SOIL HEALTH
Alliance – 15.12 Inches Annual Precipitation
Watson Brother’s Partnership 3,500 acres total 9 center pivots 2,200 acres dry land Complete continuous crop no till since 1994
Dry land Crop Rotation • Winter Wheat-Corn-Field Pea • 2/3 of rotation is planted to high residue crops. Need high amounts of residue to improve water infiltration and lower soil moisture evaporation.
IRRIGATED CROP ROTATION • Winter wheat, corn, dry edible beans (pinto beans) • 2/3 high residue crops • Water infiltration and lower soil moisture evaporation
Soil Types • Valent Fine Sand • Water Holding Capacity- .96 inches/foot • Keith and Alliance Silt Loam • Water Holding Capacity- 1.8 inches/foot • Our problem is these soils are only 2 feet deep, with a layer of white calcareous soils underneath
Challenges • Soils have low water holding capacities 4-6 inches • High Evapo-Transpiration rates • Rapidly Declining Groundwater • Water Allocations- • 13.5 in./year
Box Butte County
Challenges • Hydrologists estimate 5-8 inch pumping allocations per pivot to stop groundwater decline • If groundwater pumping isn’t reduced we’ll lose 80% of our irrigated acres in 30-40 years
YOU HAVE TO START BY MANAGING YOUR SOIL!
• Focus on Soil Quality • Increased soil organic matter leads to good soil aggregation and increased pore space in soil • Use previous crop’s residue to improve water infiltration and reduce soil moisture evaporation
Native Soil Structure
Soil Compaction
LONG TERM NO TILL
MANAGING YOUR RESIDUE,
STOP MANAGING RESIDUE WITH TILLAGE!
MANAGE RESIDUE AT HARVEST
MANAGE RESIDUE AT PLANTING
SOIL MOISTURE SENSORS
Watson Brother’s South Well • CURR_OWN WATSON/MARK H & BRUCE E • CONTACT_ID 966 • QTR SW • SECTION_ 14 • TOWNSHIP 26 • RANGE 48 • ACRES 136 • SUBAREA 4 • METER_SN 05-8-1840 • IN_2007 9.22- winter wheat • IN_2008 7.51- corn • IN_2009 5.63- edible beans • In_2010 10.70- corn • In-2011 5.04- edible beans • In-2012 14.32- winter wheat, (cover crop-5 inches) • 6 Average-8.73
Watson Brothers North Well • CURR_OWN WATSON/MARK H & BRUCE E • CONTACT_ID 966 • QTR NW • SECTION_ 14 • TOWNSHIP 26 • RANGE 48 • ACRES 273 • SUBAREA 4 • METER_SN 04-8-3886 • IN_2007 10.12- corn, edible beans • IN_2008 7.83- edible beans, winter wheat • IN_2009 3.65- winter wheat, corn • In_2010 6.85- corn, edible beans • In-2011 4.3- winter wheat, corn • In- 2012 11.57- corn, edible beans • 6 year Average- 7.38
LEGAL METER ACRES 5 year 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 DESCRI SERIAL Average INCHES INCHES INCHES INCHES INCHES PTION # SE 30- 04-8- 96 10.32 9.81 5.22 13.16 8.84 13.13 24-49 4468 SW 29- 04-8- 175 9.11 7.59 4.78 9.88 8.87 14.46 24-49 4466 SW 28- 04-8- 130 10.4 8.66 10.75 9.96 4.49 17.84 24-49 4460 NW 28- 04-8- 130 10.96 12.55 10.6 10.32 4.05 17.28 24-49 4456 SE 29- 04-8- 117 8.3 7.71 3.31 13.5 7.76 9.23 24-49 4462
WATER CONSERVATION • GOAL OF EVERY PRODUCER-ZERO GROUNDWATER DEPLETION • GOAL IS ATTAINABLE WITH: • NO TILL CROP PRODUCTION • 2/3 ROTATION HIGH RESIDUE CROPS • SOIL MOISTURE MONITORING
SOIL HEALTH
FORAGE/COVER CROPS • 80 LBS. FIELD PEAS • 5 LBS. FLAX • 2 LBS. NITRO RADISH • 2 LBS. SUNFLOWER
FORAGE/COVER CROP GOALS • Manage Residue- turn residue from high Carbon-Low Nitrogen into High Nitrogen- Low carbon • Improve early spring growth in corn
FORAGE/COVER CROP GOALS • Improve organic matter content of soil • Improve diversity and populations of soil microbes • Improve soil health
FORAGE/COVER CROP GOALS • Reduce dependence on commercial fertilizer • Forage for cattle • Concern- 5 inches of irrigation to grow cover crop
Watson Brothers Cover Crop November 14, 2012 Hay Yield, Ton/A @ 15 % Moisture Cover Crop Yield 8.84 Tons/A Nutrient Lbs of Nutrient/A Carbon C 6722 Nitrogen N 171.5 Phosphorus P2O5 28.5 Potassium K2O 114.6 Calcium Ca 140.2 Magnesium Mg 24.2 Sulfur S 21.2 Zinc Zn 0.248 Iron Fe 19.094 Manganese Mn 0.990 Copper Cu 0.060 C:N Ratio C:N 39 I estimate the N release to be about 50 lbs per acre. The release will be slower than normal because of the carbon in the sample. Ray
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