August 26, 2011

No-till on the Plains will be hosting a Whirlwind No-till Expo Thursday, September 8 at the William Nielsen farm south of Minden. The day will begin in the field with a rainfall simulator demonstration followed by a discussion of soil quality around a fresh soil pit on the Nielsen farm.

Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs for the morning portion in the field. Lunch will be provided at the Minden Opera House, followed by an afternoon of no-till presentations.

Featured speakers include:

• Ray Ward, soil scientist and president of Ward Laboratories of Kearney
• Paul Jasa, UNL extension engineer, who works with no-till and cover crops
• Dietrich Kastens, a Herndon, Kansas producer who grows wheat, corn, milo, soybeans, alfalfa and peas in a 100% no-till operation
• Keith Berns, a no-till producer and co-owner of Green Cover Seed in Bladen, Nebraska
• Rich Russell of Arrow Seeds at Broken Bow

Nielsen began using no-till on his farm five years ago, after having used a ridge-till system since the 1980s. The change came when Nielsen was visiting a neighbor who practiced continuous no-till.  Nielsen observed that after a rain, water in the neighbor’s field infiltrated the soil and went exactly where it needed to be as opposed to his own fields, where it ran out the rows and down the irrigation tracks.

William and his son Rick started using no-till on their dryland fields five years ago and on their irrigated fields three years ago. Their soils include Holdrege, Butler, Detroit, and Scott silt loams with a 26-inch rainfall average. They currently use a rotation of seed corn/soybeans/cover crops.

Field Day Location

The morning portion of this event will be held in a field of William Nielsen. From Minden travel 8 miles south on Hwy 10 (32 Road), go east on C Road for 1 mile, and then south on 33 Road for ½ mile. In the event of rain, the entire event will take place at the Minden Opera House.

More Information and Registration

No-till on the Plains is a producer-run organization headquartered in Kansas that promotes practical and scientific application of continuous no-till farming. For more information contact Brian or Jana Lindley at No-till on the Plains, 888-330-5142 or register online at www.notill.org. A $30 registration fee is required by September 2 to guarantee lunch and handouts.

This event is funded through a grant from the Nebraska Environmental Trust and PrairieLand RC&D.

Paul Jasa
Extension Engineer