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| Any of you no till soybean guys ever plant before neighbors conventionally till and plant their soybeans?
I farm in NW Iowa. I strip till corn and no till beans (have for 7-10 years, so soil structure is really changing), all ground is pattern tiled, very well tiled, or naturally drained. Soils are primarily Nicollet, Clarion, Webster. Main pot holes are in Farmable Wetland CRP, so I am pretty much just farming the good stuff now. I planted corn April 16-17-18, then over a period of time had 4.5" of rain. We were all anxious to get back in the field to plant beans on May 4. My ground (with standing corn stalks on it) had greyed off and seemed like great conditions to no till beans into, so I started planting. It was 2 days later before conventional till guys started. I think they all thought I was nuts, and I guess I am wondering if you folks think so too. I can understand why they weren't running yet, most of their fields still had dark spots showing. It would have been way to wet to drag a field cultivator sweep 4" deep. I should also point out that when I combine corn, I don't run over any rows, and run the corn head as high as possible to try to leave as much corn stalk standing up and off the ground (so it can dry off). I also try to avoid compaction by not using a grain cart and running an older, lighter combine (7720) and a 135 HP planter tractor with 12 row box planter (not central fill). It seems that over the years when I no till beans I am chasing moisture as the ground is drying out quicker than I want on top, so I have been starting earlier and earlier (after a rain, not earlier on the calendar). I never picked up mud on any wheels, and in fact was kicking up a little dust most of the time. I guess my theory was that I was just moving a little residue off the side and dropping the seed in 1.5" and using a Dawn Curvetine to make sure the seed slot got closed up with out compacting it. I guess time will tell if I was ok in planting that early after a rain. Just wondered if any other no tillers in the area had seen where they could no till beans before conventional tillage beans were planted. I'm not trying to start some fight saying one method is better than the other, just found it curious, as I had always heard that you have to wait longer before you can no till beans. thanks | |
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Planted No Till beans before conventional beans
