For Chris and Dick Nissen, their farm was just not producing as they would have liked it to in the 1990s. “Yields were flat and we just weren’t making the gains we thought we should be”. So, knowing they needed to try something different from conventional tillage, they tried no-till. And, no-till was indeed the right move for their specific operation.
Like everyone else in their area, they used to heavily work their soils. They chisel plowed and disced in the fall, and then field cultivating and discing again in the spring ahead of the planting.
At the time, they didn’t have much tile drainage and they were relying on their surface drainage to manage the water they received from rains and to allow access to the fields. But they clay loam soils don’t drain very well, and the farming practices they were carrying out didn’t help the situation. By working their soil so heavily, they were creating a seal in their fields, preventing water from getting into their soils and moving off of their fields. They needed to change some things in their operation.
Their fields were “always wet”. Because of this, issues were created at planting and during the growing season which didn’t help their yield drought.
In the late 1990s, almost all of their equipment was needing replacing. So instead “of swapping it out for more conventional equipment, we purchased a Flexi-Coil air seeder and an 8-row Kinze no-till planter. We eliminated the expense of owning and disc and having to operate it, so that was good initial incentive. We were among the first to no-till in our area, so we weren’t sure how it would all turn out.”
Their first year of no-tilling their ground went smoothly. Rains were timely and they were able to get into the field right alongside their conventional till neighbors and their yields were comparable. The next couple of years, however, put them to the test. Wet springs came. Their neighbors could work the soil to dry it out, and they had to wait “an excruciating 3-4 weeks before we could get in the field. Though stressful, our crops those years ended up being even with everyone else’s in yield.”
Because of their no-till practices, their soil structure improved. They found that they could plant into wetter conditions than their neighbors who farmed conventional till. Their soils are strong, and they hold up the planter and tractor better.
In the year 2016, one of the Nissen’s was planting on river bottom ground (no one else could plant due to wet conditions) and he turned a little late and ended up in a field that bordered their field. He left 2-foot deep ruts in the bordering field, but when he came back into their field, “the tractor came right back up and I continued on”. This demonstrates the better soil conditions of the no-till field.
They have actively drain tiled a lot of their hill ground. “Tiling combined with the great soil structure no-till and cover crops provide seems to be working well for us.” In a wet season, they had 7 inches of rain and their tile was running full while conventional fields that were tiled were running about half and water could be seen standing in the rows.
Cover crops are something that the Nissens have worked into their system. They raise winter wheat so that gives them an opportunity to “seed a cover crop and get a lot out of it”. The first time they planted cover crops they had radishes, turnips, and lentils commercially drilled. The corn that was subsequently grown on those acres yielded 5 bushels more per acre “than adjacent fields with the same conditions, minus the cover crops. Since then we were pretty much sold on cover crops.”
They also noticed, that, in addition to yield, their corn stayed more green all summer long than where they hadn’t used a cover crop. “I think it was a combination of scavenging nitrogen (N) and keeping soil microbes fed and happy. Now we try to make sure we plant winter wheat strategically so we can get a cover crop on each acre every 3 years.”
Their cover crop mix “is now radishes, turnips, lentils, and forage peas. We also use this mix to help speed up recovery from installing tile.” They have some acres that are classified as wetlands and “cover crops have made a huge difference in managing water on those acres.”
Winter wheat, for the Dissen’s, has been a good commodity. They have “observed that we get significant jumps in our yields following wheat as opposed to just a corn-soybean rotation”. They used to sell straw from the wheat crop, since the commodity prices were low so they wanted to help offset that. In addition to selling straw, they lease the cover crop acres to a neighbor who grazes his cattle on the acres.
“Even with tile drainage, no-till and cover crops, we often end up planting into some fairly wet conditions due to the level of rain we receive”. Since they plant in wet conditions often, they have outfitted their planters accordingly. They have floating Martin row cleaners and MudSmith gauge wheels. The gauge wheels have centers that have large holes cut in them to prevent mud buildup.
The Nissen’s are happy with no-till. “Thanks to no-till, cover crops, and our diverse rotation, our farm is definitely out of its yield rut.”
https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/6203-what-ive-learned-from-no-tilling-no-till-cover-crops-and-wheat-pull-farm-out-of-a-yield-rut
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