# No-Till vs. Conventional



## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Here are 11 pics of a Kansas farmer that uses both methods of tillage and the affects of drought upon those methods. Really great pics that should remove any doubt about which method is best in most instances.....not to mention the added benefit of reduced fuel consumption by no-tilling.

Regards, Mike

http://www.agricultu...ems_135-sl27794


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

We've seen a yield increase every year since we've started no-tilling the clay. We've no-tilled the lighter soils in town and south of town for 20+ years but always thought our heavier clay at home would be too wet, too hard, too cold, would compact to easy, etc. 240 bushel/acre corn this year at 21% and 58tw and 79 bushel beans were the best we had on the clay this year. When averaging our bean yields this year we broke our goal of averaging 60 bushel beans by two bushels. This even includes some blow sand hilltops in town that the beans just died before the rains came.

Just takes patience is all, just because your neighbors are planting that work the ground doesn't mean you should be. You might have a yield drag the first few years but the savings in fuel will usually offset this. I can not stress enough that a early spring burn down is one of the most important things in no-till, get any thing that could shade the ground turning brown and it will dry and warm up much faster. A good sprayer is as important as a good planter.

One thing we've noticed, we have a lot less ponding now after a down pour, if we do get any standing water it goes down much faster. Once you quit working the ground every year root channels and earthworm tunnels help the water get down to any tiles you have much faster.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

_LOCATION,LOCATION,LOCATION._

_It doesn't work here.We are to far north and the ground stays wet and doesn't warm up.It's been tried over and over here and everyone gives up on it.The only place it works is on sand._

_Go 40 miles south or west and it works alot better._


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## haybaler101 (Nov 30, 2008)

Moving to no-till next year on almost everything. Have been no-tilling sand and heavy muck. Going to go on clay as well. Everything is planted to cover crop this fall. I no-tilled corn into a 5-year old alfalfa field this spring that I killed last fall. Planted like worked dirt and earthworms were everywhere. It was my best looking corn until June 1 and it was reclaimed strip mine ground. Unfortunately, even no-till doesn't conserve enough moisture on that ground with less than 2 inches of rain all summer. It averaged 9 bpa. BUT, if I would have tilled it, I don't think it would have even made it knee high.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

swmnhay said:


> _LOCATION,LOCATION,LOCATION._
> 
> _It doesn't work here.We are to far north and the ground stays wet and doesn't warm up.It's been tried over and over here and everyone gives up on it.The only place it works is on sand._
> 
> _Go 40 miles south or west and it works alot better._


Oh no doubt. WE have about thirty acres on the farm that get worked every year, is the cows winter pasture. We also have some muck that even this year we had to lightly disc it several times to get it to dry out.

Some property next to our big rental in the south came up for rent a few years ago, we passed on it as the owners are the biggest PITA's you want to meet. The former renter is the most easy going guy you could hope to meet and even he couldn't take em any more so he didn't renew the lease. Some out of towner rented it, chiseled it the first year and undid twenty years of no-till. Didn't have bad crops the first year but nothing like we had across the road. Fall chiseled last year, disced it this spring, ran a soil finisher over it then planted. Worst looking field around all summer. Seen em out fall chiseling again this year. Not sure what they yielded on corn, but our land lord said she watched them go around and around and around the field before dumping, 3/8 of a mile long rows. I'm guessing 50 bushel corn maybe tops. You'd think with at least a thousand acres around that area that are strict no-till with some of it even having center pivots and still get no-tilled they'd get a clue. They must be buying the real expensive crop insurance to be risking yet another poor crop.


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## Lazy J (Jul 18, 2008)

We are 100% no-till on our row crop acres, excpet where we have to do some prescription tillage. Our soils, forest derived, perform well with no-till.

For us and our soils No-Till works well but I realize some soils don't respond well to a no-till system. There are some locations and soils that perform better with moldboard plowing.

Jim


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

We are 100% notill 15 years, some wetter soils are a little tricky , also had to also learn to time manure spreading diffrently (we have a dairy farm ) Good cover crop program is the key to making notill work


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

_Problem here is the ground seals up in spring if there is no fall tillage with no till.I do have 10% of a 40 acre field that is sand and could see huge improvments in yields on them 4 acres.But that is 0.47% of my acres._


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

I am sure


swmnhay said:


> _Problem here is the ground seals up in spring if there is no fall tillage with no till.I do have 10% of a 40 acre field that is sand and could see huge improvments in yields on them 4 acres.But that is 0.47% of my acres._


I am sure there are going to be areas that need tillage .Tillage Radishs in combnation with a Rye winter cover crop can take the place of tillage sometimes .


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

swmnhay said:


> _Problem here is the ground seals up in spring if there is no fall tillage with no till.I do have 10% of a 40 acre field that is sand and could see huge improvments in yields on them 4 acres.But that is 0.47% of my acres._


We have the same in a few areas, a trip over it with the coulter cart usually solves it in a wet spring.


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

mlappin said:


> Oh no doubt. WE have about thirty acres on the farm that get worked every year, is the cows winter pasture. We also have some muck that even this year we had to lightly disc it several times to get it to dry out.
> 
> Some property next to our big rental in the south came up for rent a few years ago, we passed on it as the owners are the biggest PITA's you want to meet. The former renter is the most easy going guy you could hope to meet and even he couldn't take em any more so he didn't renew the lease. Some out of towner rented it, chiseled it the first year and undid twenty years of no-till. Didn't have bad crops the first year but nothing like we had across the road. Fall chiseled last year, disced it this spring, ran a soil finisher over it then planted. Worst looking field around all summer. Seen em out fall chiseling again this year. Not sure what they yielded on corn, but our land lord said she watched them go around and around and around the field before dumping, 3/8 of a mile long rows. I'm guessing 50 bushel corn maybe tops. You'd think with at least a thousand acres around that area that are strict no-till with some of it even having center pivots and still get no-tilled they'd get a clue. They must be buying the real expensive crop insurance to be risking yet another poor crop.


My son calls it recreational tillage. I just say to each his own. But I do hate to see where tillage is causing tons of soil to wash away .


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

endrow said:


> My son calls it recreational tillage. I just say to each his own. But I do hate to see where tillage is causing tons of soil to wash away .


Guys that had 60 bushel corn next to our 165 bushel corn always fall chisel a field a mile behind us, then come spring they chisel all the two foot deep gullies shut year in and year out. They don't even realize they are making it worse every time, Every time they work em shut it just makes the that area that much lower and the slopes that much steeper. And it's on the endrows for pete's sake, plant a grass water way then you have a place to park trucks when planting.


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