No-Till

What is No Till?

No-till is a farming practice in which the seeds are directly placed into untilled soil which has retained the previous crop residues. Special no-till seeding equipment with discs open a narrow slot into the residue covered soil which is only wide enough to place the seeds into the ground and cover them back up with soil. The idea is to move as little dirt as possible in order to not disturb weed seeds and not expose the soil to undue evaporation. No other soil tillage operation is performed. The residues from the previous crops will remain mostly undisturbed at the soil surface as mulch. Check out the No-Till advantage quick link to learn more reasons why we choose this method.

Sprayer

To make the No-Till system work, our sprayer becomes the busiest implement on the farm to control weeds. This sprayer is equiped with a 100 foot boom and efficiently delivers product at 10-12 mph. Sensors in four locations on the sprayer boom detect spray height and keep them at a desired setting. We can also save on over-spraying as several boom sections will turn off over previously applied areas of the field. Depending on the application we can complete between 500 to 700 acres in one day.

Guidance technology advancements over the years have become paramount for modern day accuracy and operational efficiency. Line passes, mapping, and touch screen displays will give us all the information we need to maximize that efficiency. Furtharmore, when we fill our sprayer, we pull up to a semi nurse trailer system with equal accuracy. With the application recipe entered into an IPad, product delivery is calculated to where it will automically start the pump and draw out accurate measurments of each chemical, hands free. When the mix is loaded, the lines will be emptied with air pressure and the pump will shut down again.

Weather Permitting

Nebraska weather can make it challenging for the spraying process. We don’t spray when temperature exceed 90 degrees and when the wind exceed 10 miles per hour. A hand-held meter carried in the sprayer is used after each field is sprayed. This gives the information needed for our log book. The log book is filled out in every field on what was sprayed. We record the rate, field, farm, applicator ID, wind speed, wind direction, temperature, humidity, and acres sprayed. These records are not only required by the State of Nebraska, but are also very useful in billing and monitoring chemical performance. Also required is the pesticide applicator liscense number requried by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture.

Benefits

The benefits of no-till farming are economic as well as environmental. In time, this method will result in more organic matter in the soil. It will also decrease the amount of erosion, and ultimately more fertility, less fertilizer, and higher yields. No-till might not work as well in areas that receive 40 inches of annual rainfall or have a different soil makeup. However, in our area of silt loam soils and 20 inches of rainfall on average, it has proven to be very effective.