EROSION EFFECT ON SOIL HEALTH

Today I went to Lewiston in the rain and came across these two fields vomiting, water, and mud into the road side ditch.  We have had an unusual rain today, starting before midnight and lasting all day, and into the evening.  Events like this show that fields with a history of direct seeding are more capable of taking advantage of these rain events, than cultivated fields.  Cultivation, destroys the surface entrances to channels left by old root systems.  Cultivation breaks apart soil aggregates and leaves behind smaller particles.  The energy released by the impact of the rain droplet on exposed soil breaks down particles left by cultivation into even smaller particles.  These then are carried into the macro pore spaces and effectively seals off the surface, greatly slowing water infiltration, causing water to run off the surface, carrying soil with attached chemistry and nutrients into the ditch, down the creek into the rivers, and on out to sea.  Road side ditches, and harbors both have to be dredged at great expense to remove this material that should have stayed in the field.  Today, with the tools and knowledge we have available to us, these sights should not be occurring.  They are ugly to look at, and show a lack of stewardship.  Scenes like this live forever in pictures that can be used to justify legislating stronger environmental laws, where a little common sense would do better.

Fields Using Two Different Farming Systems

While walking our winter pea field and observing what was going on around me, I saw this site and thought, --there is a lesson here!  The pic shows two fields that have been farmed very differently.
      The field in the upper portion of the picture has been direct seeded for 20+ years.  The last three years it has been in a ULD system.  Roundup has been used extensively on the property over the years, along with a Valor application in the fall of a fallow year.  Problem weeds are few and far between, even in a low moisture, high temperature year like 2015.  Both of these fields were in spring wheat.  The upper field is currently seeded to Austrian Winter Peas.  They were dormant seeded in late November and are looking good.
        The field in the lower portion of the picture has been conventionally tilled it's entire life, using very little Roundup, and no Valor in the fallow year.  The field has a long history of a wheat/fallow rotation with an occasional spring barley/wheat crop thrown in.  This field has a heavy infestation of Russian Thistle and cheatgrass that has set seed.  It will be tilled, and a larger seed bank will be available to grow in future years.
        Reducing tillage reduces weed competition, and promotes better soil structure.  Both of these "pluses" save water for crop use.  It is a very difficult concept for many seasoned farmers to get their mind around.  The rapid reduction in our weed competition was a surprise to us as we moved from high disturbance no-till, to ULD (ultra low disturbance) no-till.

SPIKE WHEEL APPLICATOR

The more I see of this the better I like the concept with it's low surface disturbance, and placement  of liquid fertilizer below the soil surface. The company indicates that they don't recommend it's use on more than a 25% slope.  I think this concern can be eliminated by mounting these units on pivots and include a swing hitch to eliminate side draft.  It is reported that these units can place liquid fertilizer up to four inches into the soil profile.  That would be great for use as a primary fertilizer applicator, or side dressing.  A friend of mine is familiar with the unit.  His comment was, --it's a flimsy looking thing, but it works just fine.  This pic is demonstrating it's use in a cereal crop.

BROADCASTING FERTILIZER - Spring 2016

Recent conditions offered an opportunity to broadcast liquid fertilizer, --early in the season, firmed up ground, heavy residue to help support machine and product weight, and rain every other day.  March 1st, Kye put 30# phosphorous and 20# sulfur  on alfalfa (streaming ammonium poly phosphate 11-37-0, and ammonium thio sulfate 12-0-0-26.  On the 4-5th, he put 60# nitrogen and 10# sulfur on ground that will be seeded to spring mustard and canola (streaming URAN 32% and ammonium thio sulfate 12-0-0-26.
      --I'm not a fan of broadcasting fertilizer on the soil surface.  Phosphorous does not move into the soil profile well, and nitrogen sources are exposed to potential loss into the atmosphere.
              In the future we need to look at the spoke-wheel applicator from Oregon.  With it's capability of placing fertilizer four inches into the soil profile, and it's very low surface disturbance, the spoke-wheel offers a potential solution to resolve all issues related to applying fertilizer in a growing crop, or for a sensitive crop.  Currently though, spreading phosphorous, nitrogen, and sulfur during the 1" rainfall we have received the past six days, has allowed us to do the second best option with minimum loss.
               My understanding is that in our heavy residue mat, it's preferable to use dry fertilizer.  The theory is that more dry product will work through the residue to the soil surface than a liquid product.
      --I am confused about fertilizing a tap rooted plant.  Last December at the Wheat Academy, there was a presentation on fertilizing various cultivars. Pictures illustrated a serious problem with a concentrated nitrogen band below or near a cultivar with a tap root.  It appeared that a similar effect was present in cultivars with fiberous roots; however, because of the rooting type (not dependent on a tap root), the yield hit was significantly less.  
                I have attended two oil seed conferences since the December meeting, and not a word was mentioned that would indicate a concern over the proximity of concentrated nitrogen.
                In the past we have put all our N down in one pass with the mustard seed.  We have not been satisfied with our yields.  Was that due to frost damage, which we have had every year, or have we had damage from the concentrated fertilizer band?  We'll try broadcasting the fertilizer and dig roots this year.  We'll also reseed frost damaged areas instead of waiting and watching to see if the stand will recover.

Streaming N & S in the rain.  In this case it is a timely application where the rain will move the N into the soil profile, minimizing loss of a volatile product.  The ground condition supports the equipment quite well.   

OOPs!, --I watched this happen in two blinks of the eye.  Notice the track coming down over a grass patch behind the GVM.   There is no difference between residue, or rubber at the interface with soil, --if the interface is wet, it's lubricated and gravity wins.  Our soil has good surface cover and a high infiltration rate, but rolling across steep ground with a heavy machine in the rain, will send you to the bottom.  Kye had most of these steep places fertilized the day before when no rain was falling.