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| What are the pros and cons of each. What little is done around here is usually failed cotton going to wheat and is plowed. Would like to add a forage grazing crop instead of a fallow but don’t know whether it’s possible or not. Thank you for any input. |
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Eastern Washington State | In my area nearly 50% of the acres are fallow every year. Used to all be tillage fallow, over the past 20 years many (myself included) have switched to no-till chem fallow. The advantages of chem fallow over tillage are significantly reduced erosion (both wind and rain), reduced compaction, improved water infiltration, better soil health, etc. The big advantage tillage has though is consistency. Growers who till can set a moisture line and it will be consistent and well controlled all across the field come seeding time in the fall. There are years when I am very envious of that, but I would NEVER go back to full tillage fallow.
Don't really have any forage in my area. Anything that reduces seed zone moisture availability is a recipe for failure for us. I'd love to find a way to make it work though, fallow is something I like to get away from, but am stuck with for now.
Edited by Triticum Agricolam 2/20/2021 21:13
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| I don't know your typical rotation or how much moisture you normally get. Probably the easiest way to start would be a spring oats, barley, or triticale crop for hay or grazing. Here, that would be terminated mid to late June, leaving the ground fallow for the rest of the summer till wheat planting time. start on a small scale, and try different approaches to see what best fits your situation. Each year is different, so you'll need several years to judge results. |
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Northcentral Kansas | Until the adoption of no-till, wheat-milo-fallow was the standard rotation in my area. A few stuck with that rotation even after going no-till. There are some issues with chem fallow including herbicide resistance weeds, excessive evaporative loss, excessive erosion and the soil tends to get really hard when it bakes in the heat due to lack of residue cover. An early spring cover crop terminated by June 1st can be very beneficial. It grows during the highest rainfall months creating residue cover just prior to the highest evaporative period. From a soil health stand point, providing a living root during the growing season is far superior to a bare fallow. |
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Cambridge, southwestern Nebraska | I would encourage you to try a couple different ideas on a small scale and see how it works. Take in to consideration what kind of year you have whether you think it will work on “average”.
Several other posts have some good advice. |
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SC Kansas | That last sentence says it all , but it has to work for you. |
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| SLC - 2/20/2021 22:17
I don't know your typical rotation or how much moisture you normally get. Probably the easiest way to start would be a spring oats, barley, or triticale crop for hay or grazing. Here, that would be terminated mid to late June, leaving the ground fallow for the rest of the summer till wheat planting time. start on a small scale, and try different approaches to see what best fits your situation. Each year is different, so you'll need several years to judge results.
That’s kinda what I’m leaning towards is a mix of those for grazing. The problem I have with it is will the crops have much volunteer in with my next wheat crop? wanting to do a rowcrop-forage-wheat rotation but worried that the forage would leave volunteer seeds and mess up the wheat. Or is this of little concern? |
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ecmn | Green fallow by planting a lot of plants for recycling nutrients, a lot of plants for building biomass and some plants for building nitrogen should be a normal part of our crop rotation. There is no need for chemical or tillage on a fallow field like that. The next spring you should be able to do a simple burn down plant your corn crop maybe a little starter depending on your environment and you're good for the year.
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| Triticum Agricolam - 2/20/2021 19:11
In my area nearly 50% of the acres are fallow every year. Used to all be tillage fallow, over the past 20 years many (myself included) have switched to no-till chem fallow. The advantages of chem fallow over tillage are significantly reduced erosion (both wind and rain), reduced compaction, improved water infiltration, better soil health, etc. The big advantage tillage has though is consistency. Growers who till can set a moisture line and it will be consistent and well controlled all across the field come seeding time in the fall. There are years when I am very envious of that, but I would NEVER go back to full tillage fallow.
Don't really have any forage in my area. Anything that reduces seed zone moisture availability is a recipe for failure for us. I'd love to find a way to make it work though, fallow is something I like to get away from, but am stuck with for now.
What chemicals do you use on your chemfallow and how many times do you have to spray each year?
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Eastern Washington State | For chem fallow I alternate between glyphosate and paraquat, usually in combination with dicamba and/or 2,4-D. We typically will spray 3-4 times during the summer depending on how dry it is (usually its pretty dry). I actually hope I have to spray more because that means it has rained. My goal is to keep my chemical cost under $20 an acre for the whole summer, I can usually do that. |
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| Triticum Agricolam - 2/21/2021 10:10
For chem fallow I alternate between glyphosate and paraquat, usually in combination with dicamba and/or 2,4-D. We typically will spray 3-4 times during the summer depending on how dry it is (usually its pretty dry). I actually hope I have to spray more because that means it has rained. My goal is to keep my chemical cost under $20 an acre for the whole summer, I can usually do that.
What’s your average rainfall/snowfall? |
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Eastern Washington State | We average about 12" of precip per year. Most of it comes from fall until spring. June through the end of Sep is pretty dry. |
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Muleshoe, TX | If you plant spring barley or oats following your cotton, any volunteer will winter kill in your wheat crop the next winter. Fallow is a conflicting thing. If you till it, you lose soil structure. If you spray it, then you lose microbial biodiversity. A growing multi species cover is ideal, but sometimes it's so dry that it is hard to get that going also. |
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| Mulefarmer - 2/21/2021 14:26
If you plant spring barley or oats following your cotton, any volunteer will winter kill in your wheat crop the next winter. Fallow is a conflicting thing. If you till it, you lose soil structure. If you spray it, then you lose microbial biodiversity. A growing multi species cover is ideal, but sometimes it's so dry that it is hard to get that going also.
What rates are you planting and what are you adding into the mix? Being local would give me a little better idea on what to use. |
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South Eastern VA | I always wonder if a strip operation might work for the plains type areas?
Take a big field, plant a strip, (30-60 ft wide) or whatever size you want and plant it with something really tall and thick, maybe with sorghum sudangrass or sun hemp?
Do that every couple of acres or whatever...it would stop the wind blowing and erosion but it wouldn’t take all your moisture and dry your fields out. Maybe creat a “fence row effect?
At least it works in my mind that way , be warned though...it’s a scary place in here. Hahahahaha |
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Muleshoe, TX | Westexas - 2/21/2021 20:14
Mulefarmer - 2/21/2021 14:26
If you plant spring barley or oats following your cotton, any volunteer will winter kill in your wheat crop the next winter. Fallow is a conflicting thing. If you till it, you lose soil structure. If you spray it, then you lose microbial biodiversity. A growing multi species cover is ideal, but sometimes it's so dry that it is hard to get that going also.
What rates are you planting and what are you adding into the mix? Being local would give me a little better idea on what to use.
I like to use oats, radish, yellow field pea, and hairy vetch. |
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| Mulefarmer - 2/22/2021 09:07
Westexas - 2/21/2021 20:14
Mulefarmer - 2/21/2021 14:26
If you plant spring barley or oats following your cotton, any volunteer will winter kill in your wheat crop the next winter. Fallow is a conflicting thing. If you till it, you lose soil structure. If you spray it, then you lose microbial biodiversity. A growing multi species cover is ideal, but sometimes it's so dry that it is hard to get that going also.
What rates are you planting and what are you adding into the mix? Being local would give me a little better idea on what to use.
When do you usually plant that mix?
I like to use oats, radish, yellow field pea, and hairy vetch. |
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| Plainview Texas is a long long ways from Minnesota........... |
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Cambridge, southwestern Nebraska | I was thinking that too. Just a "tad" bit dryer down there in Texas.
I'd love to grow cover crops but unless we just sit it out for a year or have a very short time they are growing, we just lose too much moisture. We have to make every drop count. Until I can see a benefit to basically setting aside a year for a cover crop, I think I am better off to continuous crop or fallow a year. |
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| swne - 2/22/2021 13:33
I was thinking that too. Just a "tad" bit dryer down there in Texas.
I'd love to grow cover crops but unless we just sit it out for a year or have a very short time they are growing, we just lose too much moisture. We have to make every drop count. Until I can see a benefit to basically setting aside a year for a cover crop, I think I am better off to continuous crop or fallow a year.
I don’t see how to do a cover crop unless you graze if and get some Benefit. Otherwise might as well just fallow and keep some moisture. |
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Tillage Fallow vs. Chem Fallow vs. Forage
