Dealing with Weather & Cutting Costs

For most farmers, the weather has turned dry with corn and soybeans leaves drying down. A good August rain can add bushels to soybeans and help fill out the corn. While some farmers have received adequate rain this year, the weather patterns have been fickle. Most areas are in a drought now. It seems like the same areas get rain, perhaps too much at times while other areas get missed. A good explanation for this is that good growing crops that got early rain are transpiring more water into the atmosphere, generating more moisture in those areas. Whatever the reason, it can be exasperating for those lacking rain.

This year, there has been more sun activity than normal. The northern lights and magnetic fields have dipped into Southern Michigan and Northern Ohio and Indiana. While the light shows may be fun to watch, it also has an affect on our weather. The sun is still the major generator of weather. A prediction was that we could either have a drought early or late this summer. For some farms, they got adequate moisture early, but also some farms have been lacking moisture all year. Historically, the drought in the 1930’s lasted several years and we could be in the middle to the turning point on a similar situation this decade.

To combat warmer, hotter temperatures and drought; conservation practices like no-till and cover crops can keep the soil in place and keep moisture recycling, both in the air, and in the soil for long-term storage. For farmers, the weather and climate is something to always talk about because it effect crop yields. Since prices are about half what they were 3-4 years ago, farmers need to cut costs to survive, not only against current dry conditions but also low prices.

With the cost of fuel and equipment, no-tilling at least soybeans and wheat makes sense. Tillage costs may range from $40-$50 per acre and saving one tillage pass can greatly reduce costs, but also saves labor. Using a strip till machine ahead of the planter, even mounted ahead of the planter, on 30-inch rows for corn, allows the soil to warm up faster and still gives 80% of the benefits of no-till if a 6-inch strip is tilled. Every tillage pass dry out your soil 0.5-1.0 acre-inch.

Since corn is either not profitable or barely profitable, many farmers may be planting soybeans after soybeans. To prevent disease and to increase crop yields, crop rotation is a standard practice. Adding a cheap grass cover crop like oats and radish which winter kill, breaks up disease cycle. The Ohio H20 program pays $35 an acre for an over wintering cover crop (50% live crop in the spring), so either planting cereal rye alone or adding it 50% to a mixture can be beneficial.

Normally, famers apply cover crop several ways including an airplane, helicopter, drones and high boys. However, cover crops need a minimum of 1 inch (2 inches is better) of moisture and about 60 days of growth before cold weather sets in. To get good stands, drilling is always the best method, especially if moisture is short. You also need to watch out for herbicide carryover which is prevalent in dry weather. To test for herbicide carryover, dig up some soil, and plant some cover crop seed in a pot with the soil. Give it a moderate amount of water, and watch the growth. Cover crop seeds may germinate, and even grow short-term, but generally die off as the herbicide carryover in the soil increases.

If dry weather persists into the spring, plan to terminate the cover crop early. If it stays wet, allow the cover crop to grow to increase transpiration, which helps dry out a soil. Next year, surface cover crop residue helps lower surface soil temperatures and reduces moisture losses going into summer.

The last few years, the best crops seem to be those that are planted early. Early planting allows crops to become more deep-rooted and branch out to obtain more soil moisture. The last three years, June has been hotter than normal (more like August weather), so crops that were deeper rooted could survive the heat and drought stress. Crops planted later, tended to suffer more. If the current trend continue for another 2-3 years, strategize on ways to gets crops planted earlier. Lighting the load, improving drainage, and use cover crops and their roots to increase soil stability to get crops planted earlier. Farmers planting cover crops often are missing an opportunity to plant earlier because they think the soil is too wet. Try it sometime, you may be surprised.