Soil organic matter

[helmsdale]

Biggest issue I have here is lack of moisture...

Spread straw at least helps keep evaporation down prior to the crop filling in. For guys in wetter areas, as long as you were replacing nutrients you probably aren't out much. I have a hell of a time being convinced to part with straw around here... every bit of trash counts when growing season moisture can be <4".

[Sheepwheat]

Moisture regime and climate, soil texture etc. certainly plays a part. As well as how bad your soil needs the material returned. A guy with deep black soil and too much moisture will have different thoughts than a guy with brown or dk. brown soil and in an area that suffers from low rainfall and high evap. rates.

[Blaithin]

Biggest issue I have here is lack of moisture...

Spread straw at least helps keep evaporation down prior to the crop filling in. For guys in wetter areas, as long as you were replacing nutrients you probably aren't out much. I have a hell of a time being convinced to part with straw around here... every bit of trash counts when growing season moisture can be <4".

Keep in mind that if you dedicate part of your rotation to adding to root biomass and therefore OM, you’re exponentially increasing the moisture holding capacity of your soil.

I have the numbers somewhere, I’ll look them up later.

Residue/litter on top always helps too. Not saying that doesn’t, at all. Just if you have more OM and root systems in your soil, the precipitation you get will infiltrate better and the soil will be able to hold more. Which can then be protected by your straw litter cover.

Work them together as a team instead of just one and you’ll get better results.

[helmsdale]

Keep in mind that if you dedicate part of your rotation to adding to root biomass and therefore OM, you’re exponentially increasing the moisture holding capacity of your soil.

Work them together as a team instead of just one and you’ll get better results.

I've contemplated the idea of cover crops. Or taking a portion out and putting into forage. In a perfect world I'd like to graze the forage rather than bale and haul it off.

The cover crop issue for me comes back to the lack of growing season moisture... The number of years we've had more moisture than was necessary to grow a crop, which includes subsoil recharge post harvest is perhaps 5 since 1970. There was excess in 75, 99, 05, 10, 16.

But then 76, 00, 01, 11, and 17 were drier and that subsoil moisture that would have grown a cover crop wouldn't have carried forward into the next year.

They're likely a great option for many guys, but there just isnt any extra water to go around out here...

[Blaithin]

I've contemplated the idea of cover crops. Or taking a portion out and putting into forage. In a perfect world I'd like to graze the forage rather than bale and haul it off.

The cover crop issue for me comes back to the lack of growing season moisture... The number of years we've had more moisture than was necessary to grow a crop, which includes subsoil recharge post harvest is perhaps 5 since 1970. There was excess in 75, 99, 05, 10, 16.

But then 76, 00, 01, 11, and 17 were drier and that subsoil moisture that would have grown a cover crop wouldn't have carried forward into the next year.

They're likely a great option for many guys, but there just isnt any extra water to go around out here...

I think they’re something you have to start small in. Evidence is there to support that they help increase moisture which would be hugely beneficial in dry areas. But you’re going to have a decline in production while their benefits catch up before you start to see them working.

It’s also said to help if the producer using them shifts from thinking of Yield/Bushel per acre to Profit per acre. I don’t know that anyone ever gets as high a yield per acre of the main crop, maybe eventually, but they can have more profit per acre because of decreases in input costs.

Each farm is going to be different.

[Sheepwheat]

Yeah here we have too much moisture often. But our growing season is too short for adding cover crops most of the time.

The great thing about forage crops, even hayed forage, are that at least with deep rooted legumes, lots of nutrients that have leached down get recycled and used.

I like my neighbors corn system. They graze corn all winter now. No hay hardly needed. Then they rotate to crops and grow some amazing crops after the corn. They are in my view really building the soil. All that corn fertility they put on, or almost all, gets recycled into organic matter and readily available nutrients, and it shows after a few cycles.

Have been researching doing this with the sheep: looks like sheep can graze corn just fine too.

[STRNGR]

OM /moisture

We find having straw left on zero tillage makes a great difference when dealing with long dry periods! If run into wet cycles, will bale some. Wheat varieties now a lot less straw also, so not as much to deal with, find Canola straw more a problem following year when seeding, but does warm up quicker