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 2009 WHIRLWIND
No-till EXPO
June
30th, 2009
Holton, KS
Henry and William Hill Farm
3 miles north of Holton on Highway 75, then 4 miles east on Road 254
Join us for this summer event
which will provide farmers with ways to increase profitability, gain better
agronomic understanding of soils and their reactions to fertility, improve water
quality, and also increase efficiency with new rotations and sequencing of
crops.
The Whirlwind No-till Expo is set
for June 30 near Holton, Kansas with power-packed hands-on learning featuring
expert speakers as well as experienced local no-tillers from the area. The
day-long event will begin at 9:00 a.m. at the Henry and William Hill
farm 3 miles north of Holton on Highway 75, then 4 miles east on Road 254.
The Expo will feature soil pits
on-site and in-the-field demonstrations. This will be an excellent opportunity
to see the rainfall simulator in action and witness the impact that continuous
no-till practices have on soil. After a morning of in-the-field demonstrations
and talks, attendees will have the opportunity to enjoy a catered lunch along
with speaker presentations at the Evangel United Methodist Church Family Living
Center (227 Pennsylvania, Holton KS).
Sponsored in part by:
WRAPS (Watershed Restoration and
Protection Strategy)
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has
provided financial assistance to this project through EPA Section 319 Nonpoint
Source Pollution Control Grant #2006-0096 and Kansas Water Plan Funds.
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Featured Speakers |
Schedule |
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 Ray Ward
is president and co-owner of Ward Laboratories,
Inc. since 1983. He holds numerous memberships in scientific
and honorary academic societies and organizations. His goals for
agriculture and agronomy are to help production agriculture use its
resources as efficiently as possible, to provide information and data for
developing the best use of soil and water resources while maintaining
environmental quality, to be involved in “value-added” agriculture, and to
provide accurate laboratory data for managing production enterprises.
 Paul
J. Jasa serves
as an Extension Engineer, University of Nebraska. Paul develops
and conduct educational programs related to No-till equipment and
system management. He has been
working with planting equipment and tillage system evaluation at the
University since 1978. With the experiences gained from research and
Extension activities, he has become a good source of information in the
Midwest on No-till planting equipment and system management. If there is a
mistake to be made with No-till, he has either made it himself or has seen
it done. More importantly, he has learned from those mistakes and
wants to share that information in presentations that stress the systems
approach and the long-term benefits of No-till.
 Keith Berns, Producer, Bladen, NE
Keith (on the left) and his brother
Brian experimented with over 20
different cover crop types and mixes planted into wheat stubble and will
share their findings and thoughts on crop growth, nitrogen fixation,
moisture usage, and grazing utilization of cover crops. Soil
moisture sensors were installed in cover crop plots to measure water usage
and the results may surprise you! Cover crops experimented with
include: lentils, vetch, soybeans, mung beans, milo, dwarf esse
rapex, Ethiopian cabbage, turnips, radishes, hybrid brassicas, millets,
and a variety of mixes. Cow-calf
pairs were also grazed on 50 acres of cover crops this past year.
 Cover
Crop Research Website
Cover Crops article in Nebraska
Farmer
Some Assembly Required
- Featured Farmer article in Leading Edge
Lyle Frees, Salina, KS Water Quality Specialist
Lyle is native Kansan. He was born and raised on a
wheat, milo and cattle farm in central Kansas. After
graduating from Fort Hays State University, he began working for the
Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly SCS). Lyle has worked at
several locations in central and western Kansas as District
Conservationist of NRCS. Lyle currently is a Resource Conservationist at
the NRCS State Office in Salina.
 Gail
Fuller, Producer - Emporia, KS
Gail Fuller has been experimenting with
no-till since the mid-1980’s and has been has been 100% no-till since
1995. He dryland farms on loams and silty loams with approximately 32” of
annual rainfall. Gail owns a small feedlot and is starting to incorporate
livestock, intensive grazing, and cocktails into his no-till system. In
his presentation he will discuss cover crops and his experiences with a
wide variety of them that he has tried over the past 10 years. Gail has
been president of Flint Hills Beef Hills Fest three times and has served
on the board for 17 years. His son and daughter are currently students at
KSU, and that consumes quite a bit of his spare time.
 Dave Hallauer,
K-State Extension
Dave is the District Extension Agent in
Crops and Soils and Horticulture. David graduated from Kansas State
University in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science. He
has worked in a diversity of programming areas with varying groups. His
Extension programs have focused on beef cattle, general horticulture, and
row crops, including the Jefferson County Crop Demonstration Plot program.
Dave will be present at the Expo to assist local producers with cover
crops questions and concerns.
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8:00 a.m. Registration
8:45 a.m. Welcome
9:15 a.m. Rainfall Simulator / Soil
Quality
Lyle Frees and Jim McDowell, USDA NRCS
Paul Jasa,
Extension Engineer, UNL Extension
 No-till
Soil pit
Dr. Ray Ward, Owner, Ward Laboratories
Paul Jasa, Extension Engineer, UNL
Crop Rotations/Cover Crops
Keith Berns, Bladen, NE
Dave Hallauer, KSU Extension
Lunch / afternoon
program at the Evangel United Methodist Church
Kansas Cover Crop Experience –
Gail Fuller, Emporia, KS
producer
Fertility –
Ray Ward
Importance of Stand Establishment/No-till Equipment –
Paul Jasa
Thank you to William
and Henry Hill for being the Cooperating farmers for this No-till On the
Plains event!
William Hill and his son
Henry were both born and raised in Jackson County. The Hill farm has been
in their family for over 100 years and has been no-tilled for 30 years.
William started no-tilling in the early 1970's. They typically experience
wet springs and dry summers in gumbo-type soil. Their typical rotations
vary but mainly consist of corn>wheat>soybeans>alfalfa>sunflowers. The
Hills chose no-till to help reduce erosion, and they have experienced
saving time, fuel, soil and moisture. They see the greatest challenge in
continuing under no-till over the next 3-5 years to be the prices of
inputs.
 
The following pictures show cover crop test plots
that we will be viewing during the field day
(click any picture for a larger view).
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Here are the compositions of the cover
crops planted on Henry Hill's farm!
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Mixture # 1 |
Lbs |
% by weight |
Seeds/lb |
Seeds per acre |
% by # of seeds |
Cost per pound |
Cost per 1,000 seeds |
Cost per acre |
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Legumes |
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69% |
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37% |
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$10.58 |
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Lentils |
6.6 |
33% |
20,000 |
132,231 |
26% |
$0.800 |
$0.04 |
$5.29 |
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Mung Beans |
3.3 |
17% |
8,000 |
26,446 |
5% |
$0.400 |
$0.05 |
$1.32 |
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Common Vetch |
4.0 |
20% |
8,000 |
31,736 |
6% |
$1.000 |
$0.13 |
$3.97 |
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Grasses |
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22% |
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28% |
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$2.62 |
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Sorghum Sudan |
3.3 |
17% |
20,000 |
66,116 |
13% |
$0.500 |
$0.03 |
$1.65 |
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Pearl Millet |
1.1 |
6% |
70,000 |
78,678 |
15% |
$0.860 |
$0.01 |
$0.97 |
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Brassicas |
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6% |
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32% |
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$4.29 |
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Ethiopian Cabbage |
0.5 |
3% |
150,000 |
79,339 |
15% |
$3.650 |
$0.02 |
$1.93 |
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Dwarf Essex Rape |
0.7 |
3% |
130,000 |
85,950 |
17% |
$2.000 |
$0.02 |
$1.32 |
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Oilseed Radish |
0.5 |
2% |
25,000 |
12,397 |
2% |
$2.100 |
$0.08 |
$1.04 |
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Total |
20 |
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512,893 |
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$17.49 |
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Mixture # 2 |
Lbs |
% by weight |
Seeds/lb |
Seeds per acre |
% by # of seeds |
Cost per pound |
Cost per 1,000 seeds |
Cost per acre |
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Legumes |
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72% |
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48% |
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$8.46 |
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Lentils |
6.6 |
33% |
20,000 |
132,231 |
41% |
$0.800 |
$0.04 |
$5.29 |
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Soybeans |
7.9 |
39% |
3,000 |
23,802 |
7% |
$0.400 |
$0.13 |
$3.17 |
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Grasses |
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20% |
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17% |
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$0.66 |
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Sorghum Sudan |
0.7 |
3% |
20,000 |
13,223 |
4% |
$0.500 |
$0.03 |
$0.33 |
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Milo |
3.3 |
16% |
13,000 |
42,975 |
13% |
$0.100 |
$0.01 |
$0.33 |
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Brassicas |
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8% |
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34% |
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$2.61 |
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Canola |
0.7 |
3% |
130,000 |
85,950 |
27% |
$0.800 |
$0.01 |
$0.53 |
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Oilseed Radish |
1.0 |
5% |
25,000 |
24,793 |
8% |
$2.100 |
$0.08 |
$2.08 |
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Total |
20.17 |
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322,975 |
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$11.74 |
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Past Whirlwind
Tours
Click on any picture for a
larger view! |
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Three soil pits were available for viewing, and
producers were able to actually get down in the pit and examine the
soil along with expert speakers NRCS National Agronomist Mike Hubbs,
Canadian soil scientist Jill Clapperton, Dr. Ray Ward of Ward Labs,
and Paul Jasa of the University of Nebraska/Lincoln.
Fullerton, NE 2006 |
Fullerton, NE 2006 |
Almost
300 producers attended this day-long event.
Fullerton, NE 2006 |
Fullerton, NE 2006 |
"The Whirlwind
Expo was a great opportunity for growers to interact in a casual
atmosphere with people who have no till experience and know-how, and
to learn in a hands-on way how no tillage improves soil structure,
water and air infiltration, and creates that great habitat for both
the crop plants and the soil critters."
Dr. Jill Clapperton
Fullerton, NE 2006 |
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Marion, KS 2006 |
Marion, KS 2006 |
Marion, KS 2006 |
Marion, KS 2006 |
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Ray Ward shows Keith and Brian Berns the benefits of No-till soil
structure. Bladen, NE 2007 |
Dryland corn No-tilled into wheat stubble
Bladen, NE 2007 |
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Dryland corn No-tilled into sod
Bladen, NE 2007 |
Double crop soybeans (planted 6/27) into irrigated wheat stubble.
Wheat made 90 bu and beans made 45 bu......
Bladen, NE 2007 |
Pender, NE 2007 |
Pender, NE 2007 |
Pender, NE 2007 |
Pender, NE 2007 |
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No-till on the Plains, Inc. would like to thank
William
and Henry Hill for providing
their
farms as the official site for the Whirlwind Expo.
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