2014 WHEAT COLLEGE

 [update: 7/5/14]--Thanks to the July 2014 edition of Wheat Life magazine, along with my pic on the cover, I now have the names of the presenters.  They were all connected to Agri-Trend, a Canadian based consulting company.  Phil Thomas(Canola), Elston Solberg, Mike Dolinski, Markus Braaten(wheat).  Markus Braaten is a "master agri-coach" at Agri-Trend with farm clients in eastern Montana.
    
The 2014 Wheat College put on at the Whitman County Fairgrounds, by the Washington Association of Wheat Growers and a number of sponsors was a great success.  It was pretty much a full house.  I was also pleased to see a significant percentage of the participants were the younger generation of farmers in the region.  The meeting organization was not handled well.  Registration was slow, and the handouts were not included in the packet given participants so I didn't get most of them, including the names and bio's of the speakers.
      The following is a paraphrasing of statements, and observations that I found interesting.  This is not a comprehensive listing, and I may add to this post.  There was a lot of good material presented that you had to hear first hand to gain an understanding of how the pieces made the whole.  This was just a taste in a lengthy post.
     ---The information presented on canola was for a spring planting.
     ---When selecting seed, look for: pedigree seed, high % of sound seed, high germ, high 1000kernel weight, high vigor index(CSVI), and low weed content.
     ---In some locations canola is seeded in 3" row spacing.  (row spacing seems to be an individual preference with environmental consideration.)
     ---Canola grows best behind a cereal grain crop.
     ---Phil preferred 7 plants per square foot; however, 2 plants per square foot will make a decent crop of canola, but developing a canopy to capture light energy will be slow resulting in lower yield potential and more weeds. (On reflection, I'm not sure but Phil was using square yard.  Seven per foot is pretty dense.)
     ---Seed for stand count and not pounds per acre.
     ---Canola Seed Vigor Index (CSVI) for hybrids should be 3.5-4.5.   CSVI for open pollinators (OP's) around 3.0)

     ---CSVI = 1000 kernal wt.(grams) times germination divided by 100.  (I need to learn more about this.)

     ---Temperatures above 80 degrees hurts flowering.
     ---Seed early, but after ground temps rise above 34 degrees.  (flowering consideration, canola is quite cold tolerant.)
     ---N/S ratio should be about 6/1. (This ratio is for the form that is available to the crop.  If using elemental S than plan application accordingly)
     ---One square yard of ground needs two square yards of leaf surface for yield potential.
     ---Plant needs to have 80-90% of needed N in the plant by flowering.
     ---Isn't impressed with spodim(sp).  There are varieties that resist shatter.  Harvest timely to avoid shatter.
     ---Canola is a very expressive crop.  Easy to discover source of problem in plant development.

                               The following are wheat related from three presentations.

    ---Much of what we were teaching about how a plant functions ten years ago turns out to be not correct.  (This was a bit shocking to me!  The speakers asked us to think like a plant.  Several comparisons were made between plants and humans relating to health, growth, and nutrition.
     ---In fields, create zones for soil tests.  Don't test randomly and mix for average.
     ---Take complete soil tests, including micro's.  Later, take leaf tests to compare with soil test.
     ---Leaf tests, like blood tests, will tell a lot about the plants health, the soils health, what you did in the past, and should do for the future.  Not much is likely to be corrected for the current crop.
     ---The proper drying order of a plant is from the head down to the first leaf made by the plant.  If lower leaves are desiccated while upper leaves look ok, the plant has a health problem and will not reach it's potential.
      ---When the first node of a wheat plant can be felt(near or at the base of the plant), the head is formed and it's maximum potential is present.  Each spikelet can have up to 12 florets.  Environmental and nutritional factors start reducing that plant potential until the final yield is achieved.  If you can salvage four florets per mesh you are likely to have an outstanding crop.
     ---Melted Urea is softer on a plant than UAN.
     ---N is N!   There is no magic.  Timing of application makes a big difference in the plants ability to use N.
     ---Determining causes for plant symptoms is too extensive for this post.  It was a very interesting exercise and, a process that every grower should gain some knowledgeable.  Significant yield improvements can be gained in a short period of time if the grower scouts his fields regularly and map areas showing yield robbing symptoms to be addressed for this or the next crop.
     ---pH needs to looked at in terms of the Base Saturation of Calcium. (this should have more explanation.)
     ---The head pollinates, develops and ripens from the middle out.
     ---If lower leaves desiccate, it's probably related to N-P or K.
     ---When tissue testing, wait a week, or until a new leaf emerges, after spraying or an environmental event that effects the plant, to collect tissue.
     ---Leaf tissue should include the stem down to the lower leaf.
     ---If a wheat head drops meshes, it's probably due to issues around N-B or copper.
     ---Lightning creates 1/7-1/6 of the N that plants need world wide.
     ---One presenter calculated the dollar value of nutrients that is lost if the crop residue listed below is removed or burned.  These calculations are on an acre basis and using current fertilizer prices.  Wheat $42 and has a C/N ratio of (80/1), Barley $55 (60/1), Oats 57 (60/1), Peas $52 (25/1), Canola $82(30/1), Soybean $97 (25/1).  The bottom line: --the removal of crop residue is costly and robs the ground of OM.
     ---Our soils are very Carbon deficient and OM needs to be added at every opportunity provided and not treated as a problem to be removed.
     ---The McGregor plots showed a massive crop coming on but wasn't going to reach it's potential. Some plants had 8 tillers.  The seeding rate established 14-18 plants per square foot.  The Presenter would have like twice the population, which would have developed many fewer tillers.  When looking at the plants, the Presenter thought that three of the eight were going to make great kernels.  Some of the five remaining tillers will not develop completely, and others will produce small seed of less quality.  These five tillers were consuming water and nutrients that could be used by other plants that would have emerged at the time the parent plant emerged.
     ---It was suggested that growers seed strips for different plant populations and see which works best for them.
     ---High yield potential ground needs high seed populations.  35-40 plants per square foot, and strive for two tillers per plant in a crop that will yield 120-140 bu/ac.   Lower yield potential ground should be scaled back accordingly.
     ---Zink, P and Ca or immobile and need to be placed close to the seed.
     ---N-P-K relocate in the plant if the plant senses the need.
     ---A plant can sense a concentration of a specific nutrient and direct root development to intercept.  (a pic showing roots growing toward a mid-row band.)
     ---A lot of N-P leave the field with the seed, along with small amounts of many other nutrients.
     ---Phosphite is a good form of P to use for plant availability.
   
The older I get the less I know!  With the internets ability to access research from around the world from thousands, if not millions of researchers, it is providing a daunting amount of information for an individual to digest.   The information stream is exceeding the ability of a grower to do the field work and keep up to-date information on subjects that effect his bottom line.  Drones equipped with sensors for crop analysis are becoming part of the agriculture scene and will add to the information about how a crop is doing and what problems may exist.  We are probably past the point where we should hire a professional agronomist/crop specialist to regularly monitor our fields on foot and from above.  Discussion with him/her should include crop types and in what rotation, and recommendations for plant nutrition, and weed suppression, to maximize the return on our respective farms.  I'm getting the idea that our old system of relying on a company man to give herbicide and fertilizer recommendations is outdated and costing us dearly in unattained yield.  For several years I have thought that we are missing something that is costing us yield. Our direct seed system is providing us with more available moisture even if it may be for a short period of time compared to a cultivation based seed system.

PENDLETON,OR. -- LIND, WA. RESEARCH STATIONS

This week I attended two research stations annual tours and updates.  At Pendleton, OR, three topics held my interest.
       ---- Nematodes (Dr.Richard Smiley) appear to be causing yield loss in parts of Whitman County.  Two types attack wheat.  Management methods were presented.  A number of grass and broadleaf cultivars including weeds have been investigated for their tendency to build or not build populations.  Four labs were identified that do the tests.  You need to sample the top 18".  The best sampling is done in the spring when the soil is damp.
      ---- Great presentations were given by Dr.'s D. Long, K. Reardon, H. Gollany, S. Wuest, and S. Machado on soil health and value of residue.  Soil is a living organism that needs to be fed.  The better the diet, the more the soil provides for the cash crop.  Cultivation destroys soil aggregation, and organic matter, resulting in the loss of soil carbon, and reduced infiltration.  A simple demonstration showed a dramatic difference in infiltration rate between soils that had been cropped using cultivation for 70 years, and soils that had been direct seeded for the past 10 years.  OM is rebuilt very slowly.  It's easier to save OM than it is to build OM.   A small percentage increase (we're talking tenths) in OM is very helpful for soil health.
     ---- Dr. D. Wysocki gave report on growing biennial canola.  Seed canola into moisture.  Three seeding dates were studied.  If conditions allowed, early September would be his preferred seeding date. Timing for fertilizer application was studied.  100% at seeding did not work, 100% spring application did not work.  Best response was a split application (Either 50-50 or 75-25 fall and spring).  There was an inquiry about row spacing.  His thinking was that <30" was preferable.  He seeds at 14" because of the drill he uses.

The Lind WAResearch Station had several topics of interest.
     ---- Biological control of cheatgrass and goatgrass was listened to very intently.  Ann Kennedy stated that a bacterium found naturally in the soil has been isolated and found to make the roots of those cultivars less competitive.  The material has been submitted for registration and may be available to growers by 2016.  It is a one application fix that can be sprayed on the soil or attached to the seed.  A pelleted version is being looked at.  It may take 3 years to remove the pests.  Cost is expected to be $10/ac or less.  What a boon for those in a two or three year rotation of small grains and fallow.
        She talked about OM.  We currently have about one third remaining from when this was native prairie.  At Pendleton they indicated that less than a third of the OM remained.  In both regions it is a tremendous loss of carbon content in our soil.
     ----Bill Schillinger reported on growing alternative crops in the low rainfall areas  Camilina, safflower, canola, winter peas, winter triticale.  Camilina grows well in drought conditions, He prefers to plant in March to reduce weed population.  Safflower is an option but needs to be seeded late when soil temperature is warm.  Harvest is in late September.  There seems to be unlimited possibilities to market oil seeds.  Winter peas has shown promise.  He likes winter triticale because of its fast growth when soil temperatures warm and the residue it provides.  Except for triticale, none of the mentioned cultivars produced enough residue for any cultivation in the fallow year.  Wind erosion would be serious.
     ---- Several speakers spoke on wheat related subjects.  Falling Numbers:  Two causes-- a) temperature shock while kernel is filling.  Either a high or low temperature spike can be a cause.  Rain on a mature plant can be a cause.  There are cultivars that are more prone to falling numbers than others.
     ---- Sprinter is a good yielding and quality wheat.  There is confusion about its class, so notify your warehouseman and / or buyer prior to growing it.

COVER CROPS

I'm finding a lot of useful material about cover crops on the web.  I have always considered myself as an educated person where it comes to soils, and farming practices, but I find the subject of soil biology is way above me.  I am struggling with the terms, let alone understanding the interactions that go on in the soil profile and how this can be manipulated to replace our dependance on fossil fuel products, like fertilizer and pesticides.  With my lack of knowledge, I've concluded however, that cover crops, like direct seed, will work in ours, or any, environment -- the question is, how do we make it work.  Below I'm listing some points I found relevant and am also providing links to some info and videos that I found interesting.  I will add to these as my interest leads me.
---Use cover crops to solve a problem whether it is a need for biomass, to scavenge nutrients, add nutrients, or grow and feed the micro-biological community living below the soil surface.
---A five species mix tends to be optimal for building biomass.  However, it is not just any five species. Choose them for your environment and seasons.
---Multi species mixes tend to be synergetic and not competitive under environmental stress.  There is video showing fields/plots of multi-specie plantings doing well while single cultivar fields/plots are dead under drought conditions.  (amazing!!)
---Plant for diversity.  If your normal crop rotation does not include a cool season grass, or broadleaf, and a warm season grass, or broadleaf, then consider including them in a cover crop.  There is a good selection of all these types for the Palouse.
---In most years it has been shown that cover crops use no more water than what is normally lost through evaporation from fallow fields.  In a way these findings back up an old study done at OS and WSU.     (click on the label- "moisture" for an earlier post of an old study titled Soil Moisture)
---Different species of cultivars have different carbon nitrogen (C:N) ratios.  Young cultivars have lower C:N ratios than mature cultivars.
---High C:N ratio plants deteriorate more slowly than plants with low C:N ratios.   It's easy to find a listing of plants and their C:N ratios.
---High C:N ratio plants tend to be good at armoring the soil surface, increasing OM, capturing and recycling nutrients, and moderating soil temperatures.
---Low C:N ratio plants tend to be good, at fixing nitrogen (if legume), more efficient users of nutrients, better at breaking down pesticides, and better at breaking down high C:N cultivars.
---Simple soil test: a-scrape soil surface, b-take a plug(clod) from top 2"of the soil profile, c-dry completely, d-place plug(clod) on a screen in water, e-watch to see if soil plug(clod) remains intact or not, f-if plug stays intact then the soil aggregation is good.  Good aggregation means good soil porosity that allows water to enter the soil profile.  Poor aggregation means the soil will seal and the water will flush off the surface.
---Anhydrous Ammonia kills the microbiological communities that it comes in contact with.  It has a significant negative impact toward building soil health. --J.Clappington
---Use a minnimum of five species and a minimum of 20# total seed per acre.  Above 40# total seed per acre appears to be a waste.  Fewer than five species and less than 20#/ac tend to encourage more weed pressure.--J.Stika
               I have found the following links helpful.  Many of these links have a lot of repetition but each presenter has one or more important points not mentioned by others that will enhance our knowledge base on Cover Crops.
Basic Soil Health Principles-R Archuleta-24:04-"A MUST WATCH"
Biology of Soil Health-K.Nichols-27:12
Soil Health Principals-J. Clapperton-28:22
Cover Crop Calculator
Resource for Cover Crops
Integrating cover crops with notill- B. Fischer
Integrating notill with cover crops-D.Beck
Selecting Cover Crops-D.Robison
Handbook on cover crops
NRCS-undercover farmers
NRCS-CoverCropMixes-J.Stika-great overview of soil health-1:04:10
ATTRA-Inovative NoTill Using Multi-species CC - 1:11:12
Cover Crop Moisture Management-29:50
Terminating cover crops-M.Plumer 32:21