May 22, 2009

No-till on the Plains will be hosting an educational bus tour for Nebraska producers in mid-June to visit continuous no-till operations in South Dakota. The tour is partially funded through a grant from the Nebraska Environmental Trust and in cooperation with NRCS and University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension.

The Points North No-till Bus Tour will be June 17-19 and feature expert speakers and experienced continuous no-tillers.

"The bus tour gives farmers an opportunity to learn about continuous no-till firsthand — to get their hands dirty on the farms of successful no-till practitioner," says Brian Lindley, executive director of No-till on the Plains. "With this kind of format, participants can ask questions of the experts and producers and get immediate, practical answers. The interaction on the bus is just tremendous."

Speakers and tour sites will include:

 

• Jim Millar, soil scientist, Redfield, South Dakota. After working with the NRCS in South Dakota for 20 years, Millar and a partner formed Precision Soil Management.. He has been researching the effects of various cover crops on soil moisture utilization, soil nutrient levels and soil salinity levels since 2005.

   

• Dwayne Beck, research manager, Dakota Lakes Research Farm, Pierre, South Dakota. This site offers a variety of continuous no-till crops being studied for water-use efficiency, water storage, allelopathy, disease cycles, soil microbiology, nutrient cycling, weed control, and profitability as well as some cover crops. Crops include corn, soybean, sunflower, field peas, lentils, garbanzos (chickpeas), canola, winter wheat, and spring wheat.

   

• Dan Forgey, cropping foreman for Cronin Farms, Gettysburg, S.D. They are currently adding cattle and cover crops to their no-till crop operation, which saw a 20% yield increase over the last 15 years. Crops include corn, soybeans, spring wheat, winter wheat, sunflwoers, field peas, oats, lentils, forage sorghum, German millet and triticale. This county leads the state in percent of acres under no-till.

   

• Craig Stehly, no-till farmer, Mitchell, S.D. The Stehly brothers operation has been 100% no-till for almost two decades. They were early adopters of 22-inch corn rows, grow wheat, and after many years of experimentation and adjustments, will now be planting cover crops on a large scale.

Ray Ward of Ward Labs in Kearney, Nebr., and Paul Jasa, UNL Extension Engineer, will accompany the tour, providing information on the bus and at sites.

Registration and Information

Cost of the tour is $89.95. Registration is due by June 1 and includes travel in an air-conditioned motor coach and double-occupancy lodging. Attendees are responsible for meal costs. There will be two pick-up and departure sites: the Lancaster County Extension Office in Lincoln and Northeast Community College in Norfolk.

The tour of several South Dakota no-till operations will feature a spectrum of soils and climates, some of which are similar to northeast Nebraska region. For more information on the tour, contact No-till on the Plains, Inc. at 888-330-5142.

No-till on the Plains is a regional, farmer-run organization that promotes practical and scientific application of continuous no-till farming.

News Release
No-till on the Plains