Returning To The Farm With Interest
Returning To The Farm With Interest
Returning To The Farm With Interest

IF YOU EXPERIENCED DROUGHT THIS YEAR LIKE WE DID, THERE ARE 2 BIG THINGS WE’D ENCOURAGE YOU TO THINK ABOUT:

1. SHOULD YOU CHANGE YOUR 2027 CROP PLANS?
2. HOW CAN YOU “DROUGHT-PROOF” YOUR CROP SO YOU CAN MAKE THE BEST OUT OF A DRY SEASON?

My dad talked about drought quite often, and it was one year in particular that he always brought up – 1976.

HERE WAS HIS STORY.

“Brian, in 1976 we had less rain than the Mojave Desert. It was my worst crop ever. There were still dry herbicides we applied in the spring that weren’t fully broken down come fall. For my farm and the farmers I worked with, in 1977 we all planted corn on corn, beans on beans, and wheat on wheat. 1977’s crop was one of my best, and it mostly made up for the poor crop in 1976. We wanted to avoid herbicide carryover issues and take advantage of fertilizer that was unused by planting all continuous crops, and it worked out great.”

LET’S TALK ABOUT POINT NUMBER ONE – SHOULD YOU CHANGE YOUR 2027 CROP PLANS?

1. DO YOU HAVE A LOT OF NITROGEN CARRYOVER? We have been finding 200 to 300 pounds of nitrogen per acre in many corn fields this fall, which means going back to corn could be a good thing.

2. DID YOU USE LONG-RESIDUAL HERBICIDES? Think Callisto, atrazine, FirstRate, Stinger, Flexstar, etc. Talk to your agronomist if you are unsure which products could hurt next year’s crop. We saw a fair amount of carryover issues in fields in our region this year, and I’m sure next year will be worse.

I’M NOT SAYING EVERYONE SHOULD PLANT CONTINUOUS CROPS. I’M SIMPLY SUGGESTING WE EACH LOOK AT OUR SITUATION AND POSSIBLY ADJUST OUR PLANS BASED ON FERTILIZER & HERBICIDE CARRYOVER.

While you can never drought-proof your crop, you can certainly give yourself a better chance by following certain agronomic practices.

HERE ARE SOME OF THE TOP THINGS WE’VE LEARNED OVER THE YEARS.

1. LESS MOISTURE AFTER CORN AND ALFALFA. Following corn or alfalfa, there is usually not nearly as much moisture in the soil compared to where wheat or soybeans are grown. I understood the risk this spring when I planted corn after corn or alfalfa, and for the first time in 14 years it definitely hurt us on our farm.

2. BALANCED FERTILITY. Crops need less moisture when they have ample, balanced fertility. Nutrients like nitrogen and potassium will go in with water, so if your plant is short on any one nutrient, it brings in more water even if it doesn’t need the water. In other words, you make your crop a water-waster if you don’t have ample, balanced fertility.

3. DEEPER FERTILITY. While plants can often get moisture from deep in the soil when the weather is dry, what good does that do if there is no plant food there? One of the biggest advantages we see with strip-till is deep placement of nutrients. In dry years, when the only moisture is down deep, having fertility at that same level is extremely beneficial.

4. LESS TILLAGE. My dad always used to say, “We lose an inch of rain every time we till.” Whether or not that’s exactly true, I can’t tell you. I think it depends a lot on temperature, humidity, and a number of other factors, but regardless, tillage does reduce soil moisture, so minimizing tillage in dry years is helpful.

5. MORE ORGANIC MATTER IN YOUR SOIL. For each 1% increase in soil organic matter, the soil can hold about 4% more water. While you can’t increase organic matter overnight, it is a reasonable goal to increase soil organic matter by 2% during the years you manage your farm, say 20 or 30 years.

6. BETTER SOIL POROSITY/LESS COMPACTION. Compaction is a killer, so use deep tillage and deep-rooted crops to break up any hardpans. Also, having great drainage often means properly-tiled fields, which means less chance for soil compaction not only because soils will be excessively wet less often, but also because elements that are bad for soil structure like excess magnesium and sodium will be flushed out of the soil when drainage is great. Having an adequate level of calcium in the soil (65% to 75% base saturation) also means better soil porosity and less compaction.

7. GREAT WEED, INSECT, AND DISEASE CONTROL. If weeds are robbing soil moisture, that’s terrible for your crops. If insects, diseases, or weeds are putting stress on your crops, that means the effects of drought will be far worse.

8. PICKING THE RIGHT SEED VARIETIES. Drought tolerance is obviously huge, but early planting can be a big thing, as well. Quite often, if you plant early, your crop can get off to a great start before hot, dry weather sets in during mid- to late-summer. We recommend 40 Series Corn for at least your first few fields so you can start planting corn early. In soybeans, using Hefty Complete Soybean Seed Treatment along with our soybeans should mean a good stand even when planting in very cold soils.

9. MORE/BETTER CROP CANOPY. The sooner your soil is completely shaded by the crop, the more moisture you will be able to preserve in your soil. Plus, you’ll have better weed control.

10. CUTTING BACK ON PLANTING POPULATION. When planting, no one knows what the weather will do for the rest of the year, so I’m not saying to always cut population. However, if there are traditionally poor-yielding hilltops or sandy spots in fields, those should not get as much planting population compared to the good soils. That’s why we suggest using variable-rate seeding in every field.

ONE LAST NOTE IS THIS – BE READY TO HARVEST EARLY IN A DRY, HOT YEAR.

Every time we have a year like this one, we see far more lodging and crop on the ground. When plants are under severe stress, their stalks don’t develop correctly, they die early, and the only way to stop your grain from ending up on the ground in most cases is to harvest very early.

UNFORTUNATELY, DROUGHT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN IN THE FUTURE, SO THESE ARE ALL THINGS TO THINK ABOUT WHEN WE SEE A YEAR LIKE THIS AGAIN.