Demonstrating, Evaluating, and Extending Diversified Direct-Seeded Cropping Systems for Grower Risk-Management in the Inland Northwest

Demonstrating, Evaluating, and Extending Diversified Direct-Seeded Cropping Systems for Grower Risk-Management in the Inland Northwest

Summary

The Wilke Project, the Northwest Crops Project, and the Spokane County Direct Seeding Project are related direct seeding (no-till) projects across eastern Washington that are all grower-driven and include field scale trials on cooperators’ farms. This grant supports research for the Northwest Crops Project and the Spokane County Direct Seeding Project, and extension of all three projects.

Collective goals of the three projects
Enable growers to transition to direct seeding in order to:
Reduce soil erosion by wind and water,
Improve soil, air, and water quality across the region,
Improve farm economics.

Objectives/Performance Targets

1. Demonstrate the Agronomic Feasibility of Direct Seeded, Annual-Cropping Systems in the Intermediate and a High Precipitation Region of the Inland Northwest by completing the current 3- and 4-year direct seed crop rotations, initiating a second cycle for each rotation for the Wilke and Northwest Crops Projects, and by initiating on-farm testing projects within direct seed crop rotations for the Spokane County group.
   Document the Economic and Agronomic Parameters that Farmers Need for Decision-Making in Transition to the New Systems by collecting and collating essential economic and agronomic data from the demonstration sites. The combined projects will continue to identify the risks that growers must take, and will focus on parameters that farmers prioritize in deciding whether and how to adopt direct seeding.
   Extend the Concepts and Principles of Direct Seeding Systems Through Farmer to Farmer Learning by disseminating farm demonstration project results. There will also be back-up and scientific explanations from researchers, Extension, Conservation Districts, and private industry. Tours will be the mainstay, supported with winter meetings and written materials.

Accomplishments/Milestones

Specific Results
1. Demonstrate the Agronomic Feasibility of Direct Seeded, Annual-Cropping Systems in the Intermediate and a High Precipitation Region of the Inland Northwest by completing the current 3- and 4-year direct seed crop rotations, initiating a second cycle for each rotation for the Wilke and Northwest Crops Projects, and by initiating on-farm testing projects within direct seed crop rotations for the Spokane County group.
The Wilke Project does not receive research funds from USDA-SARE, but it is part of the overall direct seeding effort of the Ag Horizons team of WSU Cooperative Extension. In 2001 we completed one cycle of the 3- and 4-year rotations and are in the process of conducting extensive analysis of the data to help us determine the direction to take with the project.

With the Spokane Direct Seeding Project, we established 6 field trials to answer direct seeding questions that the cooperators identified. Each trial was a randomized complete blocks design with large plots (at least 30 feet by 350 to 1000 feet long) so the growers used their own equipment for all field operations. The project leader and technician coordinated plot design and layout, collected data, assisted with harvest and analyzed the data. The Spokane County Wheat Growers, Spokane County Conservation District, and the Spokane County Crop Improvement Association refurbished WSU’s weigh wagon that we used at harvest. The Spokane County Conservation District also paid the cooperating growers a fixed payment for their time and costs associated with the trials. These data are preliminary as they only represent one year’s data and should not be used for decision-making. The growers will repeat these trials in the 2002 season. For details see the attached report.

Glenn and Bryan Dobbins – Four Lakes – BiocatÔ residue digester on grain stubble
Goal – test efficacy of fall application of Biocat residue digester on fall and spring seeded cereals. Biocat is essentially a nutrient solution (contains no microbes) that enhances the activity of naturally occurring microbes that break down crop residue.

Site 1 – Baronesse spring barley treated with Biocat (35 oz/Acre) in the fall. Trial seeded with a Concord air drill with Anderson openers on 4 inch paired row on 10 inch spacing into 45 bu Eltan/Madsen residue. There were 4 treatments: Biocat with and without disking, and no Biocat with and without disking. There were no differences between treatments for residue levels in the spring and for stand count and test weight. The disked plots yielded less than those without disking, probably due to extra moisture loss in a dry year. Application of Biocat did not affect yield and did not change the effect of disking).

Site 2 – Winter wheat (Eltan/Madsen) treated with Biocat (35 oz/Acre) in the fall prior to seeding. Trial seeded with a Concord air drill with Anderson openers on 4 inch paired row on 10 inch spacing into 45 bu Alpowa residue. Disking was not a treatment in this trial. There were no differences in residue, yield, or test weight between plots with or without Biocat.

Randy and Jeff Emtman – Rockford – Fertility trial on direct seeding oats into bluegrass
Goal – to determine fall fertilizer regime to get adequate test weight in the oats
Data for Waldern oats direct seeded into bluegrass sod (that was sprayed out with Roundup) using a Flexicoil 6000 with the Barton opener. Nitrogen fertilizer applied in the fall as dry 30-0-0-6 at 3 rates; 50, 100, and 150 lb N/acre. There was no difference in plant stand between treatments. A harvesting error meant we only collected valid data from one replication, so we did not do a statistical analysis.

Paul and Jake Gross – Deep Creek – Rotary subsoiler with direct seeding
Goal – to determine whether fall rotary subsoiling improves water infiltration and yield in direct seeded winter wheat.
Data for winter wheat (Hybrid 7817 SWW) direct seeded into 850 lb canola IMC 105 stubble using a Conserva-Pak drill. Due to early, heavy snow, the rotary subsoiler treatment was done in March 2001. There was no difference in yield between the two treatments, but as there was no runoff last winter, the subsoiling would not likely have made a difference even if done in the fall.

David Ostheller – Fairfield – Fall residue management for spring seeding
Goal – test 4 fall wheat residue treatments for effect on spring stand establishment and crop yield.
Data for Harrington spring barley. Trial seeded with a Great Plains 3010 drill into 80 bu winter wheat (Madsen) stubble. Stand establishment was the same for all treatments, but the minimum till treatment (fall chisel rip plus spring harrow) yielded higher than direct seeding into standing stubble. Fall mowing or fall harrowing with direct seeding yielded the same as direct seeding. We will analyze the cost of the tillage treatment to see if it is actually worthwhile.

Larry Tee – Latah – Residue management for wheat
Goal – to determine whether reducing stubble height to less than drill row width improves plant stand (and yield) of direct seeded wheat.
Data for Madsen winter wheat. Seeded with a chisel drill – paired 4-inch rows on 7 inch center spacing – into 45 bu Wawawaii spring wheat stubble. Short treatment stubble cut with combine after harvest. Stand, yield, and test weight were the same for both treatments. Survival of spring wheat volunteer over the winter may have confounded the results. In 2002 the trial will be on spring-seeded wheat to avoid this problem.

The Northwest Crops Project has goals of reducing erosion from wind and rain and reducing field burning of crop residue, while trying to provide economic stability for growers in direct-seed systems. The project began in 1998, so in 2001 we completed the first four year cycle of comparing 3-year and 4-year crop rotations under direct-seeding in the intermediate rainfall zone (15-18 inch annual precipitation) of Garfield and Whitman Counties.

There are seven farms involved in this project, each with Athena silt loam soil. All cooperators have 3-year and 4- year rotations for side by side comparisons. The plots are 500 to 700 feet long, and 30 to 60 feet wide, to accommodate the growers’ existing farm equipment for spraying, seeding and harvesting.

The 4-year rotation includes spring wheat, winter wheat, warm season grass (corn), broadleaf crop (cooperator’s choice). The 3-year rotation includes winter wheat, spring barley, broadleaf crop or chemical fallow (cooperator’s choice). Year 1, however, was a year of preparation. Because growers established the plots in the spring, they substituted spring wheat for winter wheat that season.

At the beginning of the project, soil scientists from WSU took soil quality data to determine the following levels; pH, organic matter (OM), nutrients, earthworms, crop residue, and bulk density. These tests will be performed again this season to determine changes in soil after the first 4 years, then again at the end of the second 4-year cycle to determine overall changes in soil health.

The first cycle has shown us that we can rotate different crops with winter wheat in our rotations in the Palouse Region. Most of the cooperators are successfully growing corn, and their friends and neighbors are also trying it, this year producing 340 acres of corn in the area. One grower recorded a corn yield higher than the national average yield of 121 bushels per acre. We are still learning how to raise corn, and are having some failures along with the successful attempts. Weed and fertility management are the primary issues for which we need to develop answers. We are also trying a variety of broadleaf crops, including peas, mustard, and garbanzo beans (chickpeas), each with its own set of challenges for first time growers. In the next cycle of the rotations, we intend to learn how to deal with more of these problems and improve our success with rotational crops.

This project has shown that we can seed crops into heavy residue (greater than 10,000 lbs/A) with proper equipment and crop rotation. However, we still have much to learn. We found, especially in the 2001 drought, that ground with residue cover held soil moisture much better than conventionally worked fields.
There has been no burning on any of the plots, we have seen very little to no soil erosion, and water infiltration is starting to improve.

2. Document the Economic and Agronomic Parameters that Farmers Need for Decision-Making in Transition to the New Systems by collecting and collating essential economic and agronomic data from the demonstration sites. The combined projects will continue to identify the risks that growers must take, and will focus on parameters that farmers prioritize in deciding whether and how to adopt direct seeding.
In the Spokane County Project, the cooperators identified the primary questions they wanted answered to facilitate their transition to direct seeding. The majority of their trials focus on residue management, which is a real issue in the high rainfall areas where crop yields are often 80 to 100 bu/acre. Water conservation increases in importance in the drier regions west of Spokane, and rotary subsoiling is a low disturbance treatment that has potential to increase water infiltration into the soil in some years.
We took soil tests in the plots in the spring to document water levels and nutrient needs of the crops. We took plant stand counts about one month after seeding as stand establishment is a measure of successful seeding technique and would highlight any potential problems with the farmer’s drill. We collected yield data and test weight on the plots. We collected residue data on the Biocat trial only. In 2002 we will also collect weed data on two residue management trials to document any association between weeds and soil disturbance. We will report economic data as part of our conclusions about the management systems we are studying.

Dissemination of Findings
3. Extend the Concepts and Principles of Direct Seeding Systems Through Farmer to Farmer Learning by disseminating farm demonstration project results. There will also be back-up and scientific explanations from researchers, Extension, Conservation Districts, and private industry. Tours will be the mainstay, supported with winter meetings and written materials.
Following is a list of tours and workshops at which we discussed the aspects of the overall project. Numbers in parentheses indicate grower attendance.

Workshops
November 2000. NW Crop Project (15 growers). Presentation and discussion of 2000 findings.
November 2000. Spokane County Crop Improvement Association (50 growers). Presentation on the goals and design of the Spokane Project.
March 9, 2001. NW Crop Project (12 growers). Workshop for proposals and ideas for 2001.
November 20, 2001. Spokane County Crop Improvement Association (58 growers). Presentation on first year’s results of the Spokane Project. One cooperator participated as a speaker, adding tremendous value to the session.
November 16, 2001. NW Crop Project (8 growers). Presentations and discussion of 2001 findings.
At least three other workshops this winter will include the Spokane Project as a topic.

Tours
May 31, 2001. NW Crop West County Tour (14 growers). Toured plot sites in western half of Whitman.
June 25, 2001. NW Crop East County Tour (9 growers). Toured plot sites in eastern half of Whitman.
June 27, 2001. Spokane Project tour (7 growers).Tour of 5 of the Spokane County trials.
July 11, 2001. Wilke Farm Field Day (75 growers). Tour of the Wilke Farm Direct Seeding Project at Davenport.
August 30, 2001. Corn Tour (6 growers). Toured 4 sites growing corn with folks from Pioneer Co. and Eppich Grain Inc.
Sept. 5, 2001. Aeschliman Tour (36 growers). 2 different corn sites on Aeschliman farm comparing varieties, using soil probe to check soil moisture and quality.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

Potential Benefits or Impacts on Agriculture
The overall project has tremendous potential in assisting farmers across the intermediate and high rainfall areas of eastern Washington make effective transitions to direct seeding. Scientific literature shows that direct seeding reduces soil erosion by wind and water, leading to improved air and water quality. The greatest challenge for the Project is to demonstrate that transitioning to direct seeding is cost effective for the producers. Otherwise they will not adopt the practice.

Farmer Adoption and Direct Impact
We will report on this at the end of the Project

Reactions from Farmers and Ranchers
David Ostheller, Spokane Project Cooperator, speaking to an audience of 58 growers, “Farmers are always doing research on their farms. But with this project we’re learning how to do science and we’re collecting meaningful information.”
Quote from one NW Crops Project grower, ” my large fields around the plots are yielding better than the plots. One reason for this is that elk, deer, and pheasants provide heavy predator pressure on small one-half to three-quarter acre plots compared to 200 acre fields. This is a common problem with many of the NW Crop plots, which makes yield gathering difficult.”

Collaborators: