free up time to tend livestock and other jobs.

We had already switched from moldboard plowing to chisel plowing so it was a natural progression for us. We made lots of mistakes because we didn't understand what we were trying to do but we were willing to learn.

Our problem was weed control. We knew how to control weeds with plowing and disking but never understood how to control weeds with chemicals in no-till. We had 2,4-D and atrazine, enough to get started but had no idea what paraquat was or how it worked.

We quickly learned how to use it to kill what was there so the crop could get a start and control grasses and broadleafs somewhat with 2,4-D and atrazine.

We finally got the weeds under some control but always fought them. We had dear old Johnsongrass(I am sure there is a place in heaven for Johnson and his followers and those led down that washed around path somewhere) and there was no control for it.

We kept no-tilling corn through those years and finally got to raising soybeans for a cash crop. It really caught on with the oil embargo in the early 70's and we were forced to learn how to no-till soybeans when it did.

We drilled soybeans in plowed ground and there was no no-till drill so again farmer innovators developed the first no-till drills. This was years after planting no-till soybeans in 30 inch rows with the no-till corn planters.

The problem with the corn planter was the coulter. It would smear the damp soil so you had to wait for the soil to dry out before you could plant. By the time you waited you could plow and disk and get the corn planted and started growing. Drilled beans canopied faster than corn planted rows, too.

Case IH came out with the first good no-till row units and they caught on. The reduced inside diameter gauge wheel tire and low row unit pressure was key to their success. The first real no-till drill I ever used was the Haybuster and the Tye drills and it was 1990 by now.

In the 90's we had so much moisture in the Ohio Valley we had to wait forever it seemed to plant so I was ready to quit no-tilling by 1995. It so happened I bought my first modem for my IBM computer and found the Internet. A successful farmer near Dayton whom I had met during my stint as a county agriculture agent kept urging me to try it. There I found Crop Scouting on www.agriculture.com who were pioneers in the agricultural internet revolution we enjoy today.

I posed my delemna on Crop Scouting and a farmer in Iowa told me to take the no-till coulters off and let the double disk opener do the tillage! I thought that would never work but was willing to try anything to keep the benefits of no-till on our soils.

Sure enough it worked but the row unit wasn't as good on the White as the Case IH. I bought an IH 400 Cyclo corn planter and had the best of both worlds but liked the easier-to-use vacuum seed mechanism on the White planter better. The drive to find the combined features of both was on so the farmer in Iowa worked with Howard Martin of Kentucky and his cousin, the local ag mechanic to perfect the IH row unit principles on Deere, Kinze and White planters.

Mr. Martin was working with Eugene Keeton of Tennessee who developed the famous Keeton Seedfirmer, a long plastic spoon that tucked seeds on corn planters at the bottom of the seed trench. This great invention is worthy on its own and deserves its own recognition.

This group came up with the Nu-Till setup adapted and promoted by AgSpectrum Company in Iowa. That partnership didn't last so Howard promoted his own Martin System thanks to the farmer and mechanic and others who quickly adapted the system and shared it with all who would listen. I was one of those and helped bring it to Ohio and across the land thanks to the agricultural Internet, email and talks we were invited to. We all learned together and shared our learning and pitfalls.

Today you find many innovative farmers using the Martin System of no-till planting which is any row unit with a single disk opener slicing the residue and applying Nitrogen and sulfur, a Martin row cleaner sweeping the residue out of the way of the trench, the standard double disk opener doing the tillage by slicing a Vee for the seed so it can germinate and grow like any corn planting system.

The planter meters the seed into the seed tube where it is sensed and monitored, drops into the seed trench, pressed firmly into the trench and lightly tilled like a garden by a pair of Martin spiked closing wheels(smaller Martin row cleaners mounted to reverse action), leaving a seed trench gently lifted by the weight of the planter through the action of the reduced inside diameter gauge wheel tire, yet keeping the seed in its place at its desired depth and spacing by the planter. We strive to keep the same amount of soil and pore space with this system just like you do in normal planting of seeds. The row is topped off with a slight mound with crumbly loose soil with a 40 inch looped drag chain made of 3/8 inch heavy square steel running loosely behind the seed trench, attached to the planter to form this last tillage without bouncing up into the spiked closing wheels.

The result is the best corn planter I ever used and I know many farmers agree. This system has been out now since the mid nineties, catching on year by year giving farmers a tool to plant corn and other crops the first day you could drive a tractor over that field. This system allowed drenched midwest soils to be planted first last year and many years giving the crop a chance to catch all the sunlight it possibly could in a no-till situation.

The NNTC or National NoTillage Conference demonstrated its effectiveness again last week when many of the winners of various awards was found to be using this system now for many years. Corn yields keep going up in this country regardless of weather and this system allows it to happen in no-till too, saving "soil, oil and toil" when it is most needed and appreciated.

This is a part of my no-till learning over my lifetime and I thank the many people who helped make it so, "for others as well as myself" as the FFA Creed so aptly says from 1930.

Other advancements could be written about for days in future blogs.

I trust you enjoyed this one whether you read it for the first time or have practiced yourself for many years like I have.

Ed Winkle

From Ham Radio to Teaching to Farming

I always wondered why I got into ham radio as a kid. I had dipoles strung across the farm, a homebuilt transmitter and receiver for Morse Code.

It was intriguing to me and let me communicate with people around the world from all walks of life. I wanted to go to electronics school but that wasn't a formal university setting so let's say I was highly discouraged from doing that. I entered Ohio State in June 1968 because I didn't get my application in on time. "We will take you summer quarter or winter quarter but fall quarter is full."

Doing research with punch cards wasn't my cup of tea so at the end of my sixth quarter my parents get a letter basically saying we love taking your money but your son lacks .02 accumulative grades to continue here. The Viet Nam war was raging and many classmates joined the services, dropped out or flunked out and served there. Dad took me aside and said you better declare a major in agriculture where you know something. I had taken every requirement required to graduate except my major. I walked across the Olentangy on the coldest day from you know where and declared my major. I never got less than a B after that.

I had really always wanted to farm or be a scientist when I was little and the ham radio bit seemed like a good launch into a career as a teenager. It didn't turn out that way. Ag teachers were badly needed during the war and that seemed like a good inbetween. I was offered a job teaching agriculture doing student teaching "on the job." I would get paid a salary, $5,000 paid monthly while completing student teaching by actually teaching!

I was hired in August and one of my first chores was cultivating the school farm soybean fields. They had been let go and it was too late to cultivate but they were weedy so I cultivated. That was a far cry from what I would soon be doing, notilling the whole farm. When school started I tried to teach 4 classes in the morning and then watched Al Cramton teach at neighboring Lynchburg Clay. I planned and I tried and I planned and tried some more.

By November I was ready to quit. One day the largest class was totally out of control and I mean it was pure chaos. Class full of hoods to farm boys. Finally one got so fed up he stood up and pulled a switch blade out and snapped it open. I gulped. He said Winkle, you wanna die? I feebally said No, Curt I was hired to try and help you boys. If I could get order here I will try my best. Curt was one of those slicked haird duck tailed hoods and turned to the class and said everybody shut up. If you don't listen to Winkle you are going to answer to me! From that day on things changed. I slowly convinced them to trust me and my lessons got longer and a little better each day.

It was a tough way to learn to teach but I did it. We had fund raisers, paid off the FFA debt(they owed everyone from the milk shake fund to the local bank and fertilizer dealer.) Ohio started the now famous annual Fruit Sale and we sold Florida organges everywhere. My son, also an ag teacher at Fayetteville, still buys from Florida Fruit, the same outfit I dealt with when I retired in 02. Teaching is like farming and ham radio. You learn a whole new concept and practice and practice until you master it enough to just do it. You learn more teaching than you ever did as a student. I will always admire and respect the great teachers. They change lives like good ham operators and good farmers. They all do good for mankind.

I have a lot of stories of learning to share in this 59 years if you care to follow along and provoke me with comments and questions. Blogging is fun for me right now but ask me during planting season and I might answer differently.

Next week is the National NoTillage Conference so I might miss a few days but I would really like to share what I learn there. I always learn much, like Jules says you come home to rest and ponder because your head is hurting so bad from all the information.

You have a good one now, you hear?

Ed

Farming on a snowy day

Yes, farmers farm on snowy days. It started snowing here this morning so it made me think what farmers are doing around the world today while it is snowing here in my little world.

I know some of you are out feeding and caring for livestock or sitting at a computer and working in your farm office like me or better yet enjoying some sunshine in a warm and sunny locale.

Today I am talking to my banker, landlords, suppliers and family and friends. Whether it is by email or by phone or in person, farming is family and business everyday for me. The Internet has greatly enhanced and expanded those chores for me.

The markets are making the 2009 farm budget look a little better today. Still we all wonder how it will turn out. Should I stay in rotation, plant more soybeans or plant more corn this year? Every signal affects how I will respond this year with my planted crop.

How are the markets and inputs affecting your crop plans this year? I would like to hear and read your response. What changes are you considering or actually making and why?

If you are not a farmer, how does what we do in farming affect your life? I understand if you are a normal everyday average person, you will never know how what I do affects your life. If you are a supplier or buyer, what farmers do has a whole could have great impact on you.

In only 90 days I hope to be ready to plant this years crop or very close to it. My goal is to have everything planted in the best shape I can by May 5. Mother Nature will have the last say in that just as she does today while I type this out.

Whatever you are doing, have a good one!

Ed Winkle

Happy New Year!

But is it going to be happy? I think that is up to you and I and how we respond to the challenges that come our way.

Farmers are making their plans for the year right now and that situation is challenging for sure. You can do things as in the past or make some changes. I am no different.

I am planning on more non GMO soybeans right now as we are not that far from the river and the premium is very attractive. I would like to stay in rotation though and if corn gets a little higher and fertilizer gets a little cheaper I will switch more acres from the heavy soybean rotation I am planning right now.

Good thing I told my buyers I wanted to plant more non GMO soybeans than I expected to because the contracts are full every place I talk to through March 2010. They even have waiting lists for those who didn't get their acres in on time.

I like to go C-C-S-S-W-DCS(double crop soybeans) then back to corn. I can't cash flow that right now or want to take the risk of locking myself into that situation. I want to stay flexible until planting day and have the inputs lined up to do that. It seems many farmers feel the same way reading the various ag forums.

If you have found http://talk.newagtalk.com you already know me and what I am thinking. I started posting there back when it first came online and was active on the Crop Scouting forum hosted by www.agriculture.com Whether you have seen my posts there or not, welcome to my blog and post away with those comments!

I love sharing ideas with others and learn as much or more than I give. That is what life is all about for me.

I do hope it is a happy new year for us both but know much of it is in our hands. How we respond to the challenges of 2009 is what will make us smile or grimace this time next year. I am still smiling and hope you are too.

73,

Ed Winkle
HyMark Consulting LLC
3308 Martinsville Road
Martinsville, Ohio 45146
937-685-9365