?? HOW TO USE A COVER CROP ??

 This is a cleaned up version of an earlier post that will be deleted.  I've concluded that the first step in using cover crops is to know what your soil needs, and that means, take, and develop an understanding of the biological test for the field.  This will satisfy the first rule of cover cropping, --know your objective.  I've also learned that with "new" fields, take the complete test, --there are options given by the lab.  Following, --I will go section by section with comments relating my current understanding of the test  (example pic below).  The test result from Earthfort has basically three sections: top-middle-bottom.
--Description area:  When submitting your sample, give complete info on your applied fertilizer, farming method, cultivar to be grown.  Follow the sampling instructions, and don't delay sending them, after they have been bagged.  Failure to name a crop will result in a default category of perennial grass, and this can skew the result.
--Top Section:  Dry Weight, -- can indicate several things about a soil like structure, and location.  A high number (low water content) may indicate soil structure issues.
         Bacteria/Fungi/Hyphal dia., --best when Bacteria and Fungi are high in both total and active, and they are somewhat balanced in numbers.  Hyphen dia. less than 2.5 may indicate harmful or problematic conditions.
--Center Section: Protozoa/Nematodes/ Mycorrhiza.  Protozoa, --best with high numbers for Flagellates and Amoebae and a balance between the two. Flagellates move fast and like large pore spaces.  Amoebae are slow and like small pore spaces.  Balance with high numbers indicates your soil structure is probably good.  Ciliates are anaerobic.  High number indicates water logged soil, --zero is best.
           Nematodes are mostly good.  Root feeders are the problem.  The following numbers are best.   Bacteria/fungal feeder numbers (>4), fungal/root feeder numbers (<2), root feeder numbers (<1), predatory feeder numbers (1-2, they eat root feeders).
           Mycorrhizal Colonization can be measured if a plant root ( > 10") is included in the sample.  I'm confused as to what crops can benefit form mycorrhiza.  There is conflicting information.  My understanding is that Brassica's don't use mycorrhiza, and our wheats have had the benefit bred out of them, --mostly from lack of understanding of it's importance.
--Bottom Section: Organism Ratios, --indicate the relative balance between the organisms.
       Nitrogen Cycling Potential, -- calculated mostly from the numbers and balance of Flagellates and Amoebae.  These both eat bacteria and fungi and convert their nutrients to plant usable form.  Nematodes do a little of this also but play a minor role.  This potential is calculated for three months activity.
       All the above statements are subject to interpretation and an understanding of interacting properties.   I have attended four, one hour webinars, and I will attend more in the future to develop a better understanding of what is going on in the soil biosphere, and how we can exploit it.
       The lab provided me with a summary or their findings on twelve points of this test.  This soil has been cropped more than 100 years, mostly with wheat, barley, and fallow.  This test indicates that the field is in poor condition:  It needs organic matter.  The fauna is starving, they need food.  Nematode numbers are low, but diversity is OK.  Total fungi/bacteria ratio is too low for most plants.  Active fungi to bacteria ration indicates soil is dominated by bacteria and becoming more bacterial.
        This field is capable of 100b/a of wheat when moisture is available.  There is a lot of potential for the future.

                                    SO, TODAY, HOW DO WE PROCEED??
       ---All the literature recommends that you select cc cultivars for a specific goal you wish to reach. There seems to be mixed opinions on the number of cultivars needed in a mix from 5 - up.  With each cultivar having it's own signature about the exudes it leaks, and the depth it roots, in my opinion you ought to plant as many different cultivars as you can find and afford. 
      In 2015 we planted two different mixes.  One was a (10 cultivar) mix for biomass, nitrogen, and nutrient recovery as a goal.  The second mix (5 cultivars) was a recommendation to us for what goal (?).  We planted cultivars with a mix of seed from very small (cabbage) to very large (pea).  All was seeded with the CrossSlot and emerged, so that was a favorable outcome.  The large seed was planted through one rank and the small seed through the other rank.  Is it important to do it this way, --probably not, at least with a CrossSlot!  We had great emergence of tiny seed placed many times deeper than recommended.  That is one of the benefits of the CrossSlot, --it's ability to bring up a crop in adverse conditions.
      ---The bio. tests last year identified: --tight soil, no mycorrhiza, poor balance between bacteria, fungus, protozoa.  That was surprising to me considering the top 4" of soil was made up of worm castings.  Hopefully we addressed the tight soil this year with the radish, cabbage, and mustard cultivars in the cc mix.
       ---This spring we'll take three biological tests.  One from the 10 cultivar cc mix, and one from the 5 cultivar mix area to see if differences can be identified, along with one from the adjoining CF field that was part of the original CRP field.  This, hopefully, will show some differences that we can react to.
       ---Since these fields are planted to WW for 2016, options are limited, but not stopped, in the attempt to improve soil health.  We're looking  at slow developing and low growing legumes to inter-seed that possibly will thrive after harvest of the cereal grain (ww) and leave a live root growing after the cash crop is matured. 
       ---If weather cooperates, after harvest, consider planting radish, cabbage,+, into the legume cultivars.  We'll try to matchup cc cultivars to match the soil needs identified in the biological tests.
       ---Late fall 2015, there was a huge emergence of radish.  What to do about them this spring,--if anything?  There are a lot of large Graza radish plants surviving to this point in time after some cold temperatures.  Our biggest problem is Rush Skeleton Weed.  If the crop and cc stand doesn't compete it out, we'll have to rethink it's management.
       I'll be updating this post from time to time as the 2016 crop develops and differences express themselves.

Organic Matter (OM)

      I just received a copy of the August/September edition of "Hay&Forage Grower" magazine.  An article  titled: Grazing boosts organic matter, written by Dennis Hanock of University of Georgia, had several things of interest to me.  The background for this article is, row crop land having been converted to pasture-based dairy farms.
       First interest, --is a short statement defining OM: --Scientifically speaking, soil OM is a collective term that refers to the amount of carbon-based material in the soil.  In a sense, soil OM quantifies the living component of the soil (such as roots, fungi, bacteria, and earthworms).  Too me, this is refreshing.  Mostly what I find as a definition for OM is a piece of the "collective term".
      Second, --is a short statement of why OM is important: --Soil organic matter acts as a sponge.  It holds water, improves the soil's cation exchange capacity, allowing it to hold more nutrients, and provides a host of other advantages.  This supports other source statements, but is a more compact statement.
      Third, --is a statement that a preliminary report from local research is showing the  primary source of OM buildup is from roots and root exudes, and not from litter left on the soil surface.  This research is supporting findings of a consortium of American and European scientists in a recent review published in the journal Nature.  I have been hearing and reading recently about the part litter plays in OM.  It's different than what I believed in the past; however, the above definition of OM plays to this.
      Fourth, --there is an indication that 3-4% OM in the top 4" is obtainable and gives dramatic results. Older pasture-based dairies indicate that OM stabilizes at the 3-4% level.  Newer studies are looking into this.
      These are the main points that I picked up on.  The context of these points can be put better into perspective by accessing and reading the article.   <hayandforage.com>

HOBO Temperature Sensors

[Update 4/8/16] --Removed sensors so Kye could drill the field yesterday and replaced them today at 1:30pm.  I'm down to 5 sensors in two locations.  The heavy mowed residue site has three (#6@ 3", #9@1", #4 in the air near surface).  The bare earth site has #7@1",  #8 in the air near surface. [#8 was in tall stubble but drilling dragged all material away.
[Update 2/24/16] --Launched two sensors for air temperature just above the soil surface, --#8 in the tall stubble, --#4 in mowed area.  Should have thought of this earlier, but the thought never surfaced until a farmer suggested that tall stubble may have trapped cold temperature to the point of reducing the survival of his winter canola.  I have my doubts but there is no reason not to check it out.  Another sensor (#11) was carried off by some animal.  I found it about 30' from its flagged location (that was luck).  I have no idea of how long it was on  the surface but I have put it back in the ground in the tall stubble, --which is mostly been flattened from winter weather of wind and a little snow.  The roots are rotting, or being eaten off and allowing the plant to tip over when the forces of wind, water, snow engulf them.  This sensor in the tall stubble has not been bothered in the past as those out in the open have.  Now that it is exposed it is experiencing similar attention from critters.  I'm going to have to stake and tie these sensors more securely in the future.
[Update 1/8/16] -- Relaunched sensors from being pulled out in November.  The sensors were set for readings every 2hrs instead of 1hr.  --#1 is located under #7(bare grnd) for temperature reading ≈3" deep.  # 8 was not relaunched (couldn't locate plank).  #6 is under #9 (under heavy mowed residue).  #3 under #10 (standing residue w light surface residue).  Replaced snow cover.  Soft frost found at (bare grnd) site.
[Update 7/27/15] -- #11 HOBO has disappeared.  It is being replaced today with #E7.  It appears that the crows/ravens are drawn by the bright fluttering flags used to mark the location of the HOBO's.  They haven't bothered the flag in the tall stubble, but all flags in the mowed areas are decimated, and I can only assume they packed off the small HOBO sensor.
[Update 6/14/15] -- placed four HOBO's (#8-9-10-11) (8am, 6/14/15), in Ee field.  #8 is placed under white board on grnd that had been bared.  #9 is placed in very heavy residue that was mowed.  #10 is placed in standing residue with little surface cover.  #11 is placed in bare grnd that had been scraped clean of residue.  All the sensors are placed near each other, and vertical at the surface.
     Intention is to pull them for readings on the 22nd prior to the drill demo,  then again this fall when the field is seeded.  We'll take moisture samples at that time as well.
[Update 6/4/15] -- pulled #1 through 7 to download.  No data was recovered.  A wasted 6m.
[Update 10/30/14] -- pulled and downloaded sensors ≈ Oct. 23 and replaced them on Oct 30th.  Units #6&7 were switched when placed back in the soil.
This past year I have been playing with temperature sensors with the intent of quantifying the impact that the stripper header, and residue on the soil surface has on seed zone temperatures.  Last year I played around with them to get an idea of what they were capable of.  These units can be left in the field to collect data for a lengthy period of time.  You can down-load the data on a computer and graph in many different ways.   This summer I'm starting over with all the HOBO's positioned vertically with the top of the unit at the soil surface.  Seven total.  At the time of placement I took the soil temperature of each location as a start point.  I will update this post when something of interest pops up or at season end.

    ------[field Es]-- Two units are in a chemical fallow field with heavy residue that is totally flat to the ground. One of these units is placed in an area of heavy residue(#7) where no dirt can be seen.  At 2" my soil thermometer indicated 82 degrees.  The other one was place where dirt could be seen at the surface(#6).  The temperature at that spot was 90 degrees. This field location has a slight slope to the north.

     ------[field Ee]--Three units were placed in a chemical fallow field that was stripper headed.  There is heavy residue with stubble standing approximately 36" tall.  One unit was placed in a combine wheel track where there was some dirt showing and the residue was pressed flat to the ground (#3).  The combine had duels mounted close together, so the track is wide.  The temperature at that site was 96 degrees.  A second unit was located in an area with tall standing stubble and no residue covering the ground surface (#1).  The temperature at that site was 80 degrees.  The third unit was placed in a location that had tall standing stubble and also had the ground surface covered with residue (#4).  The temperature at that site was 72 degrees.  This field location is flat

     ----- [field En]--Two units were placed in a growing spring barley field.  The barley is only around 22" tall and fairly thin.  One unit place in heavy residue (#2).  The temperature at that site was 82 degrees.  The other unit was placed whee there was no ground surface cover (#5).  The temperature at that site was 84 degrees.  This field location has a slight slope to the south.

        SUMMARY:

     --- In field Es I was surprised that there was so little difference in the temperature between the two sites.  Did the flattened residue have an impact???

     ---In field Ee I was surprised that the wheel track showed such a high temperature compared to the other two sites.  The wheel track was more compacted.  Did that influence the temperature???  The tall stubble seems to be impacting the temperature compared to the field with the flattened residue.

     ---In field En I was surprised that the temperature was so similar between the two sites.  Does a growing crop influence the surface temperature more than the surface residue???

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

LATE SEASON DRILLING OF SMALL GRAINS

     This is the first time in my farming career that we have ever seeded this late into the season, and I doubt that we ever do it again.  However, with no landlords to worry about, crop insurance in place, and weather forecast of low moisture and hot temperatures,  we turned down a custom operator and waited until we finished constructing our drill.
      It may be a fools concept, but we believe we have the pieces put together for growing a small grain crop successfully on low moisture and warm temperatures. In general we have a lot of residue to protect the soil surface and, hopefully, that will reduce evaporation leaving more moisture for the crop.  We have the drill that allows us to do ultra-low disturbance seeding which, hopefully, will reduce moisture loss allowing more moisture for the crop.  I'll update this post after harvest.
    WHAT'S OUR THINKING:  The criteria is moisture, moisture, and more moisture.  We are not in an ideal moisture scenario for the 2014 crop.  The winter, early spring moisture was short of prediction. The prediction of dryer than normal summer and slightly higher temperatures appear to be a serious possibility -- so, where is the optimism in this scenario.  Maybe in part is being resigned to the idea that this will be a short crop regardless of seeding date.  We are already seeing some fields of winter wheat under moisture stress.  That is not a good sign.
      The back bone of my optimism though goes back to the 1970's unpublished 10 year research project done by WSU and OS on "where moisture goes". (click on the label of "moisture" for more detail)  I think it's time has come, but how to measure it????
       12% of our rainfall is what we grow our crop on.  83% of our rainfall is lost from evaporation off the soil surface.  I have known about this since 1989 and think about it, a lot, --- what could our crops yield if we could shave a few percentage points (1 or 3 or maybe 5%) off the evaporation column and add it to the production (transpiration) column.  Ohhhhh -- the possibilities are tantalizing.   Researchers of the day, Dr. Pappendick, being one of them, as well as being the presenter of the paper, lamented at the time, that there wasn't much they could do to change those numbers.
         Recent studies have shown how moisture is lost from the soil surface.  It is all about micro-climates and the balance of gases.  There is a micro-climate on the soil surface where humidity can achieve a balance and moisture is neither moving up or down.  In fact, it is probably out of balance most, if not all of the time, and moisture is moving into or off of the soil nearly constantly.  Don't bother looking for it, it's invisible to the naked eye.  Our challenge is to minimize the out bound.  That means, do everything possible to keep the top edge of the humidity layer intact.   When conditions deplete that layer, natural forces develop that draw moisture from the soil to replace that layer.  It may be micro-scopic, but it is a powerful force that will not be denied.  That is what robs us of our seed depth moisture.  Wind is an obvious culprit, but temperature differential will do the same thing by creating changes in air pressure which results in air movement.  Warm air rises and is a powerful force on the soil surface.  Dr. Pappendick's final words at that conference long ago are golden today.  "There is not much we can do other than keep the soil surface as cool and calm as possible."  We have the tools today that allows us to begin, and the future promises better tools.
       There was a time in my youth when I observed that snow stayed about 4-6" below the top of our stubble.  As I began my farming career I concluded that 4-6" of stubble was adequate to keep wind off the soil.  Well, that was obviously wrong.  It is better stated that the wind velocity slowed to the point that snow or dirt particles were not moving, but there was significant air velocity at that level.  For years I mowed the stubble attempting to seal the surface with residue.  That resulted in high wind velocity near the soil surface, and there was never enough stubble to completely cover the soil surface.  Sometimes the residue blew away, and it seemed  that seed depth moisture was leaving faster, and going deeper.  Mowed stubble gives the illusion of surface protection.  In recent years I have come to the conclusion that if you see dirt you don't have enough residue.  That attitude is becoming more strongly reinforced in me every year as I observe fields.
        This brings me to the stripper header.  I've come to believe that residue height is the best deterrent to wind.  The higher the residue the lower the wind velocity at the soil surface.  Its a shame that all crops can't be harvested with it.  It's also a shame that we have the put machine tracks through it.  Tall grain stubble leaves a nice visual effect; however, I have observed that even spindly mustard stalks standing knee to thigh high reduces wind velocities significantly at the soil surface.  Keep in mind that everything is relative.  Tall spindly mustard stalks is about the same or better than thin mowed grain stubble, but not nearly as good as standing wheat or barley stubble.  Tall grain stubble is better yet.  If you have a thin layer of residue laying on the soil surface along with tall stubble, that is even better.  If you can then add to that layer as time passes, that is even better.  You finally reach a point where your surface moisture loss is low enough that you will have good seed bed moisture whenever you need it, whether that be July, August, September or October.  This in itself expands your opportunities for crop diversity and the ability to build bio-mass.  The stripper header is a great tool to maximize residue height in the quest to capture soil moisture, but it has an inherent problem  --- how to get the cash crop seeded into good earth with all that residue on and above the soil surface.  Four years ago we hit the wall with residue when it came time to seed with our hoe type DS drill at Thornton.   It was time for a different drill, one that wouldn't leave piles, one that would cut through a heavy mat of residue, one that  would plant small and large seed, one that didn't destroy residue, one that minimized moisture loss during the planting process.
        The CrossSlot drill opener was our answer to this problem. (see the post by clicking on the CrossSlot label)  We had a custom operator seed for us while we came to the decision to build our own.  There have been opportunities to "seed for knowledge" but no drill was available for small acreage on short notice.  We are also looking at bringing a significant number of CRP acres back into production and, hands down, the CrossSlot is the drill of choice for that job.  There are several single disc drills available; however, I don't think they can match the CrossSlot in difficult seeding conditions.  The CrossSlot does not appear to require any land or residue preparation to seed and develop a satisfactory stand.  The future is with UltraLowDisturbance.  Hoe type DS drills will never meet the demands of the future; however, they are good starter drills and I encourage their use.   With the CrossSlot, Kye now has a drill that he can take that next leap of faith when the time comes.   Inter-crop seeding,cover crops to enhance bio-mass, and developing systems to grow crop nutrients and reduce commercial inputs are the future.  These are exciting fields of study.   Research supporting organic farming will likely to be the driver for breakthroughs in fertility.  This drill, I am confident will be able to accommodate that technology when it is developed, and that is probably not far off.

Organic Matter After 25 Years of CRP

Attempts to quantify the gain in OM have been elusive, and the subject is full of ambiguity, so this post will basically be antidotal.  There are no records showings OM content on this property for cropping years prior to CRP.  The top picture is of soil from the 25 year old CRP recently seeded to spring barley with the CrossSlot.  The bottom pic is ≈ 100' away, across a property line seeded to spring barley.  This soil has been one pass, DS for 20 plus years.  The soil in the bottom pic is in poorer condition because it had less makeup soil available than that represented in the top pic during it's cultivated years.  This spring we took a 4 foot sample and ran a series of tests for various nutrients and soil conditioning factors.  The pics are fair representations of what I saw.  The following stats are:  Top pic -- pH of 5.8 and OM of 3.20.  Bottom pic -- pH of 6.35 and OM of 3.12.
         Commentary on top pic:--- This soil is heavy with worm castings.  When turning the soil it breaks up into small clumps -- very friable.  It has a sweet pungent aroma.  It has a high moisture level (wet).  High density of fine roots.
         Commentary on the bottom pic:--- This soil is clumpier, showing more stickiness, less friability, and a lighter color.  Good moisture, but not like the top pic.  Not as sweet aroma as the top pic.  Fewer roots.  Note the pH is higher and OM is a little lower.  The pH is probably higher because of more subsoil mixed into the top layer, also, giving it a lighter color.  The OM is lower because, even though this area has been DS for 20 plus years, it has been in a three year rotation, and fallow is part of that rotation.  Oregon State research shows that the fallow year lowers soil health more than the two DS crops can build up. We are lucky to have as good a number as we have.   Both sets of numbers are in line with what I would expect.  A couple of hundred feet away, a neighbor conventionally tills his field.  I don't have any numbers from him but I would expect they are similar to the bottom pic -- maybe slightly less for both pH and OM.  If the CRP had been managed like a crop, with added fertility, more biomass would have developed to feed more micro-biological communities.  OM probably would have been some higher.
        OM is difficult to build.  (click OM on a label for accessing other posts on the subject.)  The Oregon study was a real downer for me.  It was the catalysis to upgrade our cropping system from high disturbance DS to ultra-low disturbance DS.  At this point, we have the stripper header (attempt to reduce evaporation), the CrossSlot drill (attempt to reduce evaporation).  Expanded crop rotation, and inter-seeding crops, and seeding cover crops will be next.  The purpose is to build bio-mass, feed the micro-biological community, hold more water, recycle nutrients that have gone below our normal root zone, and start manufacturing nutrients (like N). The short version ---Build Soil Health for future production with less dependency on commercial inputs, and remove fallow from the rotation.
         

CROPPING CRP AFTER 25 YEARS

     [7/5/14 Update]-- This field has a complicated soil structure, and many areas where the soil is relatively thin over broken rock--we're talking inches, not feet.  Currently the stand is pretty good but looks a bit ratty. Visually, It has that leopard look without the evenness of spots, and I expect the condition will become more pronounced as the season progresses.  The drill design fault is more pronounced, --leaving 20" rows instead of 10" rows over the hog-backs.  I think I know how to fix this.   Other areas are showing crop stress (lack of development), even though there is no shortage of moisture.  This field started with exceedingly high moisture level in the top 4 feet.  We need to get soil and tissue tests and make some comparisons as was recently pointed out at the Wheat College seminar.  The barley is heading, and there is a lot of unevenness.  Our field that borders this field is barley on barley and looks significantly better(even) at this point in time.  This field has 50-60acres on the west edge that will make a great test area for out of the box thinking.  There is enough shallow soil to make  any attempt at moisture saving using fallow a waste, so annual cropping is a no brainer.  I have no doubt, with this field being along the hwy, that, what we do, will be the talk of the community for years to come.   Kye has a 5 year rotation worked out for the whole farm.  What I/we do on this 50-60ac will, hopefully, work in conjunction with the rotation crop present.  What that is, has yet to be settled on but options are developing as we/I surf the internet on interseeding and cover cropping.  Building biomass in general, and OM in particular is crucial. Small gains in OM produce large gains in moisture holding capacity, and the ability of a soil to manufacture nutrients needed for crop production.  Recycling and redistributing nutrients within the soil root zone is something that we need to figure out also.  Exciting times.  Challenges and solutions put meaning to life.
      [5/24/14 Update:]  Excellent emergence.  Not perfect but close to it.  The CrossSlot design limitation showed with some of the back rank openers shallowing up when crossing over small hogbacks that some of our topography contains.  The crop stand is even, meaning it all emerged in one or two days.  The field of barley on barley next to this CRP also has excellent crop emergence.
     This spring we get to seed the first crop on ground that was put into CRP back in 1986.  2013 was a good year to kill the old CRP stand.  There is none of the old stand that seems to have survived.  There was a lot of new seedlings that we were able to get a RT3 application on prior to seeding barley.
       It will be interesting to see what kind of yield we will get off this field.  Some of the ground is shallow, and all was badly degraded through erosion from approximately 75 years of cultivation prior to entered the CRP program.
        The pic below represents the CRP field before and after the drill planted spring barley.

     While checking for the seed.  We found worms everywhere.  This was a good sign for soil health.

      The flash of the camera washed out the soil color.  It was a much darker color in real life.  This pic was good to show worm castings.  Everywhere I checked, the soil at seed depth was mostly made of worm castings.  It was surprising to me.

VALUE OF ORGANIC MATTER

      Organic Matter and it's value in crop production was the topic of a recent Direct Seed meeting.  I've known about OM since my school days of long ago.  I didn't take it seriously until well after the Horse Escaped the Barn -- if any readers are old enough to remember that phrase.  Current research puts a little different twist to what I remember from 1960.  Organic Matter can now be divided into two basic types -- Stable OM where it is highly decomposed with very little biological activity, and Active OM that is being used, and worked on, by living plants, animals and microbes.  Food to feed these communities associated with Active OM needs to be continual and not intermittent.  Good soil is alive and needs nourishment.  I'm starting to think that production from these soils have the potential for sustainability without costly inputs.  Bad soil is dead dirt.  These soils will always require massive inputs of fertilizer and chemistry to raise a crop.  I use to poo-poo organic farming, but not anymore.  Thanks to those people, research on our micro-biological soil life and how to develop and exploit sustainable farming has taken off.  Speaking of dead dirt -- is there anything deader than fallow, and we do this intentionally.  We need to give more thought to this subject.
      When the Palouse Prairie was first put under the plow it was roughly 20% of Stable OM and 80% Active OM.  Nutrients were manufactured, and recycled by organisms in the Active OM.  Some plants are capable of tapping into a variety of nutrients deep in the soil profile and transport them to the surface where other plants can use them. Today, after a 100 years of cultivation the Active OM and the Stable OM are reversed.  The Active OM has been lost primarily through cultivation from two factors.  1)--Cultivation stokes the fire of mineralization.  By mixing air, moisture, and residue(fuel), organic matter is converts to nitrogen and carbon dioxide.  Nitrogen is released and growing plants use it for food, and Carbon Dioxide is released into the atmosphere.  Does Carbon Sequestration and Global Warming strike a bell?  Our farming practices are taking us in the wrong direction on these subjects.  I include our commonly accepted DS techniques in this statement.   2)--Every cultivation pass breaks down soil structure into ever decreasing particle size.  This results in less residue to protect the soil surface, allows soils to seal off when it rains, and increases compaction, and starves the biological communities in the soil.  One visual symptom is droughty high ground and waterlogged low ground.  There are numerous visual examples east of State Highway 195.  Should we lose the technology of fertilizer and chemistry either by availability or price, all our operations would be at risk.  In the past, civilizations have disappeared when their political and cultural practices destroyed the soil.  Professor, Jared Diamond has written three books on the subject.  The book "Collapse" is an interesting read, and a bit sobering.
      Where do we go from here?  First, move away from farming practices that deplete the soil.  A careless practice can cost you an inch of soil in one major weather event.  It takes nature approximately 1000 years to replace that one inch.  This happened in a major production area in Australia about 20 years ago.  Starting with 7"of productive soil, these farmers made a quick change.  One year they were tillage based farmers, and the next year, and since, they are DS.
       Second, start incorporating practices that will build soil structure and reestablish the soil biological communities.  There is a lot of good research on the subject and more in the pipeline.  Land Grant Universities and private laboratories are ramping up programs to meet the need.
        Third, it appears that we need to get out of fallow.  Current research by Oregon State indicates that one fallow year loses more than we gain in the two crop years of a three year rotation.  That was a real downer for me.  For years I thought I was building soil by DS.  A better understanding of soil biology and  interaction from/with different crop cultivars is going to be necessary to break traditional mind sets.