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BetterFarming.comBetter Farming
November 2016
Show your Pay As You Go Account Card at any Mark’s store to receive 10 % Savings Everyday on regular priced items listed on the card. Card expires November 1, 2017 Need more than 4 cards? Call OFA Member Relations at 1-800-668-3276 to receive the required number of cards. Look for your new Pay As You Go Account Card in this issue. A benefit for every person who works on your farm. MEMBERSExploring conservation tillage options
Calculate crop residue and consider the best practices for your fields.
by PATRICK LYNCH
I
recently had the opportunity to
speak at a number of grower
meetings focused on variety and
hybrid plots. To add another dimen-
sion to the meetings, the organizers
invited several companies to demon-
strate their conservation tillage. (An
early corn hybrid was planted and
harvested before the conservation till-
age.)
After each piece of equipment we
would discuss the results. Was the
tillage too deep? Was it level enough?
Was there enough residue?
It became obvious during the first
meeting that growers did not know
how to measure the crop residue that
was left. During the 1980s, we had to
measure residue as part of a govern-
ment program that was giving grant
money for conservation tillage. We
had a “line transect.” This was a
50-foot-long rope with knots at every
foot. We would count the number of
knots that had a significant piece of
residue under them. Then, we would
multiply this number by two in order
to determine the per cent residue
cover.
At the tillage demonstrations, we
improvised. We used a metal plot
stake that had holes about every inch.
We counted the number of holes that
had significant residue showing
through the hole.
We counted the residue under 25
holes and multiplied by four in order
CROPS:
THE
LYNCH
FILE
We used a plot stake to
estimate residue cover.