Organic works

[Klause]

Intensively managed organic grain production can work... And even be better for the soil and plants...


Our wheat experiment on 340 acres proves it...

[TASFarms]

Ok tell the rest of the Story

[Horse]

Yes tell the rest of the story, you have made a lot of claims on how to do it now tell us how it all worked out, please

[AlbertaFarmer5]

Intensively managed organic grain production can work... And even be better for the soil and plants...


Our wheat experiment on 340 acres proves it...

I will second that motion. Got the crazy idea last winter to try some organic. In early june, seeded a couple hundred acres of barley with sweet, red and alsike clover. Seeded into mud, very poor weed control due to the wet conditions, then it got even wetter immediately after seeding, and hasn't rained enough to be worth noting ever since that big rain event at the beginning of June. It got off to such a poor start, that I had wrote off the entire concept until now. I'm out silaging the clover and barley in the drowned out areas, I can't believe how good the crop is almost everywhere else, far surpassed my expectations. Makes the decision of whether or not to pursue this in on a larger scale more difficult. I was expecting a very disappointing crop and the decision would be easy. If I thought I could make long term no-till and organic work together, I'd be all for it.

[Klause]

Our no till organic wheat will probably out yield most wheat around...


Rock phos... elemental sulphur... Humic.. pea stubble.... Zero till... Bordeaux lots of things go together... More coming when yield happens.

[Ache4Acres]

The organic crops in our area look better than expected. there was much less than normal weed pressure with a low moisture year. Perfect year for organic


That being said, all the organic guys spray many times during the season....who knows what their spraying but it must be a magic elixir

[farmaholic]

Ok I'll bite.....when was the last time the land had a pesticide app? Give it afew years and report back, ya I believe the disease pressure will be less but weed pressure, I think, "can" become an issue.


In organics, its the amount of tillage that scares me. I realize things are done differently these days....maybe very little "black summerfallow" but still...

Organic farming is definitely a different way of doing things compared to today's practices...not saying there's anything wrong with it, its just different than what most practice.

Hobby hates competition...he will denounce the merits of it! {;-)...thats my smiley face with a tinfoil hat.

[GDR]

The guys on here and in general that discount organic farming and fuss about poor yields and weeds etc are morons that have been blinded by industry. Same guys bitch and moan about input costs and ag reps. Organic farming is like anything else in life, If you work hard and do a good job it works out just fine. The guy that combines volunteer canola and weeds from 4 years ago is not an organic farmer just lazy.

Good for you Klause to experiment.

[Klause]

Rye... Clover... Mulch.... Seeding later...


No summerfallowing... We don't use fungicides. They are foofoo snake oil garbage. Keep in mind our wheat has never had fuz downgrades we have no sclerotinia and our peas have never had an issue with root roots...


We're doing something right and this year we have proof with soil biology on land we've been farming for a while compared to newly picked up dirt.


Farmers these days are treating sort like a medium devoid of life instead of a living breathing organism that is capable of doing a lot of work.

[Klause]

Also high sbu and high seeding rates. Less tillers.

[farmaholic]

With all due respect GDR, there were numerous guys around here who "tried" and quit and some tried and quit farming. And those who are still farming their own land are suffering a wicked hang-over. I would assume most of them weren't "serious" about it. Because if they were I think they would have found a way to manage their way through it, like the successful ones have!!!!! In a way no different than conventional farmers.... some are wildly successful and others not so much. There is a guy who is transitioning to some sort of organic production not far from here but they have more money than.... And I believe there is a way to be successful at it, I just haven't seen many good examples in our area.

You make a good statement about dead soil Klause.

[GDR]

With all due respect GDR, there were numerous guys around here who "tried" and quit and some tried and quit farming. And those who are still farming their own land are suffering a wicked hang-over. I would assume most of them weren't "serious" about it. Because if they were I think they would have found a way to manage their way through it, like the successful ones have!!!!! In a way no different than conventional farmers.... some are wildly successful and others not so much. There is a guy who is transitioning to some sort of organic production not far from here but they have more money than.... And I believe there is a way to be successful at it, I just haven't seen many good examples in our area.

You make a good statement about dead soil Klause.

Agree there are lots of failures and poor examples but I think the problem is lots of guys that have tried just think it means cutting out fert and Chem and all is good and don't put the effort in or understand how to meets the crop needs otherwise.

No I'm not organic, have toyed with trying but so far chickened out, if it weren't for the transition period it would be easier to try a few years.

[Partners]

Our neighbor has been organic for 10 plus yrs.goes to a organic convention every winter. Tried all rotations.summerfallow..Wheat..bly..Clover. radish..
This yr his bly crop should do 5 to 10 b/a..Thistle heads will be another 20 b/a..
Sick of his weeds blowing on to my field..the RM should make him clean up his act..

[farmaholic]

QUOTE GDR: .....but I think the problem is lots of guys that have tried just think it means cutting out fert and Chem and all is good and don't put the effort in or understand how to meets the crop needs otherwise"


Couldn't agree more.

The practice has merit...it just has to be approached right.

[Ronski]

I'm torn between being a smartass or a dick.
But then got thinking, what has changed since 1940ish? We can now fallow with sweeps vs a plow, broadcast manure on a huge scale, use a pulse for plowdown vs fallow, have rock phosphate for fert. I even remember way back in the 90's at Olds College mentioned using a steam blast instead of glyphosate so a burnoff should be possible.

How hard would it be? Seed down a piece to hay, hammer it with P and K in establishment year, hay it for qualifying years, graze it well into November the final year for manure and winter kill. The next spring steam the crap out of it through the summer to burn off whatever is there (water and heat are cheap) for the season, call it fallow. Then that fall seed winter wheat and you're off. Should have grown out the seed bank in hay and direct seed with the steam blast (maybe even make shrouds and seed on wide spacing for in crop steaming?). Get 3 or 4 crops out of it then back into hay to clean it up (starting with a big shot of glyphosate and hog manure)

I think the agronomics aren't the issue, the marketing is. I'm to old/lazy and its way easier to call Pioneer to see what they'll give me vs finding/making a market. Kudos to you Klause if you can, (to be honest its not me being old that is the marketing problem, I don't like bargaining/haggling with people. Most of the time I don't like ****ing talking to them at all)

Family's been farming same ground for 120 years, made it through the first 50 without chemicals so should be able to grow something without???