Viewing a thread - Covercrop/ notill?

Forums | Classifieds (91) | Skins | Language

You are logged in as a guest. ( logon | register )

Covercrop/ notill?	View previous thread :: View next thread
Forums List -> Crop Talk	Message format

WIJDW

Posted 6/22/2024 19:08 (#10783794 - in reply to #10783607)
Subject: RE: Covercrop/ notill?

steincowboy - 6/22/2024 15:37

For those of you that have added covers to your no till system, what would you say is you biggest limiting factor to higher yields?

I don't think there are significant limiting factors very often if managed timely, and some years I think the covers can add yield.
One thing for sure this spring with the excess rains, the covers saved some significant soil, and many of the contained nutrients in that soil. As an example of managing covers, last year was a very dry spring here (WC Illinois), so I terminated the covers early. This year the living covers helped with the excess moisture, as it also did 2 years ago. It's not unusual for me to be planting a couple days ahead of neighbors.
This spring the covers also got past my comfort zone getting waist high in some areas. We strip NH3 in the late fall, and the c. rye covers in a couple fields were making it difficult to find the strips to plant on top of initially when turning on the end rows, but I could get right on fairly quickly after putting the planter down. I didn't mind when the corn growth covered that operator (me) error gaffe. Guidance correlated with the strips could alleviate that occasional issue, but I consider it mainly cosmetic.
A few pics from this spring and current, and just to clarify, yes, we strip till NH3 in the late fall when usually there's already decent c. rye growth, but with FSA/NRCS, that still qualifies to call no-till, so I also do. I don't have any tillage tools, and started no-tilling in 1983. Drill in about 30#/acre c. rye after harvest usually between mid Oct. thru early November. Also have one NHEL field I just no till but don't cover crop (yet) just mainly to have some comparison. It's gone from being my best field, to just another field as my HEL more transitional/timber type fields have caught and often surpass it in yield averages.