Pasture-wheat intercropping for post-contract Conservation Reserve Program Lands

2008 Annual Report for LNC06-273

Project Type: Research and Education
Funds awarded in 2006: $70,188.00
Projected End Date: 12/31/2009
Region: North Central
State: Kansas
Project Coordinator:
Dr. Jerry Glover
The Land Institute

Pasture-wheat intercropping for post-contract Conservation Reserve Program Lands

Summary

For this project we are attempting to develop a viable pasture-wheat intercropping (PWI) system with potential for managing post-contract Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) lands and enhancing grazing systems. In addition to the PWI system included in the proposal we also established a pasture-triticale intercropping (PTI) treatment to determine whether triticale might be more productive intercropped with perennial grasses. A no-till annual rotation (NT) and hay production (HP) systems are used for comparison of impacts on yield and ecosystem services. PWI and PTI plots produced 65% and 91%, respectively, of the grain harvested from NT plots. Although wheat establishment success and growth in PWI plots was similar to that in NT plots from fall 2007 through late winter 2008, wheat growth in PWI plots began to lag behind wheat growth in NT plots in mid-April 2008. Triticale growth in PTI plots was similar to NT wheat throughout the growing season, reflecting the greater vigor of the triticale in the competitive intercrop environment. Subsequent yields of hay harvested from PWI and PTI plots were 1.77 and 1.75 times, respectively, those harvested from HP plots. Although annual cereal crops typically do not take up all the fertilizer applied to them, deeper root systems and longer growing seasons allow the perennial grasses to intercept nutrients lost below the rooting zones of the wheat and triticale. The greater root activity at deeper depths and over a longer growing season in the PWI and PTI plots as compared to NT plots is reflected in the reduced levels of soil moisture in PWI and PTI plots in the 40-80 cm depths in July and August. Although the PWI and PTI systems did not perform as well as expected in 2007 (due to late frosts, insufficient fertilizer rates and poor stand establishment), they met expectations in 2008 in terms of yield and belowground resource use.

Objectives/Performance Targets

Socioeconomic:

Short term: Three farmers familiar with PWI option for post CRP lands (focal farmers), now considering implementation and at least 20 other farmers newly aware of PWI options. Media attention for field days and subsequent inquiries.

Intermediate: PWI implemented on at least 80 acres by three or more farmers.

Scientific:
Short Term: Preliminary data to assess system suitability (cultural practices, barriers, yield, income, costs, ecosystem services provided) for post-CRP and pasture lands. Greater awareness and knowledge of PWI by State Extension and NRCS technical committee and scientific community.

Intermediate Term: Continued refinement of techniques by other researchers
Adoption of PWI approved techniques in NRCS State Technical Manual and in CSP rules.

Accomplishments/Milestones

A primary accomplishment of this second year (2008) of the project was the successful establishment and harvest of wheat and triticale in the PWI and PTI plots. We used information gathered from the previous year when the wheat crop failed and the triticale crop underperformed to adjust fertilizer and seeding rates and seeding times in Fall 2007. We were able to demonstrate the viability of these production systems to two groups of visiting Australian scientists working with similar pasture cropping systems in Southeastern Australia. More than twenty graduate students and research scientists working in the fields of agronomy, ecology, soil science and plant pathology visited the research sites in 2008. We have identified two area farmers who will use the pasture wheat intercropping system to manage their former CRP lands beginning in Fall 2009. Two other farmers have expressed interest in the project but are awaiting the outcomes of our 2009 harvest. Together we anticipate having four farmers actively using PWI systems on over 100 acres by 2010.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

We have attracted national and international attention to the potential of pasture cropping systems to conserve ecosystem services and produce valuable grain crops on former CRP lands without removing the perennial vegetation. The results thus far have convinced two area farmers to utilize these systems on their post-contract CRP lands and have increased the interest of additional farmers to seek additional information on yield potential, production practices and conservation benefits of these pasture cropping systems.

Collaborators:

Laura Jackson

laura.l.jackson@uni.edu
Professor
Department of Biology
University of Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls, IA 50614
Office Phone: 3192732893
Jim Duggan

DECEASED: former farmer/rancher
DECEASED: former adress: 2522 Arrowhead Rd
DECEASED: Solomon, KS 67480