953 nut 55,228 #1 Posted January 10 Saving the soil while saving money A few thousand years before Christ walked the earth planting crops consisted of a stick penetrating the crust of the earth for a seed to be planted without disturbing the surrounding soil. The earliest known Egyptian farm implement is a stone sickle bar point from about 5200 BC. It would be tied to a stick to cut weeds down allowing the planted seeds to grow with less interference. As early as 1500 BC Wooden plows, pulled by domesticated animals, became the accepted tool to prepare the ground for planting. About 500 BC China's agriculture flourished with the development of an iron plow. It was a simple hammered iron sweep that penetrated the ground and rolled the soil in two directions to develop a furrow for planting. As progress toward greater crop yields on more acreage continued to grow in popularity larger and more effective methods of cutting into the soil were developed. Today there is a transition to no-till farming. One of the biggest contributors to soil degradation is the common practice of soil tilling. A growing number of farmers realize the importance of preserving and improving their soil by adopting no-till practices. It saves time, labor, and fuel when compared to conventional tillage practices. This practice will often result in a longer release of nitrogen as the cover crop breaks down over the summer. This will provide nitrogen throughout the summer, beneficial to crops like corn that utilize nitrogen. This reduces the need for fertilizer which saves time and money Our family farm in upstate New York is in the hands of a fourth-generation farmer (my cousin) and has transitioned to no-till farming with great success. The Roller Crimper has proven to be of great value. Rather than cutting a cover crop, plowing it under, preparing the plot and then coming back to plant a crop the planting apparatus is used with the roller crimper and only one pass over the soil is needed. Here is a bit of information about the process. The Roller Crimper is making no-till farming more popular today. Originally developed in South America, over the last decade roller-crimpers have become more popular in the U.S. as more no-tillers add cover crops to their system. Prior to the Roller Crimper a cover crop was cut with a mower and a selective herbicide that wouldn’t kill the crop being planted would be applied while seeding. Eliminating the cost of herbicides helps the bottom line and helps the environment. Win-Win situation! The crimping action helps crush the walls of the stem to facilitate drying down of the plant. There are several different types of roller crimpers available on the market. There are units available that mount on the front of the tractor, rear of the tractor, or even directly on the planting unit itself. Roller crimping cover crops has been utilized to terminate cover crops for many years. With the rapid expansion of cover crop implementation, roller crimping offers a viable option to managing cover crops in a no-till cropping system. The use of a roller crimper program helps to leave biomass on the soil surface, which drastically reduces risk of soil erosion and helps preserve soil moisture during the summer. The biomass on the soil surface will also keep the soil cooler during the summer reducing evaporation and heat stress on the cash crop. Rolling down high biomass cover crops also provides an excellent way to work towards improving spoil health. The use of the roller crimper will also suppress weeds early in the growing season potentially reducing the need for herbicides. 2 4 4 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RandyLittrell 3,877 #2 Posted January 10 Great story!! Anything we can do to reduce chemical use and increase nutrition of our food is great!! I remember reading a article in Mother Earth news a long time ago about how the amount of bushels of crops raised had went up, but the actual nutrition of the crops had went down over a course of 20 years they had been tracking it. Glad your family farm is doing it's part!! Randy 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHX?? 48,815 #3 Posted January 10 One of the things I do on the mini plow field is to put rye in right after plow day. If it comes up late fall the deer love the tender red sprouts. Spring then plow it back under and it puts nitrogen back in. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
953 nut 55,228 #4 Posted January 10 Rye is the cover crop of choice for my cousin too, the hydroseeder comes in right after a crop is harvested. If the field is being rotated to winter wheat he double cropps the field, a cutting of hay can be harvested before planting. After the winter wheat is harvested the following summer soybeans are planted to nitrogenate the siol and will be cut for silage. With today's machines the land produces so much more than my grandfather ever thought possible with so much less backbreaking labor. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Handy Don 12,225 #5 Posted January 10 3 hours ago, 953 nut said: Thanks for the picture. I believe this farmer has a front-mounted roller/crimper and is towing a seed drill. One pass to take down the cover, “process” it to decompose into soil nutrients quickly, and plant the crop that will feed on those nutrients. The lighter load means he can use a smaller tractor with dual rears to lessen soil compaction and save fuel. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
8ntruck 7,004 #6 Posted January 10 Does this mean that plow days will become roller crimper and planter days? I don't know if a Brinly planter will work under those conditions. Somebody will need to develop a Wheel Horse sized roller crimper, though. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Handy Don 12,225 #7 Posted January 10 17 minutes ago, 8ntruck said: Does this mean that plow days will become roller crimper and planter days? Good question! IMHO, Plow Days can and should survive as demonstrations of historical methods. A WH version of a roller crimper would be very cool--possibly to be used as an alternative to mowing large fields? A combined Plow Day and Roll Crimp Day would be awesome! A no-till planter for WH-sized machines? I’d have to hear more of other members’ opinions. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ri702bill 8,320 #8 Posted January 10 1 hour ago, Handy Don said: A no-till planter for WH-sized machines? I’d have to hear more of other members’ opinions. Don - what's your guesstimate as to the mimimum HP required for that task - 10?, 12?? Probably not suited to a 5,6,or 7 HP tractor.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Handy Don 12,225 #9 Posted January 11 On 1/10/2024 at 1:04 PM, ri702bill said: Don - what's your guesstimate as to the mimimum HP required for that task - 10?, 12?? Probably not suited to a 5,6,or 7 HP tractor.... Very soil- and crop-dependent, in my view. If the soil cooperates (few large rocks, no roots) an 8 h.p. tractor could subsoil to 6” and plant to 4” including a “compactor wheels” that smush the slot closed behind the planter, I'd say, for seed crops like corn or beans. In “easy” soil, deeper for sure. This is for a single row. At, say, 12 or 14 a double row, and up from there! Not turning and lifting the soil makes a big difference in power demand. The latest versions of these add a coulter ahead of the subsoiler that cuts through any surface refuse from prior crops that has been left on the surface as mulch--like from the roller/crimper--so it doesn’t build up on the subsoiler arm. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tonytoro416 1,034 #10 Posted January 12 (edited) I love this kind of conversation and the various ways agriculture has been done over the years. I work for a large plant nutrient company and run the dry fertilizer facility in my area and I have seen unbelievable results in various ways conventional and organic no till type farming. This is for sure definitely soil and regional dependent as far as no tills success. Some soils do not work well with the no til style. In the fall we spread several thousand acres of cover crop and fertilizer blended together. The cover crop ranges from rye grasses, wheat and Sudan grass. To turnips,radishes,rape seed, beets and winter peas. This stuff gets me going if you can’t tell lol. We have a fair amount of fully organic growers around me also. No synthetic fertilizers or insecticides or herbicide used. Commonly they use a large rig on the back of a tractor that holds torches just over the crop and burn the weeds. Take into consideration the row spacing for organic is generally wider. Use poultry manure and DDGS from local ethanol plant as fertilizer Edited January 12 by Tonytoro416 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
953 nut 55,228 #11 Posted January 12 9 hours ago, Tonytoro416 said: Sudan grass Sorghum Sudangrass also makes some great silage if it is cut at three to four feet height. It grows so fast the weeds don't have a chance and the root system loosens the soil and a second cutting can be made or it can be crimped to add biomass. Since it needs about as much nitrogen as corn it is well suited to follow a soybean crop. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tonytoro416 1,034 #12 Posted January 12 Yes sir Those are facts Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
