THE POWER

OF CROP

ROTATIONS Dwayne Beck

DLRF

www.dakotalakes.com

PNDSA CONFERENCE 2014

Dakota Lakes Research Farm

• OWNED BY FARMERS

• BOTH IRRIGATION AND DRYLAND

• 100% LOW-DISTURBANCE NO-TILL

• PRODUCTION ENTERPRISE

PROFITS SUPPORT RESEARCH

1970

Average Wheat Price

in 1970 was $1.37/bu.

The Average price of a

barrel of oil was $3.39

In Minnesota where

tillage is king, it takes

slightly under 10 gallons

of diesel/acre for tillage,

seeding, and harvest.

It takes the energy of 1

gallon of diesel fuel to

manufacture, transport

and apply 5 lbs of N

If the Minnesota farmer

applies 150 lbs/acre of N,

the energy involved is

three times that used for

tillage, seeding, and

harvest.

Eighty Percent of the

total input costs in

agriculture can be

traced directly to

energy at the present

time.

120 years ago that was

essentially zero

In 120 years, it will have

to be zero again.

Cold-Pressed Oil Results

DLRF 2009 Crop This is about 60 to 80 gal/acre

Species Seed Meal Oil

Percent

Oil

Canola (napus) 2390 1714 625 26%

I AM A FARMER. I TAKE SUNLIGHT,

WATER, AND CARBON

DIOXIDE AND MAKE

THEM INTO PRODUCTS

THAT I CAN SELL.

Sustainable.

No-till.

Regenerative.

Organic.

Zero Till

Direct Seed

Cover Crops

Diversified Rotations

No till

The Key To Success

Define Beautiful

Woman

or

Handsome Man

Ethical Oil

We spend lots of time

trying to define what we

SHOULD DO or NOT

DO and little time

focusing on where we

want to be.

DETAILS NOT SYSTEMS

Consequently much of the

research and management effort is

devoted to optimizing a single

component (canola or corn

production) by using more and

more specialized treatments.

Reaction not Action

Instead of acting to get

where we want to be, we are

reacting to keep from going

where we do not want to be.

This is like trying to drive

down the highway by

looking at the edge of the

ditch. It works in a

blizzard but it is not

ideal.

There is no better time

than now to define where

you want to be and where

you want the Pacific

Northwest and agriculture

to be 200 years in the

future.

WHAT 30 YEARS OF

NO-TILL AND CROP

ROTATON WORK

HAVE TAUGHT ME

REMEMBER THAT I

AM A SLOW

LEARNER.

I HAVE LEARNED

MORE FROM

FARMERS THAN

THEY HAVE

LEARNED FROM

ME.

I HAVE LEARNED

MORE FROM

OBSERVING

NATURE THAN BY

TRYING TO

CHANGE IT.

1. NO-TILL IS JUST

ONE TOOL AMONG

MANY, THAT WE

USE TO HELP US

MANAGE OUR

ECOSYSTEM.

Adopt A

Crop Production

System

Residue

Disease

Pests

Soil Moisture

Varieties

Weeds

Rotation

Tillage

Adopt A

Crop

Productio

n

Syste

m

Residue

Disease

Pests

Soil Moisture

Varieties

Weeds

Rotation

Tillage

Farming System Components

• Cultural Practices

• Technology

• Management

CULTURAL PRACTICES

• TILLAGE

• ROTATION

• SANITATION

• COMPETITION

IN NATURE

TILLAGE IS A

CATASTROPHIC

EVENT

CULTURAL PRACTICES

• TILLAGE

• ROTATION

• SANITATION

• COMPETITION

• Proper Intensity

• Adequate Diversity

• Stable/Sustainable Profitability

Crop Rotations

ECOSYSTEM PROCESSES

• WATER CYCLE

• ENERGY FLOW

• MINERAL CYCLE

• COMMUNITY DYNAMICS

2. Farmers and

Ranchers harvest

sunlight, carbon

dioxide, and water to

produce products we

can sell.

Some of this is human food, we

need to be aware of nutrition

issues and off-site impacts.

If we want to eat beef, maybe

we should concentrate on

producing beef instead of corn

or barley that feeds beef in

feedlots.

3. Weeds and diseases

are Mother Nature’s

way of adding

diversity to a system

that lacks it.

Nature’s efforts to add

diversity can be

countered by adding

beneficial diversity to

the system.

DIVERSITY IN CROP TYPE

•Diversity in seeding date.

•Diversity in rooting pattern.

•Diversity in root architecture.

•Diversity in residue type.

•Diversity in insect pests.

DIVERSITY IN CROP TYPE

•Diversity in weed suppression.

•Diversity in micro organisms.

•Diversity in harvest date.

•Diversity in beneficials.

•Diversity in ………MORE.

The goal is to be

INCONSISTENT

in both sequence

and interval

Weed Seed Survival on Soil

Impact of Rotation & Low

Disturbance on Weed Seeds

Weed of Interest: Cheatgrass

Number of Weeds Previous: 10

Number of Seeds Per Weed: 100

Rotation Interval Vs.

Weeds

-2.0E+06

0.0E+00

2.0E+06

4.0E+06

6.0E+06

8.0E+06

1.0E+07

1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17

Years

Weed

s In

Millio

ns

1 Year Out

2 Years Out

2 In - 2 Out

Rotation Interval Vs.

Weeds

-2.0E+06

0.0E+00

2.0E+06

4.0E+06

6.0E+06

8.0E+06

1.0E+07

1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17

Years

Weed

s I

n M

illi

on

s

Continuous

2 In - 1 Out

2 In - 2 Out

2 In - 3 Out

2 In - 4 Out

CHEAT GRASS EFFECTS ON WHEAT YIELDS

AS INFLUENCED BY

ROTATION, SANITATION AND COMPETITION

WINTER WHEAT-CORN-BROADLEAF ROTATION

CHEAT PRESSURE (TREATMENT IN THE BROADLEAF CROP)

ARAPAHOE

KARL 92

High Pressure

(No Burndown; No Post)

50.8

31.9

Medium Pressure

(Burndown; No Post)

65.7

64.8

Low Pressure (Burndown and Post)

65.6

77.1

DAKOTA LAKES RESEARCH FARM-1996

Greenhouse Evaluation of ALS-resistance in

Cheat and Japanese Brome-Kansas 2007

Cheat Japanese brome

Susceptible Resistant Susceptible Resistant

population population population population

Product and Rate

(Oz/Acre)

Percent control

Olympus at 0.9 93 3 96 0

Maverick at 0.67 92 0 93 0

Beyond at 4 94 65 94 40

Does it Work ? (Field Trial)

Long-Term Rotation Study

Cool and Warm Season Crops

No-Till : Herbicides - Weed Control

Weed Density After 12 Years

(No Herbicides – Number of Weeds / m2)

94

40

7

0

25

50

75

100

W-CP W-C-CP Pea-W-C-SB

Weeds

(plts/m2)

Rotation Design < - > Weeds

4. High disturbance

techniques increase

weed pressure and

cause tillage erosion.

11

28

55

0

20

40

60

0 2 4

Depth in Soil (inches)

Live Seed (%)

Green Foxtail Survival in Soil

After 2 Years

2 Crop

Rotation

4 Crop

Rotation

2 vs 4

Contrast

Tilled Site 225 44 1/5

No-Till

Site 94 7 1/13

Rotation – Tillage Interaction

(No Herbicides – Weeds / m2)

• Tillage (disturbance) and Poor

Rotation gives 225 weeds/m2

• No-till and GOOD Rotation 7

weeds/m2

• That is 97% weed control

IF TILLAGE WAS GOOD

AT ELIMINATING

WEEDS, THEY SHOULD

ALL BE GONE BY NOW.

A

B

C

a) Uncultivated

A

B

C

a) cultivated, medium-term

A

B

C

b) cultivated, long-term

5. Sanitation,

Rotation, and

Competition are the

primary methods of

pest control.

Over-reliance on herbicides

leads to resistant weeds AND

maybe disease problems.

Using surfactants too

frequently may increase disease

issues.

Pesticides are only part of

sanitation, rotation, and

competition.

Fertilizer placement and

residue distribution are part of

competition.

Fertility Management • Some starter P with the seed.

• Other nutrients placed near row at seeding or on soil surface after crop canopy.

• broadcast fertilizer before or at seeding encourages weeds.

• Three key factors

– 1 Available Nutrient

– 2 Moisture

– 3 Roots

6. Proper nutrient

cycling is an extremely

important factor.

Ecosystems that leak nutrients for

extended periods become deserts.

Saline seeps are symptom of

improper nutrient and water cyc

ling.

Decreasing pH indicates leakage.

7. Developing proper

water cycling

information is

important.

Knowledge of the soil’s water holding

capacity characteristics is important.

Long-term rainfall data must be used.

Cover and forage crops are useful to

help fine-tune the system.

http://websoilsurvey.nr

cs.usda.gov/app/

ONIDA October 1.58

November 0.82

December 0.57

January 0.59

February 0.64

March 1.38

April 1.93

May 2.85

June 3.11

July 2.69

August 2.14

September 1.54

Annual 19.84

Take the

E out of

ET

ONIDA

Time Period

Total Precip

Fallow period

Crop Period

If 1/2 of normal

If 1 and 1/2 of normal

Long Fallow July to next Sept.

24.67

W Wheat fallow W Wheat

Wheat Maturity to Corn Maturity

12.34

37.01

Saline Seep

Formation

COVER and FORAGE

CROPS

Cover and forage crops provide the opportunity to increase both intensity and diversity in situations where production of a grain crop would not be possible, would be unprofitable, or would be excessively risky.

COVER CROPS

In humid environments (tall-grass prairie or wetter) the goal should be to have something growing at all times. In areas with a limited growing season this will require the use of cover crops and/or forage double crops.

COVER CROPS

In subhumid, semiarid, and arid environments cover crops can be utilized to increase organic matter and biological activity.

Irrigated Corn By Previous Crop

Wheat-Wheat-C-C-SB-SB rotation

2009 Dakota Lakes Res. Farm

Rotation N rate 0

lb

Yield

Bu/ac

N rate 36

Yield

Bu/ac

N rate 72

Yield

Bu/ac

N rate

108

Yield

Bu/ac

CC – lentil,

CVetch,

turnip

176.0 236.1 214.0 233.9

Nitrogen rate impact on yields

STN = 108 lbs/ac Yield goal = 220 bu/ac

CATCH AND

RELEASE

NUTRIENTS

COVER CROPS

If you get stranded in a rain on the back 40, do you drive home across the tilled field or the pasture?

PROPER INTENSITY

Crop insurance regulations impact the risk associated with differing rotational intensities.

8. There should be no

need to use a ground

engaging component ot

seed and fertilize

crops.

Clay seed balls.

“One Straw Revolution.”

Seed stakes, etc.

9. Livestock

integration will be

needed.

Nutrient cycling.

Rotational flexibility.

It must be automated and multi-species.

Chance for young people to enter.

10. Use of perennial

sequences or perennial

cover-crops will

probably be necessary.

Nutrient cycling.

Rotational flexibility.

Building organic matter.

Organic matter is the most

important factor in

determining the productivity of

a soil.

“Soil organic matter and available water capacity.” Hudson,

B.D. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation. 49:180–194.

1994

A small amount of organic

matter by weight has a big

impact on pore space because

it only weighs 1/5 as much for

the same volume.

“Within all textural groups, as

organic matter increased from

1 to 3%, the available water

capacity approximately

doubled. .

When organic matter content

increased to 4%, it then

accounted for more than 60%

of total AWC

.

Rotation Impact on W.Wheat

Dakota Lakes Research Farm Rotation Yield Precip*

Corn-Pea-WW 2006 60 7.9

SB-Corn-Pea-WW 2006 29

Corn-Pea-WW 2005 92 23.7

Sb-Corn-Pea-WW 2005 57

Corn-Pea-WW 2002 56 6.4

SB-Corn-Pea-WW 2002 28

Corn-Pea-WW

Sb-Corn-Pea-WW

Nutrients Lost by Removing Straw 75 bu/acre wheat or ½ of a 150 bu/acre corn crop

Nutrient Content in

Straw

Percent Lost

N 50 lbs/acre 100

P 5 lbs/acre 100

K 100 lbs/acre 100

CARBON 3000 lbs/a 100

ORGANIC

MATTER MAKES

A DIFFERENCE.

Adopt A

Crop Production

System

Residu

e

Disease

Pests

Soil Moisture

Varieties

Weeds

Rotatio

n

Tillag

e

Wheat Health Management Cook and Veseth

Savings might be expected in the amount of

fertilizer and irrigation water used in a 3-

year rotation, because of the healthier,

more functional root systems of plants

grown in soil sanitized by the rotation.

Wheat Health Management Cook and Veseth

Biological control of the soil and

residue-inhabiting pests of wheat is

accomplished by not growing wheat

……more frequently than every

second or third year.

Wheat Health Management Cook and Veseth

A change in cultural practice…….may

not pay off in the first 1 or 2 years, but

it will pay off over time.

Wheat Health Management Cook and Veseth

Each future wheat field is treated, to

the the extent possible, as an

ecosystem to be nudged rather than

shocked in a desired direction.

Wheat Health Management Cook and Veseth

Crop rotation is probably the single

most critical factor affecting the health

and productivity of a future wheat

crop.

Wheat Health Management Cook and Veseth

Crop rotation allows time for natural

enemies to destroy the pathogens of

one crop while……unrelated crops are

grown.

Wheat Health Management Cook and Veseth

Choose a sustainable economic

approach that optimizes productivity

while taking maximum advantage of,

or at least not upsetting nature’s own

contributions to the health of the

crop……

TAKE THE

E OUT OF

ET

TAKE THE

‘T OUT OF

CAN’T

A good treatment of

rotation types can be

found at:

www.dakotalakes.com

under publications

www.dakotalakes.com