No Till Notes: 'Late harvest'

I hope by the time you are reading this article I have combines rolling in the field. Wheat harvest is running a few weeks later than normal this year. I think the harvest is going to be well worth the wait provided we get the wheat in the bin before something bad happens.

Reports coming in from the southern Panhandle indicate we may be having a record winter wheat harvest yield this year. I’ve heard numerous reports of 50-70 bushels per acre or higher winter wheat yields in the southern Panhandle. It appears the winter wheat in our area is going to be similar in yield.

Harvest is always a fun time of the year, but there are always a few anxious moments if a dark cloud looms on the horizon. It is also a very busy time of the year for producers, so I hope everyone has a safe and bountiful harvest.

I think the field pea harvest is going to be similar to the winter wheat in terms of record yields. It appears that the field pea crop is going to be well above what I would consider to be average. We were blessed with excellent growing conditions this spring and early summer for both the winter wheat and field pea crops.

Some producers weren’t as fortunate due to hail storms that accompanied some of the thunderstorms that rolled through the area this spring and early summer. Some fields of winter wheat and peas were completely destroyed by the hail.

Many producers chose to bale what was left after the storms. I know the reason why they chose to bale the crop to at least salvage some value from the damaged winter wheat fields. The concern I have is the value of the nutrients that were taken from the field along with the residues which would of otherwise been turned into organic matter had the residues been left in the field.

I talked to Dr. Ray Ward about the value of the nutrients being removed with the winter wheat baled for hay. Dr. Ward confirmed that there is a high dollar value to removing the straw to replace the nutrients that are being removed. Dr. Ward estimated that approximately $47.02 of nutrients is removed per ton of wheat hay on a dry matter basis. The total is $41.38 worth of nutrients based on 12% moisture wheat hay.

On a dry matter basis per ton of wheat hay there is 27.2 lbs. of Nitrogen, 9.2 lbs. of Phosphorous, 24 lbs. of Potassium, 2.4 lbs. of Magnesium, 4.4 lbs. of Sulfur, and 6 lbs. of Chloride. These values are higher than if the straw was baled following winter wheat harvest due to the grain still in the head of the plant rather than removed at harvest.

There is an additional loss due to the residues being removed from the field rather than being returned to the soil. This loss will result in lower organic matter in the soil which will affect how the soil performs. Loss of organic matter results in poorer water infiltration and poorer soil structure.

One innovative producer that I’m friends with decided to take an alternate route with his damaged winter wheat fields. He terminated the crop with a burn down and planted edible beans directly into the winter wheat stubble. I’ve been watching these edible beans progress since he planted them into the wheat stubble and I think he has an excellent opportunity to produce a good field of edible beans.

The beans are growing more upright as they compete for sunlight with the wheat stubble. This may aid in direct harvest of the edible beans. The weed control appears to be excellent due to the large amount of winter wheat residues in the field. If you go to my facebook page I have pictures posted and will continue to post additional pictures of the edible bean crop during the growing season.

I wanted to remind everyone to join us on our trip to North and South Dakota beginning August 18, 2014. I think this is going to be an excellent trip to visit with producers and researchers who are leading the way towards improving soil health utilizing no till crop production systems. Please contact me or the Upper Niobrara White Natural Resources District to register for this field trip.