On Verge of 6 month phase out period for glyphosate????

[ado089]

Big organic has the politicians and regulators in their pockets.

[chuckChuck]

Google Gabe Brown from Bismarck. He has integrated a livestock operation and crop production. Using cover crops and a good rotation along with direct seeding, Brown has cut his fertilizer use and his chemical bill substantially.

He is not organic but has gone a long way to prove that farmers can save money and produce high yielding crops with less off farm inputs. Is this the way of the future for many farms?

[Braveheart]

It is for our farm. We used a cover crop last year which was barley seeded after barley. We got volunteers and the light seeded barley (KISS technique). Our cows grazed it til November. This year tillage radish for some select wet as well as compaction areas. We need to learn more about how to seed it and what mix works best. I do think though that cover crops are the next tool to add to our toolbox here.

[burnt]

Cover crops might be the next green revolution.

All eyes around here are on the fields of a farming family who took a big plunge with cover crops, planting rye on a lot of their acres last fall.

This spring they planted soys and edible beans into the green, standing rye and sprayed glyphosate post-planting. Tillage was limited to one 3/4" wavy in front of the seed opener. They planted into the green, standing crop because it causes the least resistance and plugging problems.

The beans were coming through the tangle of rye yesterday when we drove by some of their fields.

It will be most interesting to watch as the year unfolds - will they need to apply more herbicide or will the rye residue keep the weeds down? How much organic matter will the rye put back into the soil? And moisture retention should be a huge benefit from the residue as well with the ground shaded until the beans fill out.

And, no doubt, the chemical companies are watching with as much interest as anyone - or maybe more...

[Braveheart]

When I was involved with Pesticide Free Production one of the interesting projects was slowing down flea beetles using clover.

It seems that flea beetles hunt by scent and the clover smell was so strong it confused the beetles. So, if clover was a late part of this years cover and planted into then sprayed out next spring it may provide a bio barrier for flea beetles.

[ado089]

My cover crops were a dry, weedy mess this spring. Also now that there is some more research done on them they are finding that the phos runoff from cover crops is huge compared to other systems,it has something to do with green freezing plants. They might have a fit in areas that have a short winter and alot of moisture but I'm not impressed with them here in NW sask so far.