[Update 10/10/14]-- Today I measured the residue at the drilling site pictured below. This spring I was apprehensive about whether the crop would emerge through the residue mat after coming through ≈2" of soil. This measurement was from one 20"x 20"site. It wasn't in the heaviest or lightest areas. The first number is of the bright residue which was the 2014 spring wheat. The second number is from the aged residue we had to drill into. The third number is the chaff I sucked up off the surface. 1@(4oz)=3,920#/ac, 2@(12oz)=11761#/ac, 3@(8oz)=7841#/ac.
[Update 9/22/14]--added video of seeding this field.
A pic of our first season seeding with the new drill. This field is near Thornton and was seeded close to the Insurance cutoff date of May 15th. This is very heavy WW residue. This field was stripper headed and left at 40". Wheel tracks and winter weather flattened a significant amount leaving a tangle. The soil under the mat is very wet and has a temperature of 69 degrees.
We were able to punch seed into good earth. The depth of the seed is around 2 inches
The pic below is a broader view of the conditions we were seeding into.
July 31st -- The Pic below shows stand established in the approximate area. I attempted to get the same line and angle of the shot to match the pic above, but missed. I'm ecstatic over the stand, and the general look of the crop. There are some tillers still filling, but most of the heads are filled out. The 4th week of June we had a week of hot weather. July was mostly hot with temperatures in the high 90's and several days of 100+ degree weather with more predicted to come. Holes in the stand are few --mostly at the corners. We need to adjust the "look ahead" setting to start seeding a little quicker. There are small areas dotting the field where the crop is showing moisture stress, but the grain is not shriveling at this point. Will this field mature into a good crop? If it does, it will be do to stored moisture and lower evaporation rate because of the heavy residue level. We'll see around Labor Day.
Can you make any comparison in your spring wheat to neighboring area fields of conventional spring wheat at the time? Spring crops in our region got fried, too little moisture and what came was too late in june. Also, what led to the fertility issues in the crp? I know you soil tested, but do crops following crp require extra nutrients that can't be quantified by a soil test?
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