2015 Logan County Farm Outlook Magazine Lincoln Daily News.com March 26, 2015 27
Thompson did share one practice he uses with a
possible draw back. He dresses his crops with potash
on the surface without tilling it in, which is then
subject to being washed away.
At a Field Day hosted by Illinois Stewardship Alliance
in Atlanta last fall, Dr. Bill Becker ‘the Crop Dr.’
explained several measures he uses for building soils.
He has been researching soil structure for 30 years
and has found that less disturbed soils provide a better
balance of micronutrients and less need for pricey
NPK fertilizers.
According to University of Illinois economist, Gary
Schnitkey, NPK fertilizer costs have been coming
down from a high of $200 an acre in 2012 and may
continue to come down.
Even so, fertilizer is the single largest direct input cost
at an estimated $140 on projected $357 an acre.
Improving soil structure leads to healthier root
systems, thereby healthier plant material, and higher
yields, while lowering the amount of chemical
controls for pests and diseases and how much fertilizer
is needed.
Yet, according to the 2012 Agricultural Census,
8,355,327 acres (more than half) in Illinois are
conventional tilled.
Steve Bracey, Resource Conservationist with the
Logan County Soil and Water Conservation District
said in regard to fall tillage, “We like to see farmers
leave as much residue as possible in the fall so there
will be some protection present for spring planting.”
“Soil loss can occur in any month of the year but is
typically highest in the spring of the year. In recent
years we have seen a lot of damage occur in the late
winter months as frost is still present in the ground and
we have a large snowmelt or a 1-2” rain event.”
The SWCD conducts a tillage transect survey of
Logan County every two to three years. What crop
was planted and an estimate of how much residue was
present is checked at 550 points. The acres of no-till
corn have decreased slightly, while the acres of no-till
soybeans have increased.
Conventional tillage is defined as the ground surface
having less than 15 percent residue on it.
Logan County 2013 Transect results:
Conventional till -
The transect survey in 2013 indicated that seven
percent of the points that were planted to corn and 0%
of the soybean points were planted with conventional
tillage.
No till -
In contrast, 46 percent of the soybean points were
planted to no-till, while 22 % of the corn fields
checked were no-till.
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