Re: Question for grain farmers
[Re: jbyrd63]
#7303790
07/11/21 02:02 PM
07/11/21 02:02 PM
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teepee2
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It is called a cover crop. It protects soil from erosion, and nutrient loss. Plus it aids in soil structure through the bio-mass it produces.
Last edited by teepee2; 07/11/21 02:02 PM.
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Re: Question for grain farmers
[Re: teepee2]
#7303793
07/11/21 02:07 PM
07/11/21 02:07 PM
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Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 6,441 Kansas
Pawnee
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It is called a cover crop. It protects soil from erosion, and nutrient loss. Plus it aids in soil structure through the bio-mass it produces. Yes. In different parts of the country different cover crops are used. A variety of turnips are used as cover crops some to fracture compacted soil some for cover. We don’t use any because we can’t spare the moisture.
Everything the left touches it destroys
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Re: Question for grain farmers
[Re: squirrelslayer]
#7303860
07/11/21 03:41 PM
07/11/21 03:41 PM
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Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 13,832 Ky
jbyrd63
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You sure it's not cereal rye that they are doing this with? Not saying they wont do it with wheat but rye is cheaper and used as a cover crop. Depending on the grade of the land, the erosion it prevents and the nutrient retention it it allows can more than often offset the cost to plant it in saved fertilizer cost for the next crop. It's kind of a industrial form of back to eden farming. As for not combining my guess would be the seed contains a majority of the nutrients so its something they want to leave in the field. On a large scale like you describe seems kind of unusual but my best guess is maybe it is leftover seed that they are using but I cant be sure as this part of the state they combine all the wheat and bale all the straw. Left over from what ? They do it every year and it's not just one bunch of farmers. IT"S 90 % . It may be cereal rye but looks like wheat. Ground is fairly level so erosion isn't the case. BUT dang with diesel as high as it is seems foolish . Plus straw is nearly 8 bucks a bail I don't know why they don't at least square bale it. Don't say labor this bunch has a maching that picks it up and stacks it. OR throws it in a box wagon. Heck the round up bill to kill it would by a lot of fertilizer. YES I KNOW IT'S called a cover crop!! DUH BUt they used to combine it but over last 8-10 years they just spray it and move on to no till. PLUS In dry years that fodder has to soak up a ton of moister before the rain even gets to the ground ! Looks like 3 reasons not to do it. UNLESS they need the right off for taxes ?
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Re: Question for grain farmers
[Re: jbyrd63]
#7303900
07/11/21 04:49 PM
07/11/21 04:49 PM
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Posts: 109 Ky
squirrelslayer
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You sure it's not cereal rye that they are doing this with? Not saying they wont do it with wheat but rye is cheaper and used as a cover crop. Depending on the grade of the land, the erosion it prevents and the nutrient retention it it allows can more than often offset the cost to plant it in saved fertilizer cost for the next crop. It's kind of a industrial form of back to eden farming. As for not combining my guess would be the seed contains a majority of the nutrients so its something they want to leave in the field. On a large scale like you describe seems kind of unusual but my best guess is maybe it is leftover seed that they are using but I cant be sure as this part of the state they combine all the wheat and bale all the straw. Left over from what ? They do it every year and it's not just one bunch of farmers. IT"S 90 % . It may be cereal rye but looks like wheat. Ground is fairly level so erosion isn't the case. BUT dang with diesel as high as it is seems foolish . Plus straw is nearly 8 bucks a bail I don't know why they don't at least square bale it. Don't say labor this bunch has a maching that picks it up and stacks it. OR throws it in a box wagon. Heck the round up bill to kill it would by a lot of fertilizer. YES I KNOW IT'S called a cover crop!! DUH BUt they used to combine it but over last 8-10 years they just spray it and move on to no till. PLUS In dry years that fodder has to soak up a ton of moister before the rain even gets to the ground ! Looks like 3 reasons not to do it. UNLESS they need the right off for taxes ? The leftover seed I was said was an option is if it is wheat large production agriculture will have leftover seed from previous plantings and in large enough ag production can be quite a lot. This seed is often plenty viable for anything but production with harvest in mind. That was just a speculation as to what it could be. As for the rest of that statement I'll try to answer likely reasons not necessarily the correct answer obviously. Bare dirt WILL erode no ifs and or butts. Heavy grade can increase but soil loss happens at a rate that is hard to fathom when soil is bare. As for not combining the grain with it being the last 8-10 years like you said I'm guessing they are doing just has been said in above posts. That type of ag benefits are compounded the longer that practice is in place. As organic matter increases so does the rate that new matter can be broken down to be used by plants.Combining and baling remove all the nutrients that stalk and head have took up that would be available to break down and return to the soil instead of removing. As to the moisture, moisture retention will be 10 fold better in the field with fodder than if it was removed. Do you have a good mulch in your yard? Wait until a dry spell and go sift through the mulch and you will find moisture, not the case on dirt. Now whether all this is a cost benefit at the end of the day I dont know but most farmers keep a pretty close eye on cost analysis so I would say its probably working for them.
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Re: Question for grain farmers
[Re: Yes sir]
#7303955
07/11/21 06:50 PM
07/11/21 06:50 PM
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Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 13,832 Ky
jbyrd63
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Organic material does things for the soil that chemical fertilizers cannot. And an application of herbicide is going to buy very much fertilizer. That's just a drop in the bucket of the cost . Seed and diesel would be the biggest expense.
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Re: Question for grain farmers
[Re: farmnhunt]
#7303957
07/11/21 06:52 PM
07/11/21 06:52 PM
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Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 13,832 Ky
jbyrd63
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If you wait until wheat is ready to harvest, you are too late to plant corn. Also you cannot buy crop insurance on corn and wheat on the same acres for most of the country. If soybeans are planted after wheat is harvested, it is considered a double crop, and has a lower insured yield.
Some states have an incentive to plant a cover crop through soil and water conservation districts Maybe but the thing is they USED TO combine the wheat but not anymore.
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Re: Question for grain farmers
[Re: rex123]
#7303959
07/11/21 06:53 PM
07/11/21 06:53 PM
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Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 13,832 Ky
jbyrd63
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Here is a silly idea , next time you see them just ask them. I'm going to . Thanks for the advice. LOL
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