Project Overview
Commodities
- Agronomic: annual ryegrass, buckwheat, clovers, corn, grass (misc. perennial), hay
- Animals: bovine
Practices
- Animal Production: animal protection and health, feed/forage, grazing management
- Crop Production: cover crops
- Education and Training: farmer to farmer, focus group, networking, on-farm/ranch research
- Production Systems: integrated crop and livestock systems
Proposal summary:
I am owner operator of Rose 23 Cattle Co in Rosendale WI , a small cow-calf operation selling beef off the farm, I am also crop manager at Rickert Brothers LLC in Eldorado, WI, a 1000 milking cow operation. I have been doing some type of cover cropping for the last 10 years. On the dairy it is rather labor-intensive, it is working well, but I believe it could be improved. On the dairy I wish to plant corn in 60" rows, planting covers around v6. Chop the corn in early, mid-September, then windrowing and chopping covers leaving the residue and anything that will overwinter in the field. Depending on manure strategy for the year, perhaps run a low disturbance manure applicator through in the spring or fall. For the cow-calf operation, I would be doing more or less the same thing, pasturing the beef, instead of mechanical harvest. The fields for the cow-calf operation will be left in continual no-til, whether it goes to wheat, hay, or soybeans. I wish to build a corn planter on 60" along with no-till equipment and fertilizer and herbicide equipment on the planter itself
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Project objectives from proposal:
- Determine if corn at 60" centers with covers planted between is beneficial to cropping decisions, financially and agronomically.
- Construct a corn planter that can be used for no-til with a fertilizer and herbicide system on board.
- Determine the best method of sowing/spreading cover crops into standing corn.
- Determine if this method of cropping saved, time or labor.
- Evaluate soil health and nutrients, along with increase or decrease in required nutrient inputs.