Thoughts on Dirt management

[OkieKubota]

My tax preparer recommended 3/4 and 1 ton vehicles for my side brushhogging business and in order to depreciate it has to be fairly new. There are no cheap new 3/4 - 1 ton diesel trucks...cost of doing business because I can assure you the benefit does not overcome the payments...paid mine off a couple months ago...

 

[Jason Broom]

I think the dichotomy is created by a subset of farmers who are unwilling to make changes in how they manage their dirt, despite many examples of things that they might at least try, while citing financial risks from the seat of their $50,000 pickup. I can see both sides of it, but recognize that farmers are easily some of the hardest-working people in our society, today...they deserve to be well-compensated.

 

[MarkDarvin]

It's the optics. I have no dog in this fight, so take this with a grain of salt...

People that are not farmers, teachers, nurses, and other highly regarded professionals can only take being told so often how important certain people's jobs and lifestyles are vs their own etc. Couple that with the fact that nobody understands farm programs, people can cook up their own version of what they think farm programs do for farmers and stir up plenty of misguided anger.

Personally, hats off to guys trying to farm. I wouldn't be cut out for it.

 

[Mennoniteman]

I was born and raised on a farm, and educated how to be a farmer, but am not a farmer. I declare growing up on a farm is the best experience ever. Like being in the marines. You learn to deal with/ fix any situation. So why am I am I and 90% of the other people raised on farms not there anymore? We see the long hours and how hard dad worked and eventually decide there's easier ways to make a living.

 

[Mennoniteman]

I think the dichotomy is created by a subset of farmers who are unwilling to make changes in how they manage their dirt, despite many examples of things that they might at least try, while citing financial risks from the seat of their $50,000 pickup. I can see both sides of it, but recognize that farmers are easily some of the hardest-working people in our society, today...they deserve to be well-compensated.

In Lancaster county Pa almost no farmers plow anymore, you can hardly even sell a good plow. Notill spring planting into small grain stubble, rye and diakon radish fall cover crop are standard practice. In other words, farmers are doing with big equipment what us food plot guys should be doing with throw and mow. Unless you are fortunate enough to have a notill planter.

 

[X-farmerdan]

There are a lot of interesting (true and false) perceptions in this thread. So far as no-till and conservation till are concerned the acres on which both are practiced continues to increase nationally. You only need look to the Census of Agriculture or research conducted by USDA's Economic Research Service. It's a topic of such great interest it's easy to find other sources pointing in the same direction.The 2017 census has just started. Let's look at 2012 where we find that farmers reported a total of 389-million acres of cropland in the US. Of that 279-million are tillable. About a third of those acres, 96-million were "no-tilled." That's reported to be up from 88-million acres in 2010. In addition some form of conservation tillage was practiced on another 76-million acres. So, from nothing a few decades ago to more than half of the tillable acres today!

Back in the 1980s when I was studying the theory of agriculture, no-till seemed like a lunatic's dream. Yet, here we are. The benefits, not just to farmers, but to all of society are real. The pace of change here is rather typical in agriculture. It took farmers nearly 15-years to fully accept corn hybrids even though they could see the difference in corn growth and yields when they drove down the neighbors country road. And, it's not just farmers. Many of us still resist the effort and risk involved with the need to learn and practice a new trick! Thank you Lord Jesus for each new generation - even if they are so different I don't understand much about them. Grace, Love and Mercy....

 

[Jason Broom]

What falls under the term "conservation tillage"? When us food-plotters talk about discing "lightly", does that qualify?

 

[X-farmerdan]

What falls under the term "conservation tillage"? When us food-plotters talk about discing "lightly", does that qualify?

Conservation tillage includes some tillage, but leaves a minimum of 30 percent of the soil surface covered by the previous crop's residue following the planting operation. Over half the acreage (41.6 million acres) was on farms that practiced conservation tillage on a thousand or more acres.
Conservation Highlights - USDA Census of Agriculture
https://www.agcensus.usda.gov/.../2012/.../Conservation/Highlights_Conservation.pdf

 

[bigbluetruck]

When we used to ridge till that was consevation tillage. In some ways that was an easier system than no till, except for cultivating and hilling

 

[jsasker007]

The lack of education and lack of work ethic in this country is sickening. jmho. Not saying anyone here is the focus of my statement, just a general observation. I own a business where we make parts for grain elevators. We rely on people who are willing to do manual labor for some of our jobs and the way things are headed I will be closing the doors due to lack of being able to find workers. Yet, there are many low-income housing complexes in our area that house people rent FREE and many of those folks are more than able to work but choose not to because the government will hand out taxpayer dollars like candy on Halloween! SAD! Times are changing and not for the better in my opinion.

 

[jsasker007]

This foodplotting stuff is my escape from my real world problems---the worst day plotting is still better than my best day working to give most of my money to the government and paying bills.

 

[Jason Broom]

Conservation tillage includes some tillage, but leaves a minimum of 30 percent of the soil surface covered by the previous crop's residue following the planting operation. Over half the acreage (41.6 million acres) was on farms that practiced conservation tillage on a thousand or more acres.
Conservation Highlights - USDA Census of Agriculture
https://www.agcensus.usda.gov/.../2012/.../Conservation/Highlights_Conservation.pdf

One of our own, Lakngulf, coined a term called "thirt", which is what the surface of your soil looks like when you disc lightly until seeing a mixture of thatch and dirt. I don't know if that's 30% of the soil surface covered by prior crop residue, or more, but I suspect the goals and results are largely the same.