HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1985-07-17, Page 5bickno* Sentinel, Wednesday, July 17, 1985 -Page 5
Indiana farmers speak on conservation tillage methods
Carl and Rosemary Epply, who own a .500 acre farm in Wabash, Indiana; were guest.
speakers at. Soil Conservation Day Last Tuesday. They've been using the iidge tillage
system on their corn and soy bean crops for the past six years with encouraging results.
• (Photo by Alan Rivett)
from page 1
comparable or better to -those using the
conventional tillage system.
Although the ridge and no till systems
are relatively new, the farmer must be
patient with these systerns. "You've got: to
give it a fair shake before you decide if
you're ,happy .with it," she said. Farmers
• should try it for between two to four years
He, along with three other professors from
the university, found that the profit from
using the alternative tillage on corn and
Soy bean' plots varied from $20 to $40 .per
acre. The experiment also revealed that the
no till system produced profits comparable
to• those of the ridge till on well drained,.
sloping soils: However, no till was found to
• be unfavourable comppared ' with other'
systems on other soils. the tillage systems
before deciding whether or not to .continue, that were tested were, fall plow, fall chisel
with the systems, she said. plowing, spring plow, spring disc, till plant
or ridge till . and • no. till. •
One of those convinced of the benefits of
the alternative • tillage systems is . Dr.
Howard Doster, an associate professor in
the department of Agricultural Economics
at Purdue University in Indiana. He spoke
about the economic returns from alterna-
tive.tillage programs, to the crowd on hand
at Soil Conservation Day. • •
Dr. Doster, after 20 years of research
into alternative tillage methods in Indiana,
released a scientific paper on the subject.
Now Available'
READY PICKED
RED & BLACK
'CURRANTS
Phone Your Orders In Now . .
Anthony Knoop 529-7110
PRYDE
MONUMENTS
iEstablished since 1919)
District.ShoWroOtll
SUNCOAST MALL
Goderich, Ont.,
Open .Daily 10 amto 5 pm
Telephone: 524-2337
Erosion .connected with the systems
turned out to be the severest with the plow
systems, 'to a lesser extent with the chisel
and. disc systems and minimal with the
ridge. till _and no till systems.
. The experiment concluded that . the
alternative tillage systems are an econom-
ical alternative to the conventional or
Moldboard plow system for corn and 'soy
beans in ' Indiana: Most importantly. Dr.
Doster said the types of soils- found in
Indiana are relatively similar to the soils SPECI A.1J
found in Huron County.
Doster said farmers may be deterred
from using the new tillage systems because
of the •cost of selling or replacing existing
equipment. He said a farmer maynot want
to take a loss when selling the conventional
equipment in order to buy the equipment
suited for alternative tillage. However,
much of the same equipment may be used
as a conventional planter can be adapted to
no till, planting.
However, Doster'stated ridge till and no
till are still in the experimental stages and
"there is not yet stability in precise
adaptations for equipment". He says those
who have used it for the past couple of
years and have made equipment and soil
adjustments are now getting the benefits of
these tillage systems.
"There's lots of balls in the air and there
is certainly a lot more to be learned," said
Doster.
Carl Epply, a farmer from Wabash,
Indiana, has been using the ridge till
system for the past years and, gaveinsights
into the system for the approximately. 200
who attended Soil Conservation Day.
Mr: Epply found that his 'corn ' and
soybean yield were reducing every. year
under the conventional moldboard plow
system. After consulting with the rural
conservationist for the area, he discovered
that his yield. problems developed because
of compaction in the soil . after spring
plowing. .
Under his. present system, he does no
plowing in the fall and plants on a 6 - 8 inch
ridge directly into the corn stubble in the
spring. After five years, he has' found that'
the compaction 'p'roblem was alleviated. "It
made me feel pretty good that we were
able to impmve the soil with a new method
of farming," he said.
Since he began ridge tilling in 1979, the
yield has increased dramatically. In that
year, the corn yield was 156 bushels per
acre while in 1980, a dry year, resulted in a
yield of 145 bushels. per acre. He said he
has experienced an .18 bushel per acre
Sun -Sational
Summer.
Dale
Now On,!
Located,next to
Lucknow Post 'Office
Lucknow
increase since switching from conventional
plowing. In 1981, the yield increased to 155
bushels per acne. The bean crops have also
been increasing with the ridge till system.
He says he saves on fuel because he uses
only one tractor at planting time and he
saves a lot of time because he does all the
planting by himself.. He says the saving
amounts to between $40 - ;60 per acre by
using the ridge till system.
"Before, I• could see nothing but trash,
but now it bothers me to see clean tilled
fields," he 'said.
Rosemary Epply, a former broadcaster
in the Wabash, gave a recitation on the soil
and ' how it. affects each of us. She also
spoke on the hazards of stress on thefarm
and how more and more farm marriages
have ended in divorce when 20 years
before farm marriages were rare. She said
• this stress accumulates at 'planting time.
With her husbands use of conservation
tillage, the working hour's at planting time
are greatly reduced which eases the ten-
• sion which farmers feel at this time of year.
• Ben Etimunsden, a farmer from Clayton,
Indiana, has used the ridge till system
since 1982. He says he -is reducing the costs
with every year on the. system and the
pressure . to get the crops in is 'greatly
reduced 'with conservation tillage
"When we getup in the morning we just
start planting. We . find this a pure and
simple ' delight," he 'said. "We just plant
day after day with nothing to' hold us .up."
He says his corn yield is at 160 bushels
per acre while his soybean return ' is at 45
bushels per acre. However, he . says
farmers must believe in the system "120
per cent" to make it work
"We feel like we're making some great
• Turn to page 7
Check Our Selected 'S i i}' L...mer Faahioris
ry Good Selection Of
Ladies Dresses
Junior- Misses' Half Sikes
Go -ordinate Sportswear
Petite 8-16 Misses 10-20
MISCELLANEOUS*ITEMSGREATLYREDUCED -
CLEARANCE ON SELECTED TOPS & SLACKS
Ladies Wear
71.KA
5283533