1989 Annual Report for LW89-012
Cereal-Legume Cropping Systems: Nine Case Studies in the Dryland, Small Grains-Fallow Area of the Inland Northwest and High Plains
Summary
Nine farmers who have developed well-established, resource-conserving, sustainable crop rotations were interviewed in the spring of 1990 by researchers from the Alternative Energy Resources Organization, Montana State University, the University of Idaho, and a Montana farmer. The crop rotations of these farmers were evaluated for their agronomic, economic and practical soundness. The crop rotations were then described in detail in a case studies transition handbook.
Objectives
(1) Present farmers with regionally applicable examples of established soil-building cropping systems to promote the transition to low-input, sustainable agriculture.
(2) Demonstrate for producers what the transition to a resource enhancing, cereal-legume cropping system entails -- so they know its strengths and weaknesses before they begin changes on their own farms.
(3) Help farmers and ranchers meet their goals of reduced dependence on non-renewable fertilizer and pesticide inputs -- and increase crop diversity.
Project Results
This project helped answer questions many conventional farmers have about shifting to lower-chemical, sustainable agriculture. the resulting handbook includes nine case studies that demonstrate not only that sustainable agriculture is possible in this semi-arid region, but how and why sustainable cropping systems function in real-life farming operations.
These nine farming operations, which are discussed in depth, were carefully selected from the Alternative Energy Resources Organization's (AERO) seven-state, two-province data base of sustainable and transitional operators. They were selected based on their use of soil-building crops, the duration of their transition to sustainable agriculture (4 to 15 years), their record-keeping history, their overall representation of the agro-climatic conditions in the region, and their overall success as farmers.
Each case study includes a description of the basic rotation or rotations used on each farm, what some of the variations on the basic rotation are and why. The rotation's effect on weeds, insect pests, disease, soil fertility and soil condition will be described. The specific objectives the rotation is meeting for the farmer are listed, as well as problem areas, marketing arrangements, and labor and equipment used. Integration of the rotation with livestock components is described where applicable. A context for each case study will be provided by describing how it differs from the typical operations and rotations in the area.
Two-thirds of the case study farms are certified organic. "Organic" was not among the selection criteria, but we were looking for rotations that are successfully reducing pest problems and meeting crop fertility needs, thereby reducing dependence on non-renewable resources and enhancing on-farm resources. One-third of the case study farms have reduced their use of agrichemicals but still rely on them for some of their pest and fertility needs. Conventional farmers interested for the first time in reducing their use of agrichemicals can use this full spectrum of case studies to sharpen their thinking about their own strategies, whether they plan to continue using chemicals or not.
The Farms and Farmers
Idaho, 22-24 inches of annual precipitation: Richard and Kathy Grant raise soft white winter wheat, green peas, and spring and winter barley in rotation with red clover green manure. Tim Bodine raises soft white winter wheat, lentils, and spring barley in rotation with an Austrian winter pea plowdown.
North Dakota, 14-16 inches of annual precipitation: Dan and Mickie Thomas raise spring wheat, oats, sunflower, and buckwheat in a four-year rotation with sweet clover green manure. They've reduced their summer fallow from one-third to one-fourth of their cropland. Richard Marschner raises spring wheat, sunflowers, and buckwheat for cash markets, and barley, oats and corn silage for his dairy herd. Yellow blossom sweet clover is grown every third year on each field for green manure. Sudan grass is also used for green manure.
Montana, 11-15 inches of annual precipitation: Milo and Carol Todd raise spring wheat, barley and oats, and forage for their dairy herd (alfalfa). They use Austrian winter peas, Indianhead lentils, and buckwheat for green manure. Greg Gould and partners alternate a wide variety of spring and fall-seeded crops, incorporating legume green manures and buckwheat for weed control in a seven-year rotation. Crops include minimum-till spring and winter small grains, flax, rye, and oats. Gould uses no summer fallow. Bob and Ann Quinn use a nine-year rotation alternating winter and spring grains, alfalfa, alfalfa, and sweet clover green manure. Quinns have also quit using summer fallow.
Saskatchewan, 8-12 inches of annual precipitation: Cy Ross raises spring wheat, barley, oats, lentils, peas, mustard and sunflowers in rotation with Indianhead lentils for green manure. Ross still uses summer fallow on between one-third and one-half of his cropland. One-third to one-half of Neil Strayer's land is in soil-building crops at any given time. He follows hard red spring wheat with lentils or field peas, followed by an annual legume green manure. He then plants flax, mustard, safflower, garbanzos or spring wheat interseeded with sweet clover which becomes the following year's green manure.