No Harvest for You!

[sumdumguy]

It stands to reason Jensend. That Zero-till story is being written: on one hand, I think that all that straw that covered the ground with total absence of moisture was a saving grace, but when the soil is never turned over, you gotta wonder about the hard layer beneath and water absorption. Not to mention the explosion of chemical use. It's definitely an easier way to farm, but....

[Braveheart]

Zero till is NOT an easier way to farm. It's a different way to farm. Shortcuts lead to failure.

Jensend, your oilfield contractor is sniffing too much H2S. Our zero till fields (since 1988) are so mellow it's hard to compare them to neighborhood hard pan conventional fields.

[jensend]

Braveheart Im sure the top couple of inches is mellow. How about a foot down?

[farmaholic]

Or sprayer trails. Sometimes I will change it up a bit. RTK compaction....lol. I was jokingly going to point out sand really never compacts (its not as bad as you may think here, its a mixed bag of tricks).

We are in a harvest lull. Sprayed some flax today and started on cleaning up the mess weeds and volunteers. First peas have been off for a month now. This will be a methodical timed process. Early stuff is ready but more recent fields need time for the residue to settle (in a "few" spots) and stuff to grow through it. And hopefully a shot of rain to help settle stuff and wash the plants down. A bit of an unnerving observation today, it was kind of hot and windy here today, the bolting and early flowering volunteer canola looked wilted. We need some rain to recharge the soil. Lots of time yet, never lost the next year's crop is September yet, I hope :-)

[Braveheart]

We can take a 10" screwdriver and with little effort push it to the handle.

When we soil test, the people probing can't believe what they pull up.

Heavy rains don't pond on our fields. They do on other fields that are conventionally farmed in the area.

In the wet years, wetter than SF3, we seeded fields beside neighbours stuck to excavator depth.

[fjlip]

Perfect hot dry windy July day here, 20% humidity, wheat lost 4 % down to 13, combines everywhere tonight. Hope it lasts a few weeks.

[freewheat]

I am with you on that, braveheart. People forget what roots and earthworms do for us in long term no till. I will raise you your ten inch screwdriver, and use a 20 inch tire iron though!

[SASKFARMER3]

Started direct seeding in 1982 so 33 years it's mellowed the ground and soil is improving.

[farmaholic]

Too funny, have it dry out and see how easy it penetrates. Can we hear from some of the typically dry areas on the subject.

[Oliver88]

Every process takes longer when soil is muddy.
Hard for dryer areas to comprehend.

Spraying was so much nicer in 2015 when land was all drivable without getting stuck for the most part.

[farmaholic]

88, I'm still bouncing across sprayer ruts from the recent wet cycle. At its worst it seemed like the sprayer was always trying to climb a hill or out of a hole. A couple of times it just sunk, where you wouldn't think it would. We never had it as bad as the people east of here though. Didn't have much trouble with the combine but trucks were a different story. Careful what you wish for. I was hoping for a drier year but not this dry.

[SASKFARMER3]

Started direct seeding in 1982 so 33 years it's mellowed the ground and soil is improving.