Teaching Flat Ryan About Cover Crops

FlatRyan is the brainchild of a few fabulous agvocates who took over the Agriculture Proud blog while Ryan is finishing his Master’s degree. You can read all about it and learn how to participate here. This blog post first appeared on Agriculture Proud on September 18th.

On the last day of August, #FlatRyan got in on a little cover crop planting on our farm. Saturday was pretty warm for Minnesota standards, but it was a good day to get some work done.  We do things a little differently than most of our neighbors, which sometimes leads to many questions. We farm organic row crops, so we follow different rules. One of those rules is a three crop rotation.  Each year, we have approximately one-third field corn, one-third soybeans, and one-third small grain (wheat, and a mix of barley & field peas).  We use cover cropping to help lock in nutrients, for weed control, and to prevent soil erosion.

The field we were working in had been a barley and field pea field.  The barley and peas had been harvested, the straw baled, and manure applied for next year’s corn crop.  The manure was worked into the soil with a deep till chisel plow before we seeded oats with a broadcast spreader. The oats were worked in with the field cultivator, which was set to go only an inch or two deep.  We were then ready to try something we’ve never done before.

#FlatRyan, Pongo the Rat Terrier, and I took the Ranger across the road to check in with Jonathan and see how he was doing.

Pongo Meeting Flat Ryan

We have been seeding Tillage Radish with our oats for a few years. Tillage Radish is different from the radishes you grow in your garden. A Tillage Radish has a pretty strong tap root that can break up compacted layers in the soil. The root keeps nutrients locked up over the winter, and when the plant dies, it leaves a hole the size of the radish that the corn plant’s roots will be able to use to grow bigger.

Tillage Radish and Full Size Sharpie
Tillage Radish and Full Size Sharpie

Last year, we attended a cover cropping seminar, and heard about a study that was being done where they planted the Tillage Radish seed with the corn planter, using sugar beet plates.  To us, it made total sense. Using GPS mapping in the tractor, we have the capability of planting the corn directly over the rows that we planted the Tillage Radish in. We weren’t sure exactly how well it would work, or if the Precision Planting system would be able to accurately measure how many seeds per acre we were planting.  This is where #FlatRyan joined us.

When Jonathan got to the end, we needed to check the planter boxes to see if he was planting the correct number of seeds per acre.  Here, #FlatRyan is looking to see how much seed is left in the first box. FlatRyan2 carolyncares

It was decided that Jonathan needed more seed, so #FlatRyan, Pongo, and I headed to the seed shed in the yard. Many of our bags are white with no markings, so reading a seed tag is important. Tillage Radish comes in colorful bags, so they were easy to spot.

FlatRyan3 carolyncares

We loaded a couple of bags into the back of the Ranger, and went back across the road to meet the planter once again.

FlatRyan4 carolyncares

Jonathan split the 50 pounds of seed between the 16 boxes, and we put the other bag in the rock box. We still weren’t sure how much would be needed to finish this field. #FlatRyan was so excited by how well the planter was working to plant the radish seeds that he was kicking up his heels!

FlatRyan5 carolyncares

Not long after Jonathan finished planting this field, the clouds rolled in, and we were blessed with ½ inch of rain!

FlatRyan6 carolyncares

This is how the field looked 10 days after we planted the Tillage Radish. Looks like both the oats and the radish are off to a good start!

radish seedling carolyncares

After #FlatRyan’s weekend with us, Jonathan and I seeded and planted our wheat fields the same way. In the last field, we planted 46 acres of Tillage Radish like we did in the barley and pea field. We were racing with the rain on the last day, so we decided to broadcast seed the oats and Tillage Radish on the remaining 100 acres. Then, for good measure, we left about 8 acres as a check strip. That way, we have all three methods in one field.  Next spring we will till the field with the field cultivator, which will disturb the decayed matter and small weeds on the surface, but will preserve the channels created by the Tillage Radish.

We hope #FlatRyan had fun helping us with our experiment! This is one experiment that will take a long time to see the results, but in the meantime, it does keep the neighbors guessing about what we’re up to!

To see more of Flat Ryan’s adventures, click here. He’s had a lot of fun, and has learned some amazing things so far!

Photography Lesson – Learn From My Mistake!

I have been working on learning my Canon 60D since I received it for my birthday almost 2 years ago. I have asked photographer friends for advise, read blogs, and subscribed to a free online photography “school”. I know that I am improving, just by looking at some of my first ever photos from a DSLR camera.

Every once in awhile, I think I have it figured out…then I mess up big time, and am humbled once again. That’s what happened this weekend. I was getting ready for church, when a neighbor called to see if I was still at home. She let me know that two deer were in my front yard – a doe and her fawn.

I quickly peeked out my bedroom window, and saw them moving towards our apple tree. I ran into the kitchen, where I keep my camera, and snapped a couple of photos. I had my 17-50 mm lens on (my utility lens), and I wasn’t getting in close enough. I quick changed to my 55-250 mm lens, and snapped away. I looked at one photo and noticed that they were a little dark.

First photos were too dark
First photos were too dark

I quickly adjusted the ISO, and turned the dial to adjust the aperture. I continued to watch the deer move across the lawn, getting closer to the house. I kept shooting away after moving out to the living room where I have huge windows that are great for stealth photography. My heart jumped when the fawn got spooked and leaped into the air. I had gotten a great shot…so I thought. After they moved out of sight, I hurried over to the computer to download the photos. I wanted to cry.

A missed opportunity
A missed opportunity

What did I do wrong? I didn’t double check the creative modes that my camera was set on. I had forgotten to change the camera from manual mode, which I have set up for sunset photos. I typically change out of manual mode after I return to the house when I am done shooting a sunset so the camera is ready for whatever comes up. Taking the half second to look at the dial would have meant the difference between regret and really fun photos.

All was not lost. Fortunately, I was able to salvage some photos in Photoshop. To be honest, though, I hate editing photos. My goal is always to shoot well enough that editing is not necessary. Do you have any photography tips that you learned through mistakes? Leave them in the comments below!

Here is one I was able to salvage.

Doe and Fawn
Doe and Fawn

 

 

 

Throwback Thursday – Thankful for Modern Tractors!

Tillage Equipment
Two Horsepower

I am so thankful for tractors with cabs and climate control systems! Not to mention the GPS system and autosteer.