Whoa, it’s cold! But don’t worry, our soils are covered.


Winter can be hard on soils and on the organisms that live in them. Our livelihood is dependent on healthy soils, and those soil bugs, so we take steps to keep them happy and comfortable all winter long.


🌱 We don’t till, or plow, our fields. No-till farming means less traffic across our field (less compaction) and less disturbance within the soil.


🌱 Because we are no-till, you see all of the “trash” from our cash crop on the field. That trash provides protection for the soil, and food for our soil bugs, all winter long. Every part of the plant has nutrients. When we leave the trash on the field it breaks down and returns those nutrients to our soils, where next year’s crop can use it.


🌱 We plant cover crops- crops planted in between cash crops and not for harvesting. This is triticale, one of our favorite covers. We could write a book on how cool cover crops are, but here’s the quick run down on what this guy will do: break up the soil, allow water and oxygen to better infiltrate, make nutrients more accessible, increase organic matter, provide food for the soil bugs and more.


🚜 Producer Note: This triticale was broadcast with fertilizer at a rate of 50 pounds/ acre.

What you see above is crazy exciting for our family!

These two pictures are from two fields, only separated by an old fence row. The photos were taken about 4 foot apart.

The farm in the bottom photo has been traditionally managed for north Missouri row crop farms. You see larger and more compacted soil clods, fairly typical of dirt in the area.

On the farm in the top photo we have been using no-till and cover crop practices for three growing seasons. What you see, and would feel if you were here, is a light and loose soil. It's full of organic matter without any compaction. (Think of potting soil compared to dirt from your backyard.)

We have actually added soil to this farm by allowing crop residue and cover crops to decompose and turn to dirt. In only three years, we have changed the soil makeup of our farm.

What cover crops and non-till translates into on our farm is...

🌱 Less soil loss from erosion

🌽 Higher nutrient content for our crops

🌱Increased ability of the soil to hold water

🌽Decreased runoff of water and chemicals we use for our crops
​
🌱Reduced need for added fertilizers

All of these things mean we are protecting our farms, protecting our environment, and creating better long-term profitability (which is important because even though it's our way of life, this is also his full time job.)

#My60Acres is harvested again!  This was the second year Matt let me play a leading role in the management of a sixty acre field on our home farm, and my first soybean crop. 
 
I didn't get to start the morning with him because my work schedule has been a little hectic, so I didn't join until late afternoon.  But as soon as I got there, he slid over and let me take the wheel.
 
It might sound odd that he couldn't wait a day or two for my schedule to be better, but soybean harvest is very time sensitive.  We have to wait long enough the plants are dry, but not too long.
 
If the plant isn't dry yet it's very tough to cut and clogs up the combine.  Think about breaking a wet stick compared to breaking one that dry and brittle.  The dry one snaps while the wet one is very tough to break.
 
However, if we wait too long, the pods can actually get so dry they bust open, sending the soybeans to the ground where we can no longer harvest them.

So, he went ahead and started harvesting while I finished my week  at work and I wrapped up when I get back home.
 
It was beautiful to combine this year. About a month prior, we had an airplane fly on a cover crop seed that was a mix of turnips, radishes, peas, crimson clover and triticale.  That cover is coming up beautifully and will protect my soil all winter and early into the spring.  Read more about our cover crops here! 
 
Overall we were surprised and happy with our yields!  We had a challenging late growing season with very little rain.  Seed genetics - which have advanced tremendously in the last decade - helped us to deal with that lack of water.  Additionally, my cover crop was still covering the ground which helps to retain water in the soil longer.

We estimate an average of 40 bushel when making our projections  in the spring, so despite a less than ideal season, we still had an above average crop that yielded 49 bushel to the acre!  The higher than average yield helps to offset prices that are below where we had projected.

Soybeans are the number one crop for the state of Missouri.  Missouri farm families grow so many soybeans because our soils and weather are good for growing them, plus we have established markets to sell them at.

Of the bean itself, 80% is soybean meal and 20% is soybean oil.  Nearly all of soybean meal is used in animal feed.  Of soybean oil, 68% is used for human food - baking and frying mostly - and another 25% is used for biodiesel and bioheat. 
 
We still have about a week or so left of harvest, so make sure and follow us on Facebook for more #Harvest17 updates!

Its growing day 30 and we have been blessed with timely rainfalls for #My60Acres! The soybeans are doing well and starting to become more visible among the cover crop and last year’s corn stubble.

As I have had the opportunity to talk about my soybean crop, I’ve realized people have some of the same questions I did about soybeans. Is it really illegal for farmers to keep their own seed? Does the government force us to grow GMO crops?

I think these are important questions and with all the misinformation available, I wanted to tackle them head on.

Is it really illegal for me to keep soybean seed from #My60acres to plant next year?

The short answer is – yes, it is! When we decide to purchase certain seeds, we sign a contract that we will not keep seed to replant. But why the heck would farmers be OK with that?

The seed we chose to plant #My60Acres with wasn’t selected hastily. We have to consider dozens of different risk factors. What type of soil is on the farm, how do they drain? What are our normal weather patterns, what’s expected for this year? How early or late is it in the planting season? What pests, weeds, and disease do we normally deal with? Are there new ones we may have to fight this year?

Researchers and scientists from multiple companies spend their careers looking at each of those risk factors that farm families like ours deal with. Each year, new seed traits are being developed to help us navigate through those risks.

That research and development takes a lot of money. And I mean A LOT! On their website, Monsanto reports they spend $2.6 million dollars PER DAY on research. DuPont reported an even higher budget for research and development of $1.6 billion for 2016. After the research is complete, companies have enormous expense in testing and obtaining approvals for the new seeds.

To allow companies to profit after all that time and expense, and more importantly to continue to encourage innovation for farm families, they use the same system that every other industry does to protect intellectual property – the patent system. Nearly all seeds we choose to plant on our farm are protected by a US patent.

For an easy analogy – think of your favorite Disney movie. You can buy the DVD for $19.99 on Amazon and watch the movie as often as you’d like. But that does not give you the right to make a thousand copies of the DVD and sell them. That would also be illegal! Disney still owns the intellectual property – even though you bought the DVD!

Eventually those patents will expire (the original round up ready patent already has), but by that time most farmers will be moved on to newer technologies.

There are public soybean varieties available to use if farmers choose to. They can keep their own seed from these. There are however other management factors to consider with keeping seed – it needs to be carefully stored through the winter and professionally cleaned. It also needs to be sorted for size and quality. Once planted, there is no protection in place from a company if the seed fails to come up. For some farmers, saving their own seed is a very practical way to farm each year and there are options for them to be able to do just that.

For our farm, and many others, paying the premium for patented seed with added risk protection is well worth the additional cost and giving up our right to keep seed for the next growing season.

Does the government force us to grow GMO crops or subsidize us to?

The answer to both is no. To date, I am unsure of how the GMO subsidy rumor started, but we are unaware of any available government program to support or supplement growing GMO crops. We do however have people frequently ask us about it.

The government also does not force us to plant GMO – or any other type of seed.

We have a choice on what companies we do business with and what products we purchase. It's also important to point out that numerous companies develop GMO traits, and even more companies sell them to farmers. But like almost anything in agriculture, the choice is really less about what company we do business with and more about what person we do business with.

Example – our “seed guy” now is the same seed guy my father-in-law has done business with for almost 40 years. He has changed companies a few times – from smaller companies, to larger ones, back to smaller ones - but Steve always stuck with him. And now Matt sticks with him. Because we know him, we trust him. We consider him family.

More so than any other industry, agriculture is a relationship industry. We work with, and spend money with, people we like. People we trust. People we often times consider part of our family. Sometimes those people work for “Big Ag”. Sometimes they don’t. But farmers don’t do business with corporations or small companies. Farmers do business with people.

It's growing day 10 already and I am just now telling the story of planting #My60Acres!  Many of you will remember from last year that my farmer husband gave me full access to take over one, 60 acre  field on our home farm.
 
Last year #My60Acres was planted to corn (you can read that story here).  I delayed planting a few days (because I didn't want to take time off from my day job) and it cost me in yield at harvest time because I hit some wet, cold weather right after planting.
 
I was determined not to make the same mistake this year so when I was super swamped with other obligations on the day my husband said it was time to plant, I did what had to be done.
 
I delegated!  (That's leadership potential FYI).
 
Matt started planting the morning of Memorial Day while I was making a mad dash to Sam's Club and washing sheep to get ready for a show the next weekend.

I was able to join him for the last half of planting, and he welcomed me up and hopped right over into the buddy seat to let me take the wheel.
 
We planted Pfister 39R29 soybeans, to a population of 170,000 plants per acre.  You can visit that link to see the unique features of this particular seed and get an idea what we look at when selecting which seed we will use.
 
Soybeans themselves were initially grown as a forage crop until they gained popularity as a row crop in the 1940's.  Missouri now ranks number 8 for total soybean production but soybean's are Missouri's number one crop!  You can understand why by visiting the Missouri Soybean Association online!
 
 Once I took the wheel, I needed a refresher on how to run the tractor because it had been a year since I planted.
 
Our auto-steer GPS unit will "lock in" the wheel for super straight rows once we set it, but I still had to pick up my marker, pick the planter up, and actually turn the tractor at the end of each row.  Once turned around, I would use a visual of the field and computer monitor (as well as the clear and stern audio of my husband's voice) to line everything back up and set the auto-steer.
 
This year was so exciting for me because I am a nut about cover crops.  Cover crops, which I discuss here, are crops we plant in between our cash crops to keep the ground covered.  This minimizes erosion and run-off and helps us build the health of our soil and the environment surrounding our fields.
 
Last year before harvest we had had an airplane apply triticale, rye, forage turnips and buckwheat.
 
This year we planted soybeans right into the growing cover crop, mostly triticale (a wheat-rye hybrid) at this point.  The corn stalks we left in the field continue to provide nutrients for all the bugs in our soils through the winter.
 
The growing triticale helped to minimize weed growth on the field.
 
The triticale roots shoot down, breaking up the soil even better than a plow and accessing nutrients down deep, pulling them up to where the soybeans will be able to use them.  That cover also meant when those winds were blowing and rains pounding down our soil wasn't blowing or washing- that triticale held it right in place!
 
The cover crops were sprayed to be terminated the day after planting but will stay in the field.  They will break down throughout the growing season, returning valuable nutrients to the soil-  just as my beans need them to grow!
 
Stay in touch with me on Facebook and the blog for updates on #My60Acreas and this year's soybean crop!
 

I love the emails I have been getting asking about #My60Acres!  The summer has gotten away from me so before we get much closer to harvesting I wanted to share with you some more from the growing season!

If I had to describe this growing season in one word it would be “blessed”.  After the initial cold spell right after planting, we have had rain and temperatures that are ideal for growing corn – at least right here.  Some of our neighbors have had way too much rain – some as much as 10+ inches in 24 hours, and some of our neighbors are too dry.  But we have gotten very timely rains in manageable amounts.

Unfortunately, the corn prices are reflecting the good growing conditions much of the corn belt is experiencing and even with good yields it’s going to be a very hard season financially.

None the less, we still have to farm the best we can.  About a month ago the plane came to visit and applied a fungicide.  We don’t have to use fungicide every year but with the wet conditions and warm temperatures, we needed to protect the corn from fungus that can be very damaging. 

The plane came back to visit us just this past Friday!  He flew on cover crop seed.  The seed is loaded into the plane and sprayed out right on top of the growing corn!   We used a mix of rye, triticale, and buckwheat on my field. 

The cover crop will most likely be emerged before we even harvest the corn.  This means my soil stays protected on the top from erosion from wind and rain AND it means that all the living organisms in my soil stay alive and well too.   

Make sure and check out the Facebook page for a video of the plane applying cover crops! 

Check back in a few weeks to see our harvest update and find out where the corn from #My60Acres will end up! 

For the first time ever, my farmer husband is letting me take over my very own 60 acres - for the first post on obtaining land, read here.

All plants, including corn, need nitrogen to grow. Nitrogen is a chemical, the seventh element on the periodic table, and literally surrounds us wherever we go. It is an odorless, colorless gas that makes up nearly 80% of our atmosphere.

With so much of it in the air, it was surprising to me to learn the challenges that come with getting enough nitrogen for our food and fuel crops. Washington State University explains here that nitrogen is likely the most limiting factor in our ability to grow more food globally.

The nitrogen that is in the air is not usable by most plants - we have to get that nitrogen into the soil. And that is exactly what I got to do today on my 60 acres!

When a plant grows on our farms, it takes up both micro and macro nutrients. When we harvest the crop and remove it from the farm, we also take away those nutrients such as nitrogen. To keep our farm sustainable and profitable, we have to manage those nutrients each year to make sure we are putting back into our soils whatever we have taken away.

So to prepare my 60 acres for corn that will be planted this spring, today I applied Anhydrous Ammonia (AA) - NH3.  This is a colorless gas that is made up of one part nitrogen to three parts hydrogen.  We also use N-serve, a nitrogen stabilizer that helps to keep the nitrogen where my corn will need it. 
 
We elect  to use AA as one of our sources for nitrogen because it's readily available, efficient and cost effective.  The downside to using AA is that when it is applied it does kill off many of our organisms living in the soil, in the immediate vicinity of where it is applied.  This is because it shocks the pH of the soil so quickly, but this is only in an oval shaped area right around where the gas is applied in the soil. 
 
We spend a lot of time growing our soil bugs and earthworms so this feels like it's setting us back a little.  Luckily, studies show that by the time we go to plant, the soil will have recovered back to its thriving state.
 
Organic farmers do not have the option of using AA because it is synthetic.  They instead rely heavily on animal manure to add back in nitrogen.  Washington State explains how even organic farms are still dependent on chemically fixed nitrogen because of the nitrogen cycle.  Most manure applied comes from animals fed diets that were grown using chemically fixed nitrogen.  For the food and fuel production we need today, chemically fixing nitrogen is necessary - but safe as well.

​I used a tractor - a John Deere 8640 - to pull an applicator bar, and behind it the tank.  The tank contains the AA.  It runs through a hose, into the applicator bar where it is injected down into the soil.
 
A knife leads the injector, cutting the gas down into the soil, and then two closing wheels come behind to cover the soil back up.  It's important that the soil gets covered back up otherwise all the nitrogen will escape right back into the atmosphere - where my corn can't use it! 
 
It's also important that we try to put AA on when the soil is around 20% moisture.  The soil should form a weak ball at the right moisture levels.  For more application tips, read here!  If there are no water particles to react with, the AA will travel further down into the soil to find water - possibly out of reach of my corn!  
 
Today we put on 120 pounds to the acre.  This is a lower application rate than normal - usually between 150 - 200 pounds per acre. This is because I have something else working for me as well.

My sixty acres actually started being prepared for this corn crop last fall when Matt planted a cover crop - a combination of radishes, turnips, cereal rye, alfalfa, and crimson clover.  These plants grew all fall, even into the winter.  We never harvested them because they worked in different ways. 
 
For more information on how our cover crops work, read my post here!
 
Focusing on nitrogen, three of those cover crops helped us to be able to lower our rate of AA.   First, the radishes have very long tap roots - a root sent straight down into the soil, sometimes up to six feet in length.  These tap roots grab onto nitrogen further down in the soil and then bring it up to the radish.  Because we do not harvest the radishes (they decay right back into our soils) that nitrogen will now be available to my corn.

​The alfalfa and crimson clover also helps with our nitrogen.  Alfalfa and clover, like our other main cash crop soybeans, are a legume and legumes can actually fix their own nitrogen. Clover is known as one of the best nitrogen fixing crops available. These plants actually grab onto nitrogen from the air and “fix” it onto the plant.  Again, because we did not harvest the alfalfa or clover and it is still there in my soil, all of the nitrogen it fixed is now available to my corn as well. 

For now, my 60 acres should have adequate nitrogen to get my corn started off right!  We will apply a booster of nitrogen later in the growing season with a practice called side-dressing. 
 
The next piece of equipment to run over my field will be the sprayer!  Stay tuned!

(Today was also our 7th wedding anniversary so we had to take a picture together in the tractor!)

"Tell your story!"  Anyone in the agriculture industry has been hearing it!  It is important and I'm the first to boast how much I love to tell my story.
 
But, if I am honest, I'm usually telling my husband's story. He's the farmer.
 
Well not this year!  Matt is sliding over into the buddy seat and turning me loose on my very own 60 acres!  And I'm taking you along for the ride by detailing the entire process of raising corn right here, all season long!

When it comes to land, farmers generally talk in acres.  One acre is 43,560 square feet - roughly the size of a football field. 
 
The first step for any crop farmer is the most obvious (and most expensive) one - find some land.
 
Generally there are two options available for a farmer to obtain land - buy it or rent it. 
 
On a side note- some farmers are given land, most families cannot simply turn over acres to the next generation that wants to come back.  That would essentially be taking one family's income and cutting it in half.  Generally, when a child comes back to the farm, the farm has to grow - a prime example of why "large farms" do not equal bad farms.
 
Buying land can be very challenging.  Matt farmed for 7 years before we were actually able to buy any land.  Land has to be for sale in an area that makes sense for the farmer, it has to be the right type of land for what the farmer wants to use it for, and the farmer has to be able to afford to purchase the land.
 
For years we kept an eye out for farms that might be for sale in our area.  Several times we looked at farms that were either too far away, not the right type of soil for growing crops, or we simply could not afford them.  
 
Just when Matt had all but given up, a couple we rented land from decided to give us the opportunity to buy the farm Matt had his eye on for as long as he could remember!
 
Owning a farm, instead of renting, is a financial game changer for a young farm family in the same way that owning a home, over renting, is for the average American family!
 
This farm was in the exact right location, with the mixture of crop and pasture land that matched our family's needs.
 
Additionally, the sellers were willing to wait on us to obtain funding from the USDA's beginning farmer loan program - which can be a long process.  In a market where they could have contacted an investor and had their money in a few weeks, this was unbelievably gracious, a blessing we will never forget.
 
Traditional farm loans usually require a 30% down payment, at adjustable interest rates higher than a typical home loan.  Also unlike home loans, most farm loans are made on 20 year instead of 30 year terms. 
 
The USDA's young and beginning farmer program allowed us to be qualified for a 30 year farm loan - partially from a private bank and partially from the USDA - with only 5% down. 
 
When it comes to a first farm purchase, many young farmers would never have a chance if it wasn't for these programs, funded through the farm bill.  Matt and I were no different. 
 
My sixty acres is part of the farm that Matt and I own.  So although we do not pay rent, we do have a loan on the farm, which means there is a payment that still has to be made - from crops and calves we raise each year.  That payment will be made not only from income off this farm, but from income from the farms Matt rents as well.
 
Renting land comes in many different forms.  Farmers need to find land in the area, that is available for rent, and that can grow the crops they want to grow.  
 
Rent contracts have gotten more creative and unique over the last few decades but most agreements take on one of two general forms - crop shares or cash rents.
 
Crop shares - or share cropping depending on your location- was the most popular way to rent ground for a long time.  This form of rent allows the landowner and farmer to share in the risk, and the reward, of farming.
 
Many crop shares today are still on a standard 50/50 agreement where the landlord and farmer split the costs of putting in the crop, the land owner provides the land and the farmer the equipment and labor, and they then split whatever crop is raised off the farm half and half, or 50/50. 
 
Another common crop share version is a different split such as an 80/20 or 70/30 share where the farmer covers all costs of the crop and pays the landowner the agreed upon share of the crop as rent. 
 
In the last decades, the cash rent agreements have become more popular. Some of these contracts can become very complex with multiple payments, price averages, yield bonuses and more but the concept of cash renting is largely the same. 
 
The farmer pays the agreed upon rent, sometimes in the fall, sometimes in the spring, and sometimes in two payments in fall and spring, and the farmer keeps 100% of the crop.  The farmer takes on all of the risk and all of the reward with growing a crop. 
 
Matt told me that he could probably rent my sixty acres for to another farmer for $100 an acre - so he would agree to rent it to me for $150!  (By the time I harvest this crop he will be wishing he charged me more!)
 
Now that I have my 60 acres "rented", I have some major decisions to make on seed, fertilizers, crop insurance and more before it's time to plant. 

Stay tuned!  

When someone wants to discount my information on modern agriculture, they state that we are just “for profit farmers”.  People even protest farmers making a profit, with signs saying things like “people over profit”. 

Some people seem to be of the a mindset that those who are trying to make a living farming are in some sort of conspiracy with “Big Ag” that results in nearly all the evils of the world from starvation and obesity to autism and cancer. 

Last week, a visitor to my blog asked me to visit a website of a self proclaimed "sustainable farmer".  He appeared to be taking full advantage of all the hot buzz words – he was verified organic, labor intense, small, local, natural, non-GMO, hormone free, antibiotic free, gluten free, Monsanto free – but he was not sustainable.  

How do I know?    On the side bar, of every page on his website, he was asking for donations to be able to continue his farm.  

Farmers have to be profitable to be sustainable!  And you WANT farmers to be profitable.   Here is why.   

1.        Farming takes a lot of money.  And if farmers are going to make long term investments, they must be profitable.  The information, technology and equipment available is constantly changing and improving.  When farmers can take advantage of these changes they can get better at managing the high demands of the industry with caring for their farms and caring for the environment.

For example, when my father in law made the management decision to switch to no-till farming in 1992, it took money to do that.  He had to purchase a new drill and new attachments for his planter.  He had to spend time and money learning about the process.  

A person can farm on a small scale as a hobby.   These types of farms are great for the people running them and the people that are close enough to buy from them!  They are are often supplemented by other sources of income and only exist as long as those other sources (like website donations) are available.  These small farms are NOT a sustainable model we can duplicate across the country to meet the high demands of modern agriculture.  

2.       Farming takes a lot of work with crazy hours.  Right now, 93-96% of all farms in the USA are family owned.    Farmers, and their families, give up a lot to live this lifestyle.  I have never met a farmer who would change a thing, but if they cannot make a living at this they would never be able to justify the hours and sacrifices they make.  Farmers have bills to pay and kids to send to summer camps just like you!

 3.       Farmers need to be experts.  Farming is not easy and it requires expertise in a lot of areas.  If you want your farmers to be experts in protecting the environment, food safety, technology, soil science, biology, the weather and the countless other areas they need to master – they have to be able to do this for a career.   They have to be able to afford to devote the time and money into educating themselves and improving their farming practices.

Someone recently commented on my blog that farmers “just do whatever the experts tell them”.  If you have ever met a farmer, you’ll know there probably is not one in existence that just does what someone tells them to do.  Farmers take great pride in making management decisions and they need the ability to spend the time and money to make educated choices. 

 4.       Profitable farms can focus on long term planning versus short term cash flow.   It’s popular to claim that farmers make management decisions based solely on increasing a single year's yields or increasing a single year’s profits.  The truth is some farms are forced to do that. 

Farms that have not been profitable in the past and are feeling that pressure can often be forced to make decisions that may lower input costs or increase cash flow in the short run.  This can result in some of the devastating stories we hear about mismanagement of animals or food on farms. 

Farms that are profitable can make decisions based on what is best for the long term.  A farmer’s long term is not his retirement – it’s his grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, taking over the farm. 


Financial stability allows farmers to make decisions that are best for soil health, animal health, the environments surrounding our farms and consumers.    Contrary to what internet activists will tell you, it's not in the industry's best interest to poison consumers.  

Sustainability on farms is a process with  many steps.  The first step, the foundation to any farm being sustainable, is to be profitable.  It’s time to stop making profit an evil word and start embracing it for our farmers and the industry!

Sustainability is a buzz word. Consumers often associate the word with very small or organic operations.  There are a lot of pieces to true sustainability, but nearly all farmers have the ultimate goal of leaving their farm to their children and grandchildren.  In fact, most farmers rank this as a priority over short term profit!

So how are we making that happen?  How are modern, large scale farms sustainable? How are farms far away from you suistanble?

I am going to explore what we do here at Uptown Farms over the next several weeks with #SustainabilitySundays!

The picture you are looking at above is showing two of the most exciting technologies on our farm - "no till" production and cover crop usage!

This week, let's look at "no till" farming!  

I see comments in online discussions about how farmers today are "too lazy" to plow their fields and just rely on chemical. Let's look at what is actually going on when you see a field that has not been plowed.

For years farmers thought it was necessary and beneficial to till or plow the soil prior to planting. Studies now show us this isn't true and that tillage, especially deep tillage, can really have adverse effects on our soil health as well as the soil organisms that we need for long term productivity.

Plowing can create what is called a "plow pan", which can stop water and root systems from being able to penetrate into the soil profile as effectively as they should.

Newer equipment and GMO technology allows us to maximize the benefit of "no till".

So in this picture you are seeing the remains of the 2014 corn harvest.  That "trash" serves a few purposes for us. 

First, it helps on top of the soil.  It keeps our soil covered which minimizes weed growth, helps to regulate soil temperature and helps to retain moisture in our soil. We take soil coverage even farther by using cover crops (discussed more next week).

Second, as the corn trash is slowly decomposed by our ever growing earth worm populations, it adds to the organic matter inside the soil profiles.  Organic matter (OM) provides food sources for the thousands of microorganisms that we need to exist in our dirt.  OM also helps control soil compaction and retain water within the soils!

Plowing does incorporate most of the OM into the soil, but in a much quicker period than the the slower and more natural process allowed by no till.

One of the most important benefits of no till is significant reduction of soil loss due to erosion and significant reduction of run off from chemical.  This allows for the safer and reduced application of chemicals to our farms.

So next time you see a field that looks like a farmer was to lazy to plow, now you know this is actually part of a long term soil health and conservation plan!

On top of the corn stubble, you are seeing cereal rye.  We do not harvest the rye for a cash crop here, but use it as a cover crop.  Our cover crops are planted after harvest and compliment the no till production.   They will be terminated either shortly before or after the cash crop (in this case it would have been soybeans) is planted.

To me, there is nothing more exciting than cover crop technology and I will discuss it more in depth next week!