Farming For Healthier Soil Changes & Challenges

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1 RODALE INSTITUTE Farming For Healthier Soil Changes & Challenges By Jeff Moyer Executive Director

2 Our Broken Food System When Only Yields Are Considered

3 Healthy Soil = Healthy Food = Healthy People Written on a blackboard in 1942 J.I. Rodale

4 Organic Farming is Modern Agriculture, using modern tools, modern science, state of the art biology, agricultural engineering, seed breeding, and allowed material inputs!

5 Same Resources Different Philosophy

populations of mycorrhizae (a fungus that forms a symbiotic relationship with its host plant: the fungus receives carbohydrates

6 FST Soil Results organic conventional organic conventional Soils of the organic systems have a more active soil biological community higher levels of glomalin (a glycoprotein that acts like glue, binding organic matter to mineral particles), greater populations of mycorrhizae (a fungus that forms a symbiotic relationship with its host plant: the fungus receives carbohydrates from the plant, which in return gains access to water and nutrients). This leads to improved soil structure and enhanced carbon sequestration.

8 Replace Chemistry & Bio-Technology

9 With Biology

10 Changes in Soil Based on Management

11 Impacts of Those Changes On Water Management Conventional Soil Wheat After Rain Organic Soil Wheat After Rain

12 Soil Microorganisms Group Average Number per Gram Of Soil Live Weight per Acre Plow Depth (pounds) Bacteria 1 billion 500 Actinomycetes 10 million 750 Fungi 1 million 1,000 Algae 100 thousand 150 TOTAL 5,000 to 20,000 Pounds per Acre

13 RODALE INSTITUTE Let s Talk Compost

14 Compost basics Compost is the controlled decomposition of organic residues into a humus-like end product. 25:1 / 40:1 mix of brown (C-based) materials and green (N-based) materials 50-65% moisture Temperatures F or more during active decomposition (15 Days) Made in windrows, piles or containers (large or small) Usually requires repeated mixing (5 times in 15 days) Takes 8 weeks to 2 years (depending on the above factors)

15 RODALE INSTITUTE Animals on My Farm?

17 RODALE INSTITUTE Rotations?

18 Crop Rotations Rotation of crops is the most effective means yet devised for keeping land free of weeds. No other method of weed control, mechanical, chemical, or biological, is so economical or so easily practiced as a well-arranged sequence of tillage and cropping. C.E. Leighty Yearbook of Agriculture

19 Weed Impacts on Corn by Variety

20 RODALE INSTITUTE Cover Crops; Why & How

21 Cover Crops The Key To Any Successful Soil Health Improvement Strategy Crimson Clover Hairy Vetch/Rye Hairy Vetch

22 Evaporation Life Death Moderate Temperature, Evaporation, and Microbial Health Burleigh County SCD

Effects of planting and termination date on cereal rye biomass (Penn State University, Rock Springs, PA; Aroostook cereal rye) 14000 Cereal

5-Sep 15-Sep 25-Sep 5-Oct 15-Oct Planting Date Mirsky, S.B., W.S. Curran, D.M. Mortensen, D.L. Shumway, and M.R. Ryan. 2011.

23 Effects of planting and termination date on cereal rye biomass (Penn State University, Rock Springs, PA; Aroostook cereal rye) Cereal rye biomass (kg ha -1 ) Photographs taken on April 1 Termination Dates May 20 May kg ha Aug 5-Sep 15-Sep 25-Sep 5-Oct 15-Oct Planting Date Mirsky, S.B., W.S. Curran, D.M. Mortensen, D.L. Shumway, and M.R. Ryan Timing of cover crop management effects on weed suppression in 2008 no-till Rodale planted institute soybean using a roller-crimper. Weed Science. 59:

24 3 bu ac -1 rye seeded on mid-september 50% broadcast 50% drilled (Picture taken in late November)

25 Root nodules housing Rhizobia bacteria Tap root

December 8 th, 2011 Fungi: Another Tool in Bacteria's Belt? Fungi and Bacteria Help One Another Stay Mobile, Say Researchers Bacteria and fungi are remarkably mobile.

26 December 8 th, 2011 Fungi: Another Tool in Bacteria's Belt? Fungi and Bacteria Help One Another Stay Mobile, Say Researchers Bacteria and fungi are remarkably mobile. Now researchers at Tel Aviv University have discovered that the two organisms enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship to aid them in that movement -- and their survival.

27 Sod/Livestock Impacts on Conservation Farming Systems University of Florida, Auburn University, National Soil Dynamics, National Peanut Laboratory, UGA, Virginia Tech, Texas A&M The Nature Conservancy, NRCS, Cotton Inc., NWF Water Mgt. District, and others

28 Sod-based Peanut-Cotton Rotation Tri-State Project (GA, FL, AL) Sod System: (B1-B2-P-C) Conventional System: (P-C1-C2) oat Bahia oat Peanut oat Cotton Bahia oat oat Cotton oat Cotton Peanut Oat Winter Cover Crop Following Peanut and Cotton in Both Systems Strip till was used in each year with best management practices

29 2 year old bahia Peanut 1st year bahia The Rotation- September Cotton Perennial grass rotations impact the farm economically, biologically, environmentally, and sociologically

30 Peanut Plots on 7/30/07 Twin Rows Conventional Peanut Sod-based Peanut

31 Peanuts grown in soil without Bahia roots Peanuts grown in soil with Bahia roots Soil was the same cultivated soil in both cases with roots added

32 RODALE INSTITUTE The Pluses and Minuses Of Tillage

33 Tillage has it s Drawbacks

34 Tillage Opens the System Up to Damage

35 Weed Biomass History Weed Biomass Across Time 7000 Weed Biomass (kg/ha) Livestock Legume Conventional C C S C S C S S C S C CS S C S C S S C S

36 Several Secondary Tillages

37 We Can Mulch Out Annual Weeds In The Garden

38 A Different Way of Farming

39 Tools That Make it Possible

40 16 Drum, (10) 4 Blades

41 Corn PLOW TILL PLOW DISC PACK PLANT ROTARY HOE ROTARY HOE CULTIVATE CULTIVATE HARVEST (143 Bu/A) NO-TILL ROLL/PLANT HARVEST (160 Bu/A) A two step organic production system Plant and Harvest!

42 2013 Corn into Hairy Vetch

43 This is what we want to see

44 Production budgets for corn Organic Tilled vetch+ corn Organic No-till vetch+ corn Conv Tilled corn Conv No-till vetch+ corn Expenses fertilizer herbicide seeds custom haul labor fuel repair & maintenance interest on op.capital fixed expenses Total Expenses ($/acre) Profit ($/acre) 100 bu/a yield bu/a yield bu/a yield 1,340 1, Break-even price 100 bu/acre bu/acre bu/acre These production budgets were calculated using the free on-line Mississippi State Budget Generator (MSBG), developed by the Department of Agricultural Economics at Mississippi State University, ( When available, input and price data were taken directly from data collected at the Rodale Institute ( ), otherwise default values from the Budget Generator were used. * The 3-year average price for organic corn was $8.36/bu, for conventional corn $4.15/bu.

45 Average Biomass (lbs/a) of Cover Crop Mixtures: 2003 Corn Cover Crop Trial Biomass (Lbs / Acre) Oats HV Plow 5/12/03 BuWh HV 6/9/03 Oats HV 6/9/03 Barley HV 6/9/03 Wheat HV 6/9/03 Rye HV 6/9/03 Cover Crop Treatment & Date Collected

46 Spring Types Winter Types

47 Mis-Planted Seed

48 Yetter Residue Managers

50 2014 Planter Setup

51 2013 Corn into Hairy Vetch

52 Treatment #14 Planted May 23 rd w/oshark Teeth Cover Crop Removed Yield 17 Bu/A

53 Treatment #11 Planted June 1st w/shark Teeth Yield 38 Bu/A

54 Treatment #2 Planted May 23 rd w/shark Teeth Yield 59 Bu/A

55 NO-TILL SOYBEANS 2007

56 2008 plant date: June 2 nd (drilled beans) June 19 th (row beans) plant population: 250,000 and 225,000 seeds/ac respectively July 22, 2008

57 NO-TILL SOYBEANS 2008 harvest date: November 4 th yield: 32bu/ac (average) overall farm soybean yield: 24 bu/ac September 11, 2008

58 Rivera Farm Argentina

59 Doudlah Farms; LLC

60 Doudlah Farms; LLC

61 Doudlah Farms; LLC

62 Doudlah Farms; LLC

64 Clove Oil: Application

65 High Residue Cultivator

66 High Residue Cultivation

67 Relay Cropping

68 TWO CROPS ONE FIELD

69 Two Crops Same Field Same Time

70 Why is soil health Important The soil is the great connector of our lives the source and destination of all Wendell Berry

Rodale Institute Thank You! Jeff Moyer jeff.moyer@rodaleinstitute.

71 Rodale Institute Thank You! Jeff Moyer Rodale Institute 611 Siegfriedale Road Kutztown, PA 19534

72 BOOK NOW AVAILABLE Organic No-Till Farming Author - Jeff Moyer Publisher - Acres USA Call: Available at Amazon.com Price : $28.00

RODALE INSTITUTE. Innovative Cover Crop Management Strategies. By Jeff Moyer Farm Director Rodale institute

RODALE INSTITUTE. Innovative Cover Crop Management Strategies. By Jeff Moyer Farm Director Rodale institute RODALE INSTITUTE Innovative Cover Crop Management Strategies By Jeff Moyer Farm Director Written in 1942 Healthy Soil = Healthy Food = Healthy People J.I.Rodale FST Soil Results organic conventional organic