In this, the final video on weeds, we spent a little time with no-tillers Matt Bainbridge, Al Miron and Ralph Holzwarth and got them to tell their stories about how their no-till, diverse rotation systems were doing with weeds, and how this affected some of their costs to cope with weeds. The message we received…
Crop Rotations for Weed Management (Part 3)
Crop rotations for weed management? At first glance, it doesn’t seem possible. We know, however that in our previous videos, Dr. Anderson showed us how (1) no-till reduces weed prevalence and (2) how he verified this idea experimentally. In this third video, Dr. Anderson discusses why rotating cool season crops into our warm season rotations…
Weed Seed Emergence in Conventional and No-Till Fields (Part 2)
In our previous video, Dr. Randy Anderson walked us through the various fates of the weed seed in conventional and no-till fields. In this video, the theory comes alive as he discusses the results of a three year study he did in comparing conventional and no-till weed seedling emergence.
Fate of the Weed Seed in Conventional and No-Till Soils (Part 1)
In a world where technology offers a quick fix to our weed problems, but inevitably leaves us with unintended consequences, the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Brookings, SD, Dr. Randy Anderson offers an approach to weed science that says “wait a minute”, what are we doing? In our systems to encourage or reduce weed proliferation…
Weeds: A Chemical or an Ecological Problem?
We introduce the idea of weeds, and touch on how the production agricultural model views weeds. As the first in the Merit or Myth series on weeds, we’d like to introduce an alternative way of viewing weeds namely, to understand their ecological role as the “scabs” or “ambulance workers” of the land. The natural job…
Soil Infiltration: What Do South Dakota Farmers Say?
While research showing that tillage actually reduces infiltration into the soil, and that cover crops actually enhance infiltration is proven, the refrain of “it won’t work here” is nevertheless often heard when it comes to applying soil health principles. This is not unique to South Dakota, soil health, nor to farming, but this phenomenon is…
Infiltration: The Effects of Tillage, Cover Crops and Manure
This spring (2017) SDSU Extension’s Anthony Bly and farmer, or shall we say “citizen scientist,” Al Miron got together to look at the influence of tillage, cover crops and manure on infiltration in a number of fields in Minnehaha County, SD. They compared soils in two long term (9 year) no-till fields, two conventionally tilled fields…
Infiltration Through Soil Profiles Under Three Different Farming Systems (Part 2)
Dr. Tom Schumacher, SDSU, (Retired) walks us through the experimental setup he used with large rainfall simulators, the type developed for the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE), on three different tillage systems. The data Dr. Tom discusses is based on experimental runs conducted four years after this land was taken out of CRP and then…
Infiltration Through Soil Profiles Under Three Different Farming Systems (Part 1)
Dr. Tom Schumacher, Retired, SDSU, walks us through the experimental setup he used with large rainfall simulators, the type developed for the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE), on three different farming systems to evaluate soil infiltration. The data Dr. Tom discusses is based on experimental runs conducted four years after this land was taken out…
Dr. Tom Schumacher Discusses Soil Architecture
While soils are made up of solid materials (sand, silt, clay and organic materials), Dr. Tom Schumacher, SDSU (retired) shows us how important soil structure or soil architecture is for soil hydrologic function, i.e., making water infiltrate and keeping water for the next crop. Natural soils have an architecture that includes a diversity of interconnected…