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east central WI | I've been no tilling since 2007 and have playing with CC for about 5 years. i questioned what i want out of CC besides healthier soils. Weed suppression, erosion control.
i have fairly flat silt loam ground so water uptake was one goal. My area received 2.75" rain Friday through Sunday morning. the only ponding i have is one spot on rental ground and that isn't as bad as it once was with the same amount of rain.
I was worried about compaction. all my CC has radishes. I love pulling a foot long or bigger radish. That's better than most tillage practices plus it leaves a nice hole in the ground for oxygen and water for freeze thaw.
i do incorporate winter rye for added living roots but I'm not looking for a carpet of rye. I also use crimson clover.
Last year i droned CC into standing corn around mid September. I and the Land Conservation guy were quite impressed this spring by the stand.
The most important thing I've learned is, unless you can do burndown early enough for crispy, don't do it until right after crop has been planted. Had planter and also seed bed issues with rubbery half dead CC.
I run soy/corn rotation. I have better yields and a lot smaller fuel bills | |
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CC No Till --it's not cute
