ULTRA-LOW-DISTURBANCE [ULD] IS THE FUTURE FOR OUR DRY LAND REGION !!!!

      We are only three years into ULD, but going over information this fall relating to climate, soil health, moisture savings, weed control, fertility issues, and what I am seeing by using the system, I am convinced that this is the way to go, and willing to step out and say so.  ULD has the potential to dramatically cut costs of fertilizer, chemical and seed.  ULD at the same time has the potential to maximize yields through better crop emergence and savings in moisture that normally would evaporate off the soil surface.  Any ULD system will have to incorporate a sophisticated seed depth control system to maximize it's effectiveness in the variable environment of soils and residue.  My reasoning for ULD is as follows, --by topic.
       CLIMATE:     Can anyone deny that the climate is dynamic and changing.  I have seen plenty of change in my 60+ years working in the field, swinging from cold winters with lots of snow and summers with thunderstorms and down pours, to milder winters with little snow and no summer storms.  In some ways I'm seeing events that appear to be reverting back to the 40's & 50's.  In other ways I'm seeing more extreme events, not only in intensity, but also timing.
        Several years ago I sat in on a UW and USGS presentation on expectations for Washington Climate in 50-80 years.  There was a presentation on what would happen to grain crops with a 2 degree average temperature rise.  As it turned out we have recent experience with that condition.  One year in the early 2000's, there was a persistent high pressure cell stationed over France that raised the average temperature in that region for the year, 2 degrees.  This temperature increase either created or was in conjunction with a shift in seasons which resulted in a disaster for small grains.  This shift caught much of the small grain crop blooming with high temperatures, leaving blank heads.  As farmers we have to adapt our operation, where we can, to accommodate this changing climate.   It may include extreme temperature, rainfall and wind events, shift in seasons, dry seeding conditions, and insects, and diseases that express themselves in cultivars under stress.  GMO and GE cultivars will likely play a role in plant growth habits, drought resistance, insect and disease resistance, but we as growers have to prepare our ground and protect our moisture as best we can.
       Climate change prediction for Washington State includes:  --2 degree average temperature increase.  --total moisture amount about the same.  --little or no snow pack in the Cascade mountains.  --rivers will peak one month earlier.  --winter wheat will be the crop in eastern Washington.  Nothing stated about moisture or season shift.
        RESIDUE--CROP AND OTHER:   Residue has a lot to offer.  The biomass helps support the soil fauna and decomposing roots leave channels for water infiltration.  Residue laying on the surface protects the surface from the destructive energy of falling rain drops. (see "Links" page for Rain Drop)   Residue is also an insulating blanket moderating soil temperature, and reducing the drying effect of air moving across the surface.  Surface residue is food for the vertical boring (nightcrawler) worms.  It's important that sufficient residue lay on the surface so that dirt is not visible.  Dirt showing will erode, and moisture loss will accelerate through evaporation.  Leave residue standing as tall as possible.  The taller the residue the less air movement along the soil surface.  Any cultivation, including direct seeding, destroys residue.  ULD minimizes this loss. I don't think you can get too much residue.  The trick is to seed into/through it!
      COVER CROPS:  Cover crops may be needed to supplement crop residue during fallow periods.  Seed depth moisture is an obvious concern any time cover crops are mentioned.  The fact that growing crops only transpire 12% of the available moisture (see earlier post on moisture, 8/19/12), different crops draw their high moisture use from different depths at different times, and timing for cover crop destruction can be variable, the seed depth moisture loss may not be the problem perceived.  It's not well understood, but there is a syngeneic effect from planting multi-specie cover crop helping all cultivars thrive in a drought compared to single species planting.  Will it work to interplant the cash crop?

       SOIL HEALTH:    Most farmers, including myself have shallow knowledge of soil health and it's real value.   This section will be statements with few comments.  Mostly things to ponder!
 ---- One frequently hears that the quantity living organisms living below the soil surface on an acre basis is staggering.  The healthier the soil the more organisms there are to feed.
----- Both, aerobic and anaerobic organisms are found in the soil profile.
----- Anaerobic organisms thrive under poorly aerated soil and cause many of the negative plant health issues.
---- Soils with good structure have low levels of anaerobic organisms.  There structure supports proper relationship of water and air for aerobic organism processes.
---- The higher the OM, the better the soil.
---- The improving OM also indicates that structure is improving.  Improving structure however, doesn't necessarily indicate improving OM.
---- Soils with good structure and high OM can manufacture and make available most fertility elements necessary for plant growth.
---- From what I am reading the capacity of OM to provide most of the nutrients for plants, if managed for that purpose, starts at 3% and above.
---- OM is slow to build.  It is easier to save than build.
---- Eroded soils are slow to recover OM because there is so little left of the soil biology to start up the rebuilding process.
---- Eroded soils erode faster.  As OM and structure collapses, soils seal allowing moisture to run off.
---- All cultivation, from any operation, degrades soils by collapsing structure, burning OM.  It's the nature of cultivation.
---- Recent designated categories for OM are "active" and "mature".  Active OM means it is biologically active.  Mature OM means it has little biological activity associated with it.  The crop residues we see are more of a pre-OM state termed litter.
---- Every year that our soils deteriorate puts us more than another year away from recovery.
---- Plants under stress are more prone for insect attack.
---- Insects that attack crop cultivars are color sensitive.
      SEEDING:
---- Less soil disturbance creates the condition for less weed germination.
---- Seed laying on residue struggle to germinate and compete with a growing crop.  The thicker the mat the better.
---- Seed planted in soil thrives, but seed planted in residue struggles.
----My opinion: -->any two pass is better than conventional tillage, any one pass is better than two pass, and any single disc opener is better than a hoe.  Currently the CrossSlot is the best technology today in single disc drills for our dryland, low moisture environment.

 

2014 FALL SEEDING with CROSS-SLOT

[Update 3/23/15] --All of our winter canola winter killed--big(timely emerged), little(emerged at freeze down), thin residue or very heavy residue. We have just sprayed the canola fields in preparation of going back with DNS and some garbs. We dumped a pint of Buctril in with the Rt3 to take out the rr canola.   It appeared that more of the non roundup ready canola cultivars survived than the roundup ready cultivars--like 0++ to 0+.  One interesting note: --on one bare soil spot, in a truck road, on a north facing slope where the full force of the November blast hit, one row (≈50' long) of late emerged canola looks perfect.  They look like soldiers in perfect alignment the size of a silver dollar.  Go Figure!!??
       Our winter wheat (Brundage 96) came through the winter in very good shape(99+% stand), and all big enough for Ospray or Power flex.  We need to get it sprayed NOW.  Several scouting trips have shown no crown, or visible root damage.  Burned leaf tips are the only sign of winter and they have mostly disappeared.   Later we'll see if we have diminished harvest results, like 2014.
[Update] 12 29/14---- The winter wheat is showing color improvement, and the large canola plants are also showing some activity; however, this morning we have no snow and temperatures in low 20's and wind from the ENE@ 20-35mph.  In the next day or two we are expected to have lows around zero. This is the second hit on this crop.  How many more before spring???  We did get a little snifter of snow in the early morning.  The cultivated ground that I see from the window is bare, and it's too miserable to walk the fields to observe the effects on the crop and in the tall stubble.
[Update] 12/16/14---- The winter wheat stand no longer looks spotty.   Many of the leaves are partially burned off but the crowns look good at this point in time.  Compared to other stands in the area, ours looks great.
      The winter canola stand is anyones guess at this point in time; however, I'm guessing that we will reseed most or all in the spring.  All the large leaves are colorless and laying on the ground with the leaves of the small plants gone. 
[Update]  11/13/14----Tuesday, the 11th Nov. temperatures dropped dramatically (+21F) and 12-35mph wind.  We are expecting lower temperatures and more wind.  These conditions are similar to the early December, 2013 event that damaged our winter crops (high winds, cold temperatures, and no snow cover). My concern is that this is even earlier and more events could follow prior to the end of February.  Come spring it will be interesting to see what, if any, of the canola survives, and what damage the wheat will have.  Our volume of residue should aid survival by moderating the effects of wind and cold temperatures.  I wish we would have seeded some winter wheat on 20" spacing to see if the standing stubble left with that spacing would improve survivability. 
      The winter wheat has all emerged.  The 0.25" rain received the 29th September brought up the remainder that didn't emerge when seeded.   The late emerged wheat is mostly in the 3-4 leaf stage.  The timely emerged wheat (seeded ≈ 6th Sept.) has many tillers.  
      The winter canola has mostly emerged.  The late emerged canola is very small, with some still emerging. The timely emerged canola (seeded 19th Aug.) is dinner plate size. These large size canola plants nestled in and around standing stubble two too three times their height is something I want to evaluate come spring.  If those plants are the only survivors, we may want to rethink tires and tracks on the combine, sprayer, and tractor to promote less stubble smash.
     This post sat in the "draft box" way too long, forgotten.  It still had some points that I want to remember.
     Our drill with the CrossSlot opener creates very little soil disturbance.  It momentarily cuts a narrow slot in the soil and deposits the seed with starter fertilizer, and also deep bands the nitrogen, then with two packer wheels mounted in a V configuration the slot is closed and firmed.   In a marginal moisture situation this opener, if it's not operated in a manner that compromises the technology by leaving the slot open, can maintain a high humidity environment at the seed site.  Baker Industries promotes this capability for better germination and emergence.  Dr. Stewart Wuest of OSU supports this concept.  He has a study titled "seed-soil contact and the role of vapor in germination".  The Abstract states:  ------Seed-soil contact has been assumed to be the most important factor for rapid transfer of water from soil to seed.  Recent research demonstrated that seeds are capable of geminating without soil contact, and that 85% or more of the water absorbed by seeds can be directly attributed to vapor.  A new appreciation for the capacity of soil atmosphere to supply water vapor to seeds will help in future efforts to improve seeding equipment.---  (See link page.)
      The dry condition encountered in the fall of 2014 is what this drill was designed for.  I'm sorry to say that we did not execute well.   I have stated before how important the ADF (auto down force) system is to this drill design. Inconsistent soils and variations in residue across the field are conditions that challenge disc drills. We can see in many areas where the seed was placed shallow.  With the ADF system out we used the manual mode which allowed us to pressure the system, but not allow the system to automatically adjust hydraulic pressure to ground conditions.
      One adage we have come to rely on for successful direct seeding is to seed into moisture.  With the dry conditions we are experiencing this fall, the end of the first week of September was at that limit.  We should have been able to get 85-90% up.  As it is we are more like 50-65% emerged.  It is a lost opportunity, and something we will have to address before another year.