Investigation of the Viability of Growing Herbs as Alternative Crops for Iowa Farmers

Evaluation of Cultural Practices

Cover crop experiment

Cover crop experiments were established September 10, 1994, and September 21, 1995, to evaluate the usefulness of cover crops as weed suppressing agents and erosion inhibitors. Two cover crop cultures were established using rye alone and a rye-hairy vetch mixture. Rye seed was seeded at a rate of 10 lbs./A and hairy vetch seed was seeded at a rate of 15 lbs./A in respective plots. Evaluation of plot area in December resulted in a good stand of hairy vetch and rye in the bi-culture treatment and a good stand of rye in the monoculture treatment in 1994, but in 1995 both treatments resulted in a poor stand of rye. In the spring of 1996, rye was reseeded but results were poor. Consequently, due to poor rye stands and poor growing conditions during May of 1996, we abandoned this experiment for 1996.

Due to wet cool conditions during the spring, 1995, conditions were favorable for cover crop growth. However, initial tillage of the cover crops could not be completed until May 27, resulting in one pass of a stalk chopper to condense excessive biomass. Several tillage passes were conducted periodically from May 27 to June 17 to eliminate regrowth. Plots were planted on June 17 with each of the seven herb crops to evaluate phytotoxic effects of the rye and hariyvetch on various herbs. Weed counts were conducted on July 3 for all plots. Numbers presented will be the sum of grasses and broadleaves.

Table 1 describes the results of the cover crop experiment. There was no significant change in weed populations when comparing a cover crop situation with no cover crop. Though there is the advantage of maintaining plant cover on the soil during erosion prone periods, the advantages for control of weeds was not evident. When highly erodable land will be used for herb production, it would be wise to consider using cover crops. If the farmer will be continually rotating with herbs, then erosion will be reduced significantly with cover crops since there generally is little crop residue left after the growing season exposing the soil to greater erosion risk. No phytotoxic effects of cover crops were observed throughout the 1995 growing season on any of the seven crops evaluated.

Fertility experiment

Liquid swine manure was applied in the field in strips of 0, 2000, 4000, and 6000 gallons per acre, and was treated as the whole plot of a randomized split block design in December of 1994 and 1995. On June 17, 1995, the entire area was mowed and then disked 3 times to provide a good seedbed for planting. Herb seed was planted on June 19 and 21. In 1996 the ground was prepared by discing twice with a tandem disc and then using a cultimulcher two passes to provide a firm and smooth seedbed. Due to wet conditions earlier in the season herb seed was planted on June 26.

During 1995 planting, problems occurred with windy, humid conditions. Strong winds blew seed away from the furrow and scattered it across plots resulting in erratic stands. Humidity also prevented normal flow of several seeds (coriander, dill) resulting in plugged seed tubes. Plots were maintained weed free throughout the season. In 1996 planting conditions were good resulting in excellent stands of four crops including parsley, basil, cilantro, and dill.

Leaf nutrient analysis was conducted for each of the fertility treatments applied to the following herbs: borage, parsley, basil, cilantro, and dill. Table 2 describes the results of leaf tissue analysis conducted in 1995 and 1996.

Leaf tissue analysis (Table 2) revealed that, while there are differences between crops in nutrient content, there are no signs that nutrient content increases with incremental increases of swine manure for 1995 and 1996. Visual observations during the growing season revealed no phytotoxic problems with the high rates of swine manure on all herbs. One possible reason for a poor response to high fertilizer rates may be the relatively high fertility level already present in the field.

Table 3 describes dry matter yields for dill, cilantro, basil, and parsley for 1995 and 1996. Again, there were no responses for any of the crops to increased fertility rates for 1995 and 1996 with the exception of parsley in 1996. One reason may include poor growing conditions for much of the season which masked the full potential of these crops in a “normal” growing season thus limiting the nutrient needs of the crop. Another reason may be attributed to the high fertility levels already present on this site which, as mentioned earlier, may have masked the fertility rates used.

Weed control experiment

In 1996 various cultural practices were evaluated to determine the most efficient and profitable method for controlling weeds while maintaining optimum growth. Four cultural practices were implemented on basil, cilantro, parsley, and dill as follows:
1. herbs planted by seed in 30 inch rows, followed by cultivation
2. herbs planted by seed in 15 inch rows, followed by hand weeding
3. herbs planted by seed in 30 inch rows, using corn stalk mulch for weed control
4. herbs planted by seed in 30 inch rows, using corn cob mulch for weed control

Seedbed preparation was the same for all treatments except for the addition of the mulches in treatments 3 and 4 with planting occurring on June 26, 1996. The mulches were applied using a manure spreader after seedbed preparation, followed by one pass with a traditional corn planter which was mounted with row cleaners used in no-till corn planting situations. The row cleaners removed the broadcasted mulch in approximately a 6 inch strip where the seed was planted later. The corn cob mulch was prepared by running cobs through a grinder/mixer used for grinding feed. The corn stalk mulch was prepared by grinding in a tub grinder. The corn stalk bales were made in the fall of 1995. The results are in Table 4.

In the case of dill, basil, and cilantro mulched treatments did well compared to the conventional methods of seedbed preparation. Yields for parsley were lower when looking at the corn stalk mulch, but the corn cob mulch did well in comparison to treatments 1 and 2. Other observations made included a slightly lighter coloration of cilantro, basil, and dill in the corn cob mulch treatments. This was attributed to slightly less nitrogen availability due to the higher C:N ratio that corn cobs have. This problem could probably be overcome by application of slightly higher nitrogen fertilizer applications. Also, it was quite obvious that crops grown in mulched treatments were cleaner at harvest time which can be a very important quality issue. Moisture retention in mulched soils also appeared to be greater in mulched conditions which is important under dry conditions or when irrigation is used extensively. Conditions were not excessively dry during the production period which resulted in little or no effect on treatments this season. Other advantages of mulches in an herb production system include reducing the need for hand labor on a per acre basis during the weed control period resulting in coverage of more area by the same work force. Hand weeding is time consuming and not to mention hard work, so anything that can be done to economically alleviate this problem can be of great benefit.

Equipment and Labor Needs

Equipment

Equipment used for production of other cash crops on a typical Iowa farming operation can fit well into an herb production system. The only truly specialized equipment used for the 1995 growing season was a transplanter to plant plugs and a rotovator used to cultivate herbs. The rest of the equipment used was either already on my existing farm operation or was purchased at farm sales for “junk dealer” prices.

Equipment purchased:
1. 6 row corn/soybean planter - This planter was originally used for planting corn and soybeans in 6 - 30 inch rows. The planter units are mounted on a 15 foot tool bar which is controlled hydraulically. The original seed boxes were removed to facilitate the renovation process. The insecticide boxes are used to meter the correct rate of herb seed through the delivery tube to the ‘in furrow’ placement location between the disc openers. The seed is allowed to fall from the tube into the opened furrow which is eventually closed by the press wheel mounted below the insecticide box. A PVC elbow was added to the bottom of the delivery tube to insure that the seed made it into the furrow under windy conditions or when soil conditions tended to be dry and loose resulting in furrow closure before the seed was dropped. The planter units can be moved on the toolbar to a wide variety of row spacings without a large amount of effort. To move units from a 30 inch row spacing to 18 inch row spacing requires approximately 30 minutes and 2 people. Based on emergence this year some adjustments will be made for next spring, but we fully intend to use this system next spring for planting all seed. Cost was $85.00.

2. 3-point mounted cultivator- This cultivator was also purchased at a farm sale for approximately $150.00. There is a great deal of flexibility in row spacing for this cultivator allowing us to use many different row spacing combinations. The cultivator was widened to place several more shanks on for a 10 foot swath depending on row spacing needed.

3. A rotavator was purchased several years ago with growing herbs in mind. This is a specialized roto-tiller that can be adjusted for use as a cultivator. Again, flexibility is the primary key for its use. There is a large number of row spacings that can be used for cultivation of herb crops. There are two tilling units mounted on a tool bar which are run by tractor PTO. These units can be moved to any position on the toolbar, and the tilling width of each unit can be changed by removing blades or entire gangs. Tilling can be conducted extremely close to small plants without burying them or digging them up. Cost was $2000.00.

Equipment on hand:

1. One tractor can be used for all field operations as long as tillage equipment doesn’t become too large. In our case we used a 140 h.p. tractor to do primary tillage operations with 20+ ft tillage equipment. A 70 h.p. tractor was used for all other operations. In most farm operations there will be several tractors on hand that will fit into both of these categories. There is no reason, however, for need of more than one 70 h.p. tractor to conduct all field operations as long as tillage equipment is small enough.

2. Primary tillage equipment included the use of a field cultivator and tandem disk. Both pieces of equipment are useful depending on soil conditions and previous crop residue present in the spring. Tillage equipment used for the primary tillage pass was 20+ ft. But tillage equipment of any size may be used as long as soil conditions are in good planting shape.

3. Secondary tillage equipment used for seed bed preparation included a harrow and cultipactor. Both pieces of equipment are relatively common for most farm operations.

4. A Sickle-bar mower was used to cut down herbs for harvest. This has been the most efficient method of harvest without moving into larger pieces of equipment such as a self-propelled hay mower which would cut and windrow your crop at the same time. The crop was picked up by hand after being mowed down.

5. A remodeled 20X10 feed shed was renovated to serve as a dryer. The building was split in half to maintain two separate drying areas with a walking alley between. Each half was divided into four bay areas corresponding with 4 sliding doors for access from the outside. Three of the bays were used for drying purposes while the fourth area (on the end) housed the heating furnace and large circulation fans. Each bay used for drying supported three drying racks made of 2X4s and wire mesh screen for the base. The wire mesh was used to allow air flow throughout the base of each drying rack. At the bottom of each drying bay is a slatted floor that allows air flow from the heating bay to circulate from bottom to top through the drying bays. The stainless steel slatted floor was originally used in farrowing crates but was removed when a hog farrowing facility was remodeled. Under the slatted floor of each bay there is a squirrel cage fan used to push air up through each bay. The fourth bay area housing the heater uses a 60,000 BTU L.B. White furnace for the heat source and two large greenhouse circulation fans to force the heated air under each of the drying bays. The regulation of heat is controlled by a mobile thermostat placed within the drying bays. Moist air is removed by an exhaust fan placed on the opposite end of the heating bay. The exhaust fan is regulated by a humidistat which is also placed within the drying bays during operation. Three drying bays will hold approximately 400 pounds of wet herbs.

Time and labor requirements

Time and labor requirements can be a problem for traditional crop-livestock farmers in Iowa. The key factor to keep in mind is when the opportunity is best for planting of the herb crop. Results from 1995 and 1996 have shown that planting after mid-May until mid-June would probably be the optimum time period. Corn and soybean planting historically is nearing completion by mid-May in Iowa. This fits well for equipment usage.

Weeding of crops may be a problem in the sense that a relatively large work force would be needed at crucial periods in crop development. This can be a problem in rural Iowa; the producer will have to do his best in procuring the work force before the season begins so that timely weed control can be conducted. The use of mulches becomes an important aspect of production in order to reduce the amount of hand weeding done on an area of land. Also primary tillage to eliminate initial weed growth before planting is crucial to reducing labor needs.

Market Development

A working relationship has been established with Frontier Cooperative Herbs (FCH) of Norway, Iowa, and Tones in Ankeny, Iowa. FCH agreed to buy any herbs that met quality specifications before the 1995 growing season. The need to store herbs until FCH was willing to take them was one consideration for farmers’ resistance. Samples from the experimental plots have been sent to FCH and Tones in 1995 and 1996. In the case of FCH, herb quality met their specifications for dill, cilantro, basil, and Echinacea in both years, but quantities were not plentiful to make any sales. This is considered a success and plans will be made in December of 1996 for 1997, production. Tones has received samples in 1995 and 1996 and quality appears to be good, but there are problems with delivering sufficient enough quantities to meet their needs. We will continue to identify new markets as our production increases.

In 1995 and 1996, most farmers wanting to try growing herbs faced difficult growing seasons. Most farmers found it a challenge to complete their own planting schedules much less try a new crop. Nonetheless, farmers associated with this project grew Echinacea, dill, cilantro and basil with good success.

Conversations with produce managers of Hy-Vee stores in the Cedar Rapids area have been very positive. They believe that the fresh market will continue to grow with time. Growers interested in the fresh market were identified in early 1996 for the 1996 growing season, but the wet, cool growing season restricted progress in developing this market.

Processing

Development of processing methods has taken great strides during our course of experimentation. We were able to successfully dry all herbs produced and maintain excellent quality. In 1995, we identified the need to improve our dryer efficiency. In 1996, we were able to achieve this by doubling our capacity with approximately the same input costs. This will be elaborated on under the Process Budget heading.

Removal of the leaves from the stems of basil, dill, cilantro, and parsley was also successful during the course of this project. We will be using these methods next season to process herbs for FCH and other companies.

Crop Plans--The Process Budget

A process budget has been developed for each of the herbs grown by seed this year in experiments. The budget is based on average productivity for the year according to various yields taken during the growing season. A process budget was also developed for the use of transplants in catnip and basil for 1995 to compare results with seeding practices. Appendix A (Tables 1-15) provides the budget for each of the crops in 1995 and 1996.

The use of the Process budget is quite beneficial in the identification of various aspects of herb production that need improvement for optimum production and profits. In 1995 three areas were identified as needing improvements in order to maximize returns. These included the following:

1. use of irrigation to improve productivity of the herbs.
2. improve drying efficiencies to reduce processing costs.
3. reduce the costs of weed control.

More efficient drying practices were developed for 1996. The addition of more racks for each bay combined with a different air flow system doubled our dryer’s capacity with the same input costs (LP and electricity). While weed control costs were not significantly reduced in 1996, there was a significant move from use of labor to mulches. Any way that labor requirements can be reduced on an acre basis is beneficial. The inability to make several tillage passes periodically before planting increased the need to control weeds after planting for both seasons. Irrigation was not looked at in 1996 due to lateness of the season and complications in developing a transportable unit.

The benefits of these improved efficiencies and more detailed discussion of the Process budget will be in the Economic Analysis section.