New Book Review

What I've Learned From No-Till, Cropping Secrets From 58 Highly Successful No-Tillers,  

            by Ron Ross, 2007           
               Published by Lessiter Publications, Inc, 
                P.O. Box 624
                Brookfield, WI  53008

     This is a comprehensive compliation of interviews with farmers from all over the U.S. who practice No-Till (also known as Direct Seed) Farming.  It is well written, well laid out, and has good photos to accompany the interviews. 

     Each of the farmers address situations and issues which are specific to their region, their farm and their land.  While one farmer's methods may not pertain to another's, it is interesting to learn how farmers do things in different parts of the country.  The entire book of all the interviews builds a broad resource for anyone who has already begun No-Tilling or who is interested in converting their operation to No-Till.

     After reading this book, a person will have real knowledge of this method of soil conservation farming, and will have practical information for different situations and issues on their own farm.  The ideas shared by all these farmers about retaining soil moisture, erosion reduction, plant residue, planter adjustments, sprayer nozzles, light bars, fertilizer application and weed control are so practical, most every farmer will enjoy this book, whether he is a No-Tiller or Minimum-Tiller.

                                                                   Posted by Robin W.L. on August 17, 2013

Farmer Profile - Todd and Heather Strader

     This month we are pleased to introduce you to TH Farms LLC, owned and operated by Todd and Heather Strader.  Todd and Heather were both raised in the Colfax, Washington area.  After college they had careers away from the farm, but decided to return home, and go into farming with their families.  Young farmers are a rare breed, and much needed for the future of our food security here in the USA.  We are proud of Todd for taking on the business of farming, and for his success in the four years that he has been at it.

Todd Strader and his son, Grant (future farmer!)

 Your name, family names and interests

     Todd, Heather, Grant and Ava

 Where do you live, your farm name?

     TH FARMS LLC / Colfax WA

 How long have you been farming?
     4 Years

 Why did you become a farmer?
     Prior to farming, I was an FBI Special Agent.  I worked all over the US but mostly in Washington D.C. and Albuquerque, New Mexico.  My wife and I grew tired of living in big cities and wanted to raise our kids where and how we were raised, farming wheat in the Palouse!

What crops do you grow?    
     Wheat, Barley, Garbanzo Beans

 What type of farm do you operate?

     Our farm is dryland, meaning that we don't irrigate.  We use the direct seed method, meaning we don't till the soil.

Todd, combining (harvesting) his wheat

 Tell us about your operation. 

     My wife and I farm throughout Whitman County, Washington in varied micro-climates and rainfall zones.  We raise wheat, barley, and garbanzo beans.   We are sixth generation farmers, our kids are seventh direct generation on the same farm, which was homesteaded in 1877.  It is located due south of Colfax, Washington.  We also raise sheep and cattle for fun and for our kids.

 Do you use any sustainable practices?  Please tell about them.

     We direct seed using a Horsch Anderson, 35’ No-Till drill.  This drill applies 2 separate types of fertilizer as well as the seed all in one pass!  This allows the least amount of tillage to be used, reduces compaction and maintains the soil health, and so preserving and enhancing our soils for the next generation of farmers! 

Something interesting, cutting-edge, fascinating, you would like readers to know?

     All of our fertilizer and herbicides are applied using GPS technology which automatically turns the fertilizer and herbicide on and off automatically in order to reduce the amount of chemicals used.  The computer system in the tractor maintains a GPS/Satellite map, showing where we have and have not sprayed, and adjusts the amount and rate of fertilizer/herbicide to be applied. Our tractor is also equipped with “Auto Steer” which controls the steering while working in the field.

Wheat harvest - cut on the left, uncut on the right

     The seedbox on our seeder has scales on it so that we can accurately meter how much seed we are putting out, and we can change our seed rate on the fly!

What are the biggest challenges you face as a farmer?

     The biggest challenges I face as a farmer is the volatility of the wheat/garbanzo bean markets and weather.  No matter how hard we work, our success and outcome as a farmer is determined by outside forces including international politics, US monetary policy, and other commodity prices such as fuel prices which we use to power our equipment, and use to make fertilizer, as well as gold and silver prices.  Sometimes the wheat market can swing 3-6% in one day due to these factors.

Dumping the wheat kernels from the hopper into the grain truck,
which will haul it to market.
Note there are two other big grain trucks waiting to be filled.
You can't see her, but that's a girl driving that big John Deere tractor!

What are farming's biggest rewards for you?

     The biggest reward for me as a farmer is harvest-time.  Harvest is when we cut all of our wheat and garbanzo beans which we have been working for a full year to cultivate, plant and care for and is the fruit of all of our labor.  A successful harvest is very rewarding!

 Do you participate in any civic or industry organizations?

     I am a volunteer firefighter with the Onecho Fire Department.

 Are there any stories about farming that you’d like to share?
     My son's first tractor ride was when he was about 2 months old.  Our tractors are climate-controlled, very quiet and dust-free in the cab, so don't be alarmed!  My daughter is almost 2 and our son is 3, and they both love to drive in the tractors and trucks with their dad!
     Also, I am a pilot, and I love to fly over our fields to check them for issues, weed problems and the overall health of the land and our crop.

Heather, Grant and Ava, framed in Farmer Todd's tractor tire!

Notes From the Palouse

Rolling hills and patchwork farm fields

   
     This past week I visited the farmers who live and farm in the Palouse Region of Eastern Washington state.  This area comprises roughly in the south-east portion of the state, and goes into the panhandle of Idaho.  It is very rich agriculturally, with silty soils and abundant rains, which come during the spring and early summer.

Winter wheat beginning to turn from green to gold.  

     Geologically, the region is made of unusual and beautiful silt-dunes, which were formed during the Ice Age.  They were the result of a glacial outwash, which made huge, random humps and hollows.  I often describe them as endless giant gopher mounds.  The big, open portions of the dunes are cropped fields.  In the gullies and hollows, are timber, brush, creeks, deciduous trees and shrubs.  The combined fields and trees are gorgeous.

See how the cab is level, and the header follows the contour of the land?
This is a self leveling combine.  Pretty helpful.

     You might imagine that it could be dicey attempting to drive a tractor or combine on these steep hillsides.  It is!  The self leveling combine was developed by Washington State University, which is in this region.

      The farmland here is like none other.  Precipitation ranges from 15" to 22" annually, so farmers have no need to irrigate.  The top soil is very deep, ranging from 3' and deeper throughout the Palouse.  Crops are predominantly wheat, barley, dry peas, lentils and garbanzos, with some oats, flax and canola.  Whitman County, in the heart of the Palouse, is the largest grower of Soft White Wheat in the United States.

     The region was settled in the late 1800's by German, Irish and Russian immigrants - you'll hear their surnames all over the Palouse.  Most farms are still being worked by original families - with 4th and 5th generation now tilling the land that their ancestors homesteaded.

Fields with dry peas growing in the foreground

      Harvest is just beginning in the Palouse.  The first crop to ripen is winter wheat (hard red and soft white winter wheats), then dry peas and dry lentils, then the spring wheats (dark northern, hard white and soft white spring wheats), and finally, garbanzos.  Harvest runs from the end of July through September.

     After harvest, farmers plant their fall crop of winter wheat and in some cases, dry winter peas. Also, they prepare fields which will be planted in the spring.  They spray weed killer and incorporate fertilizer in the soil, so that it can work over the winter.  Usually they are done with all their fall work by mid to late October.

Dry peas growing.

     Then, they rest.  They  make repairs and upgrades to all of their equipment.  They go to seminars and conventions which pertain to the crops they grow, or type of farming they practice.   They plan and budget for next season, and talk with their banker, accountant and crop advisors.  They sleep in a little bit, maybe till 7 am or so.  They enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas.  And, if they're lucky, they go on a winter vacation with their families and friends. The farmers of the Palouse know they live in God's country, and they don't take it for granted!

Making a Molehill out of a Mountain

     Farmers have been battling Mother Nature's attempts to destroy their livelihood since Adam and Eve were booted from the Garden of Eden.  One of MN's effective techniques to frustrate farmers is soil erosion, by water, wind and tillage of the soil by the farmers themselves. Water and wind erosion are now the two primary causes of soil degredation; combined, they are responsible for 84% of degraded acreage, making excessive erosion one of the most significant global environmental problems.

Water Erosion

     Erosion strips the valuable, nutrient-rich topsoil from the ground, leaving behind inferior sub-soil that is less productive and requires more fertilizers and additives. Wind and water erosion can strip the soil from around growing plants, hampering their growth, and making it more difficult to get a good harvest.

     Erosion also contributes to water pollution, as soil, fertilizers, and other industrial chemicals are swept into waterways. Air pollution is also another side effect of severe erosion, with dust particles blown into the air clogging up the atmosphere.

     Tillage is the practice of preparing the soil for planting by turning up the soil, breaking up dirt clods, and shaping the field into irrigation beds or smoothing it out for planting, loosening and aerating the soil, mixing in organic material evenly throughout the soil, and destroys weeds.

Rice terraces in the Phillipines

     While farmers around the world cannot do anything to control the wind or rain, there have been many techniques developed over the millennia to combat this problem, with new techniques being developed even today! Terracing, as seen in many Asian and Latin American countries, is a very effective way to reduce erosion. Planting rows of trees along the perimeter of fields to provide wind breaks is also a good way to help reduce erosion. In industrialized farming countries, new farming methods such as no-till farming, strip tilling, and direct seeding are becoming more popular, and are very effective in reducing all types of erosion. 

Corn growing right into last years crop residue

     Minimum tillage is a soil conservation system with the goal of minimum soil manipulation necessary for successful crop production.  Planting is done directly after harrowing, without further preparation of the soil being done.  The top layer of the topsoil is lightly disked, just to break up the old crop residue.  It is either then harrowed and a fall crop planted.  Or, it is left to lie over winter with the rough disking done, and then in the spring, is harrowed, and seeded.  This is a widely used, and very effective method of reducing soil erosion.

     No-till farming is a relatively new technique in which the soil is left undisturbed, and the residue from the previous year's crop is left on the field to provide a protective ground cover for this year's plants. No-till farming increases the amount of water in the soil by helping to prevent evaporation, and decreases wind and water erosion since the ground has a cover of plant residue to hold the soil in place.

Direct-seeding a field

     Direct seeding is the planting method used with no-till farming. Direct seeding is a special technique in which the seed and fertilizer are planted at the same time in the residue from the previous year's crop. The crop residue and root structure keep the water and the soil in the field, reducing soil erosion by 90%, helps prevent the movement of fertilizers and chemicals, and improves water and air quality by reducing runoff and dust. Other benefits include sequestration of carbon in the soil, improved soil health, and reduction of fuel and machinery usage.

Strip-tilling a cornfield

     Strip tillage is a soil conservation method in which only the strip of soil that will contain the seed is tilled. Most of the plant residue from the previous year's crop is left to provide protection to the new plants, and to help reduce erosion and increase soil quality as it decomposes. Strip tilling also allows the farmer to more accurately apply fertilizers and other agricultural chemicals.

     As the world's population expands and the demand for food increases, it is becoming more and more important to preserve and maintain the soil at the highest level possible in order to meet these demands. Like fresh water, oil, and gold, soil is not an infinite resource, especially high-quality, productive soil. It must be carefully cultivated and preserved, and used efficiently. Farmers around the world have combated the erosion of soil since the beginning of time, and are continuing this battle yearly, although they now have a wide range of information and technology to assist them.

For more information on erosion, visit these sites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erosion
http://directseed.org/about/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No-till_farming
http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strip-till
http://www.striptillfarmer.com/

Soil Erosion - a problem for farmers since the Garden of Eden!

Check out this video to learn how big of a problem soil erosion is for farmers, and how they're using direct seed technology to combat this problem!