The Lucknow Sentinel, 1985-03-20, Page 37The Fann Edition. Week of March 20. 1
Ashfield farmers find cow -calf herd will work with cash crop
By Sharon Dietz
One Huron County farmer believes a case
can be made for incorporating a Cow -calf herd
on a cash crop faim. •
"Not only can marginal land, which most
farms have, be putto its best use as pasture,
but the better soils on the farm and the crops
on those soils can benefit from . the cows, •
particularly if conservation tillage practices
on those soils are made easier by the removal
of crop residues for cattle feed and bedding,"
says Ray Hogan of Ashfield Township. Ray,
his father and brothers run a cross -bred
cow -calf herd of 120 cattle and produce corn,
white beans, kidney beans and winter wheat
on their combined 2,000 acres.
The Hogans and Howards have always had
beef cows on their farm and Ray remembers •
as a young boy just about everyone else had
either beef or dairy cows. He also remembers
that most of Ashfield Township, like the rest ,
of mid -western Ontario was hay, pasture and
small grains. Since that time, most of the cow .
herds have gone and along with -them, most of
the pasture fields.
like many others the Hogans and Howards
have converted most of their pastures to cop
land. Ulike many others they have kept the
COWS.
The Hogans and Howards didn't keep their
cows because they were smarter or stupider
than others, says Ray, but because all of their
land is not suitable for cash crops. A creek
crosses the back of the farm and the adjoining
: creek flats and hillsides are suitable only for
pasture. "And f guess we kept the cows
because, despite the poor returns in some
years, we have alwayS, liked -*tiring with
cattle," Ray adds. •
The Hogans and Howards were forced to
Cow -calf herd can be incorporated with cash crop
develop a different approach to their
cow: calf and Cash crop operation during the
years they were converting pastures to corn
fields. They found two major problems
del+eloping.
Since they had less pasture aces available
than previously, and they were trying to
maintainor increase their cow herd to match
• their stable and feeding facilities, which were
mostly in place before they began to convert
to cash cop, they found they often ran short
of pasture late in -the season, . despite
increased applications of fertilizer to the
pastures.
The second problem was more serious,
says Ray. They quickly found as other cash
croppers were, as they converted pasture
fields to corn fields they began to experience,
for the first time on their farm, very serious
wind and water 'erosion, compaction, , weed
control problems, rootworm infestation and
many other problems associated with conven-
tional tillage monoculture. The Hogans and
Howards also found as fuel, machinery,
labour and other crop production costs
increased._and as crop prices became more,
volatile, the returns from conventional tillage
cash cropping diminished.
Cow -calf profits were low because of high
feed costs and cash crop profits were low
because of agronomic, problems associated
with monoculture or poor rotations and the
high costs of conventional tillage. Product-
ivity and profits on the Hogan and Howard
farms were ,,being ; threatened by an ever
increasing soil degradation problem.
' The 'Hogansand Howards long realized •
they had an abundant sounze of cheap food
available in the form of crop residue including
corn stalks; wheat straw and under seeded
red dover,growth. Fbr many years they used .
these sources to some extent, however since
they were ,practising conventional tillage fall
moldboard plowing, they were often not able •
to fully take advantage of these cheap feed
sources. •
"It is pretty hard to graza corn fields for
very long following harvest if you are fall
plowing," Ray observes. ,
The Hogans and Howards also realized
high cash crop production costs and the soil
erosion problems were mostly the results of
fall • moldboard plowing and poor crop
• rotation. They decided the way to improve
profits and reduce erosion on their farm was ,
to plow less and improve the crop rotations,
providing they could main4lin yields. Five
years ago they started experimenting with
conservation tillage, as well as including
more beans and wheat and less com in their
rotations. Since the Hogans and Howards
were not fall plowing all the con) fields and
wheat stubble, they were able to use more for
late fall - early winter winter grazing or in the
case of corn stalls they had more time to bale
them for winter feed. They also found by fall
grazing or baling some of the crop residue; it
was much easier to make reduced tillage work .
turn to .page 21
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