I would like to start converting to notill. What is the best way to prepare the soil? the ground is slightly slopped and mostly loam.
Permalink Reply by Morgan McNeal on deep rip with vertical tillage machine then go over with a machine such as a turbo-till to smooth it out then you can start your no-till system.
Permalink Reply by Mauricio L. Torres on I can tell you my experience, only cultivation and seeding will be in charge of arranging the lot go, and if very important to harvest, the harvester must have a very uniform distribution of discard, this is the most important because if this coverage left by the harvest you would not be uniform in temperature and humidity difference and this is where problems start bad birth of the seed. After achieving unzip the floor are good grasses have a root system which will give important good porosity years after years and years of dry direct seeding gave large yields compared with common tillage. I have been over 20 years with tillage system and each passing year still gives me very good results
Permalink Reply by Abram V on Easiest thing to do. Sell your tillage equipment. Buy a good no till drill. Plant some cover crops when you can in the fall.
Permalink Reply by K2 on We just switched by buying a 6/11 30/15" planter with liquid fert. I have heard u need to start with a deep dillage and incorporate P/K but Im a little suspicious.
You'll need liquid starter on corn
Planting beans you need to be sure to not plant too close to the old corn rows
Spread and chop through the combine
Leave scorn stalks close to knee high if able. Decreases trash on the ground to plant through
and on an on
Permalink Reply by Mike Hannewald on Two thoughts:
1. Evaluate the farm's drainage ability. Do you need to add tile or surface drainage of some type? We have tried some no-till on our farm (in northwest Ohio) and have found that in a wet year, no-till doesn't work very well if you do not have adequate drainage.
2. Evaluate the farm's current fertility levels. One of the best investments you can make is to soil sample and add lime if needed. Just make sure that in addition to adding lime based on pH, you are also taking into consideration your calcium and magnesium levels. Different kinds of lime have different calcium and magnesium levels, and applying the wrong type of lime can do more harm than good because the calcium/magnesium ratio is just as important as pH when it comes to maximizing nutrient availability. While you can apply lime anytime, I would recommend working it in before beginning no-till because that will help it become effective in a shorter period of time.
Permalink Reply by John Dobberstein on All great suggestions, you want to get the soil prepared ahead of time because the best no-till systems have the least amount of soil disturbance that's possible. The best advice I can pass along is to talk to other no-tillers. You can learn from the trials and tribulations they've gone through. If you're interested, the National No-Tillage Conference is coming up in January in Indianapolis, might be a chance to speak with no-tillers face to face ... http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/pages/NNTC---National-No-Tillage-Confe...
Good luck!!
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