Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883

Wide Row Corn Demonstration: Potential Soil and Water Quality Benefits

In January 2020, the Eddy County Soil Conservation District (SCD) held a series of shop talks with local farmers and ranchers. A subject that generated interest from producers was 60-inch corn rows combined with cover crops to improve soil health and potential profitability.

The SCD expressed interest in developing 3-5 demonstration sites throughout the county to the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality (NDDEQ) Nonpoint Source Pollution Management Program. And with that, the Eddy County Wide Row Corn Demonstration was born. The SCD, assisted by Watershed Management Program staff, developed a proposal for five demonstration sites. Producers would be compensated for the use of 40 acres of their land in exchange for their participation for three years.

Producers were asked to track their expenses and necessary cropping data to answer questions about yield and profitability.

Due to extreme weather in 2019 and 2020, planting got off to a slow start, and one plot had to be moved due to wet field conditions. Cover crops were seeded in mid-June, approximately in the fourth to fifth leaf stage.

Other cover crop details:

• Cover crops were seeded with an inter-seeder and air drill.

• Three producers planted at a 5-degree angle to the corn rows, and two producers kept the cover crop strictly in the 60-inch in space.

• Cover crop mixes were unique to each grower: from a nine-way mix of Winfred Brassica, Mancan Buckwheat, Cowpeas, Crimson Clover, Purple Top Turnip, Graza Radish, Sun Hemp, Jerry Oats and Annual Ryegrass; to a three-way mix of turnips, radishes and oats.

• One grower used a garden vegetable mix of carrots, peas, beans, pumpkin and cucumbers.

• Growers varied in their seeding demonstration sites.

Fields were checked on June 23, and follow up visits were conducted on July 15 and August 4.

While the condition of the corn ranged from fair to excellent, the cover crops were more diverse. At two sites, the covers were planted in good moisture, emerged and then suffered two weeks with no moisture, taking a heavy toll. Another site received little moisture after the corn germinated and yielded a patchy crop and cover crop. The vegetable garden cover crop produced picking and lemon cucumbers, beans, peas and more that were sold to local consumers.

The entire purpose of the Wide Row Corn Demonstration project is learning through doing:

• if the crazy idea will work in central North Dakota,

• if it can be as profitable when adding in forage value and soil health improvements,

• if seeding methods make a difference, and

• if yields will be comparable to standard rows.

A summary of lessons learned, year one will be coming this winter.

For more information about the NPS Pollution Management Program, please call (701) 328-5210 or visit http://www.tinyurl.com/WMPNPS.

Editor’s Note: This article is reprinted with permission from North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality. It was first published in the September 2020 issue of “North Dakota Water”.

 
 
Rendered 03/20/2024 22:59