[ Music ] >> I remember the day that everything I
understood about soils began to change. It was the day I met Ray Archuleta. I wanted to talk to him about no-till equipment,
but he pointed me in a different direction. >> It is not about the equipment. It's about the understanding. The most important thing about it is
understanding how your soil system functions. That's number one. >> Now the soil functions that
farmers care about are the supply of water and nutrients to their crop. Soil ecologists tell us that 90% of these
functions are dependent on soil biology. >> There's this movement through the country
where people are realizing, "You know what? If we farm nature's way,
we start saving on inputs." Does nature disrupt itself? It doesn't do that, and if you
can learn the principles -- I call them the keys to the soil health. It is limit disturbance; cover the soil all
the time with diversity, diversity, diversity; have a live root growing all the time. That's what nature does. >> To be honest, the skeptic inside
of me did not quite believe Ray. But he began to introduce me to veterans of
this movement, real farmers like Ray Styer, Gabe and Paul Brown, and Dave Brandt, and
they all seemed to be singing his song. >> It seems to be that the more
species you have growing together, the diversity of your cover
crop, the better it is. >> We have quite the diversity in our cropland. Twenty-five different species
we've grown this year, both in cover crop combinations
and for cash crops. >> Today at this farm, we
have 20 different covers. We have them in five-way blends, seven-way
blends, eight-way blends, and ten-way blends. >> It took me a while to realize that
these farmers were imitating nature's way by using diverse cover crops, and by doing that they were meeting three
of those four soil health keys. My "aha" moment happened in
a corn stand in North Dakota. >> This side did not have
compost, and it did not have tea. There is no commercial fertilizer on any of it. This side is running purely off the
energy of last year's cover crop. These four corn fields are probably
one of the best examples of the power of diversity that I can show you. The power of diversity is extremely strong. Now had we come out here last year
and planted a monoculture out here, and tried to drive this corn
off of a monoculture, I suspect this wouldn't look quite like it does. >> Oh, look at that. >> Now I could put you to sleep by talking
about a recent paradigm shift in soil science that will change the face of
agriculture, but I have a better idea. You see, I met three farmers who saw what I
saw in North Dakota, and they acted on it. And that started a small
revolution in their home county. This is the story of their rookie
years in diverse cover crops. [ Music ] >> My name's Nathan Lowder, I'm the
District Conservationist here in Stanly and Montgomery County, and I also have
a farming interest in the county also where we have beef cows and row crop production. >> I'm Curtis Furr. I'm from Stanly County, North Carolina. >> John Pickler of Low Creek Farms. >> We grow corn. >> Soybeans. >> Cotton. >> My biggest crop is the cotton. I have somewheres in the
850-acre range of cotton. >> We raise a lot of corn for cutting purposes. >> Possibly this year we
might grow some popcorn. It's been since the late '60 early
'70's we've been no-tilling here. >> Actually, my farm is the
complete no-till system. Don't use any type of incorporation. >> We've been no-tilling in the neighborhood
of 35 years, and we like no-tilling. It saves us a lot of time. We can get over to ground faster. We feel that's the way to go. You know, we got to save every bit of
moisture because we don't never know when the dry spell's going to hit us. And all our acres were dryland
acres; no irrigation. [ Music ] >> My sense is that most farmers viewed
cover crops as an erosion control measure. Nice, but expensive, and a
hassle, and certainly not an asset. >> We used the cover crops behind
low residue producing crops. A lot of time, wheat was used just
because it was so readily available, a little bit of oats, some Triticale, some rye. >> We've been growing cover crops
for several years now, off and on, but we weren't quite getting what we felt
like we needed as far as the right kind of mix and the right kind of cover. It was either getting it all rye or
too much -- too much of one thing. >> We always saw the opportunity that we
could include something to these cover crops to help get us some additional
nutrients for our next crop. But in years past, inputs were relatively
cheap -- I'm not going to say cheap, but you could afford to buy them so that
opportunity was never really sought out. >> But things began to change,
especially around 2008. >> Well, it's a known fact, with
fuel going to $4.00 to $5.00, we're seeing higher fertilizer cost, and any
way that we could shave off some of the expense of some of the fertilizer, we're
going to have to find those ways. >> This meant that these hard-nosed businessmen
became more receptive to the new paradigm that views soils as ecosystems rather
than black boxes or chemistry sets. >> I sat through Ray's meeting at the Ag
Civic Center down here in Stanly County. >> Ah, now we're getting to it. Oh, my goodness; it's the soil biology. You mean those little arthropods,
the bacteria, the fungus, all these critters make organic matter. Oh, by the way, you can't have the
soil biology without the plants, and the plants need the microbes. Doesn't the soil look beautiful? Who would have thought the soil
would look something like that? Our job, landowners, is to manage that habitat
right here, that pore space, and keep it intact. >> My first impression of Ray, I
thought, "Boy, this man's crazy." But the more I listened to him, I decided
he'd probably forgot more than I'll ever know about cover crops, and then he asked me and
John to go with him out to North Dakota. >> When I went to North Dakota,
it was real eye opening because those guys are working
with limited moisture. They're looking at 12 inches of
actual rainfall throughout a year, and they were growing some good
crops with that kind of moisture. And the only way you're going to be able
to grow crops is conserve your moisture. Why wouldn't it work when
we're in an area that's -- in a normal year we have 40 inches of rain? But my deal is I want to drought-proof
the ground as good as I can. >> With the expense I've already had
with cover crops, and going out there and seeing what they have done, just, you
know, I thought, "There ain't no excuse that we can't use this in North Carolina." >> As far as Curtis and John were
concerned, there was not a moment to be lost. >> That was the first of September, and
actually, we needed to be planting three weeks from that so we had to go ahead
and get our seeds lined up. >> Of course, me and Ray and
John got separated at the airport because our flights were different. I sat down and figured out how
many acres I was going to have, and what I needed, and called home. And I had the seed ordered before I
got home from North Dakota that year. >> We got the seeds lined up, and
we had a good stand last year. We had a heck of a cover crop. [ Music ] >> The seeds they lined up with
the typical species you'd find in a standard cool season
cocktail for the southeast. >> We had some rye. >> Hairy vetch. >> Crimson clover. >> Purple-top turnips. >> Daikon radishes. >> Winter peas, gosh, we had
a lot of cover last year. >> Of course, that's not the only mix. Farmers across the country have become very
creative in the way they introduce diversity into their land, based on their resource
needs, the season, and the crop rotation. Now when it comes to planting cover
crops, I'm going to go with the advice that Dave Brandt gives to his fellow farmers. >> I think sometimes we tend
to worry too much about it. You know, I think we try to be too professional
because we're trying to worry about corn and beans, and making sure everything's right. Well, the opinion I have on cover
crops is if you've got good weather and decent soil conditions,
just get it out there. It seems to grow whether it comes out of
an airplane, or of a spinner spreader, or of a drill or a planter -- so
I guess there's no magic formula. Just get it done and get it out there. >> In our situation, we've actually
broadcasted these cover crops, just using a traditional three-point hitch
spreader, and have been successful in doing that on a smaller scale in our operation. >> The first year we did it we used John's
sprayer and sprayed and used a spin spreader, but for some reason we got streaks in it. We're not sure what happened there, but in
the fall of 2011 we defoliated the cotton with one sprayer, and then took the boom off the
other, and put a pendulum back and forth motion to spreader on, and that seemed to work great. >> We decided this fall we did not broadcast. We put 800 acres in the ground
this year with the drill. But it's also according to how your seasons run. I mean, the guys that maybe throwed it out
broadcast it this fall, we had plenty of rain in the fall which that was a big
help on the broadcasting side. In fact, there were some days that we
couldn't run because it was too wet, so we did hold off a few days
of planting because of rain. So -- but that's one of those things, you know. That's called farming, you know. >> There was no additional fertilizer added
to those cover crops for establishment. They were just picking up off of
residual N, and also any nitrogen that they were making while growing the legumes. [ Music ] Establishing these early, and then
terminating them late in the growing season, usually when other producers have already
planted their crops, allows the rye to get very, very tall, usually six feet or higher. So we saw a -- I'm not going to say a problem -- but we saw a challenge as far as
planting into that residue being so big. But we adapted, overcame, and
have been successful with that. Last year was the first year that we
actually rolled any cover crops down, but we saw the benefits of what you could
do if you rolled it completely down. I let the rye get to soft dough stage, so as
soon as it was snapped, it was terminated. But since we were not using a
roller crimper, then we would have to use a herbicide to burn down the legumes. >> When we were doing the wheat cover crops,
we didn't have to worry about rolling it. You know, we would just plant right into it. This rye's a different animal. You've got so much more biomass there,
you've got to get it to the ground. And it's a lot easier as far
as being able to see to plant. I would think it would be
easier as far as the coulters and row planters to cut in it with it standing. I'll be honest. Our cover crop was so tall last year, we could
not have planted it if we hadn't rolled it down. >> The timing of the burn-down application
differs for Nathan, John, and Curtis. Their reasons are both practical
and a matter of preference. For example, Nathan's sprayer
is too small to get over the top so he has to spray once it's rolled. >> For our sprayer, we didn't have any
trouble getting over the top of it. We have a high-clearance sprayer. >> We were putting more water down in
there, and we were running high pressure, and we actually slowed up some, too. We slowed up our water pressure to
get more water to blow it down in it. And I would terminate these crops probably
about two to three days in front of the roller. We can get a better kill with the
crops while they're still standing. >> Curtis just likes to get it done all at once. >> We took advantage of some of the
equipment that we had on the farm that we've been using when we tilled the soil. It's like this cultipacker here. We're using it to roll rye and cover crop
down, and we're spraying as we go behind it. And then we have this roller
hard we hadn't used in years. We drug it out of the weeds, and
put it behind the cultipacker. And we're actually double-rolling
it and crimping it as we go, and it's breaking the rye up in pieces. We're saving one trip with a spray truck or
sprayer and actually doing two jobs at one time, and it's worked out real great for us. [ Music ] >> For farmers who have never done this sort
of thing before, planting into a rolled, high biomass cover crop is just plain scary. Our rookies had their share of problems in this
phase, and yet seem to have come out on top. >> Again, after you roll those cover crops down, the timing of planting is
going to be crucial also. >> We did have some wrapping
issues on our row cleaner. But we had a situation where we did not get it
sprayed like we wanted because of windy days. We have found that if you can plant
in real green rye, or it be real dead. That in between, this rye gets
tough when it's trying to dry down. So that was our main deal last
year, in that tough stage. >> Late termination often brings with it
the worry of low soil moisture at planting. Old hands like Ray Styer like to terminate
as late as possible, but local conditions and sound judgment will always play a role. >> It's just like this. I would love to see -- after we terminate and
lay it down, I'd love to see a good rain on it. That's going to add that
soil moisture right there. When you lay that mat on top of it, you
won't be disturbing your moisture again. We love to plant right after a rain, yeah. >> And as always, there's the talk of equipment. Again, there was no secret formula. >> We didn't make any major adjustments to
our planter other than just keeping everything in tune, keeping coulters updated as needed. We did add a little bit of weight to our planter
to make sure you could cut through the residue. It's just a no-till coulter, double disk
opener, and cast iron closing wheels. >> I think one key thing there is keeping
good sharp coulters on the planter. You may not get but half the life out of them, but getting a good stand is worth the difference
there, keeping them sharp and then keeping good, a close eye on your row cleaners,
keeping them at the right depth. And the ones I got -- just pull a pin
and you could adjust them real easy. >> And you might also want to ask whether
they were always able to cut through that mat. >> We did have some issues last year. Our problem was on the turn-rows, where
we would come out and try to cross where the roller had laid it the other way. Biggest thing, you want to follow
that roller as close as possible, as far as going with the way
your rye has been laid down. >> Given that rolled cover crop, I wanted to know whether there was
any effect on weed control. >> The rolling down did definitely
give a lot of benefits in weed control. Having that uniform mat of heavy
residue down only allowed sun to penetrate where you were planting. >> The weeds just can't come
up through that thick mat. We had about 98% weed control,
good weed control this year. >> I know what you're thinking. All this talk about cover crops is nice and all,
but how did crops respond in the growing season? I visited a bit with Curtis and Nathan in
August 2011, to see how things were going. >> We definitely have seen the moisture
retention, and with the soil health improving, we're just seeing a lot healthier
crops that we're planting. >> Got a pretty decent stand, as you can see. It's -- the spots have filled in great. And I still have a whole lot of residue left on
the ground, and the ground is still real moist. I'm just tickled to death with it. >> This here corn is a little
over eight inches long. We got 16 rows of kernels on it, and I'm
looking at probably 200 bushel plus corn here. I've been real pleased with it. >> When we visited John's fields, his
corn stands looked just as impressive. >> Moisture, you could go out there
on a dry day and kick the cover back, and you could still see dark dirt. I just love the idea of having that organic
base, and having the soil temperatures down during these hot June and July months. Roots, is more bigger. They seem to be looking for the moisture. And what it is, they go and they find
that moisture underneath that mat. I'm really protecting myself for June and July. That's what I look after when
we're talking about cover crops. >> You could rake that cover crop
back and dig down just a little bit, and earthworms are just crawling and eating
them microbes, is the way Ray calls it. >> But what Nathan showed me in some
nearby fields just blew me away. >> What we're looking at here
is two different producers that have two different management types for
the cotton rotation that they are currently in. We did take some soil temperature
readings back when it was 105 one day. In the field on the left you can see it was
more or less reading 105 at an inch deep. The field on the right was reading 85, so we had right around approximately
a 20 degree difference in soil temperature between those two fields. And just looking at -- I mean, side by
side comparison, I mean, it tells the tale. . [ Music ] >> There's an old management adage that says, "If you cannot measure it,
you cannot manage it." Ultimately, it's the yield that provides
us with the verdict for the cover crops. >> Our first year that we did the cover
crops, we saw a small yield increase. Typical corn yields were
120 to 150 bushels of corn. That year we were seeing, where we had the
cover crops, 170, 180 bushel corn in comparison to where we had the 150 right beside it. >> Yield this year on dry land corn
was -- we averaged 145 bushels. I think the county average is 90. I would be willing to say that we had
a 10-bushel yield increase this year on corn just because of the cover crops. >> We had some good corn; 150, 175 bushel corn. And I'd say where I used cover
crops, they were 10% better. >> We were right in the range of
1,200 pounds this year on cotton. >> Everywhere that it was planted on
time, and everything was done right, it was 1,200- to 1,500-pound cotton. And where there was no cover crop was
probably 100 pounds less than that. [ Music ] >> If you're making a living on farming, you
have to ask yourself, "Can I afford to do this? Is there a benefit both now and in the future?" >> Well, it seems like the seed cost is high. But if you put a pencil to it, and what you're
eventually going to get out of it, it's cheap. >> Well, if you could take $7.00 corn, cover
crops doubled what they cost us to put them in. It made us money. With corn, at $6.50 to $7.00, you know, you've
got cotton in the $0.90 to $1.00 a pound range. You cannot afford to leave anything on the table
as far as trying to make the biggest returns. And I don't know of a bigger
return there is than soil moisture. You reap what you sow. It takes money to make money. And these crops that we put
out this year or last year, that's going to work down into the soil. That's going to be with us for a long time. I can just see lots of benefits
that could come down the road from this, other than just a one-year deal. >> The cover crop mix that we use could provide
you anywhere from 50 to 150 units of nitrogen. At current nitrogen costs per unit
pound, it's more than paid for itself. >> As far as the future is concerned, each
of our friends has chosen his own path. >> In the future, I could very well
see in certain situations on a farm, just depending on landscape, that we could
grow our crops without any synthetic inputs. >> I'm going to try cutting back, and also I'm
going to do my own on-farm test on a few things like planting with no fertilizing, and putting
half of it, and then putting the full amount, and maybe some extra, but I'm going to
play with that some, too, this year. >> We're so young in this program. I think, before we start
backing off on nutrients, we need to have at least three to four years. I would say probably down the road we're going to cut nutrients back probably
a third, maybe a half. >> But are these expectations realistic? Let's visit again with the guys who
have been committed to this for a while. >> The last seven years we've reduced
our fertilizer cost by as much as 75%, and I'm really hoping that in the next two
years I can learn to reduce it to zero. >> I haven't used any nitrogen
on my corn since 1996. >> We've cut our fertilizer by
90%, and our herbicide use by 75%, and we have not reached a plateau yet. I don't believe that anyone
knows where the plateau is. And we think that we're just going
to keep pushing the system forward, and see where it takes us from here. [ Music ] >> Oh my goodness, the no-till, same soil type. Why did that happen? Why did the no-till allow
the water to go through? Did you hear what Max said? >> About 500 years ago, Niccolò Machiavelli
wrote that "there is nothing more difficult to carry out than to initiate
a new order of things." This is partly due to the incredulity of
mankind, who would not believe in anything new until they have actually experienced it. But Stanly County has changed
since that North Dakota trip. >> We're coming home, and
people, my neighbors, think -- they thought, "That poor boy has lost his mind. He don't know what he -- he's going to lose his
butt and have an auction sale this next fall." But it's worked out, and they got an open mind
to it now instead of turning their backs to it and saying, "Oh, he's lost his mind." And I've had a lot of people call me,
and wanting to know what I'm doing, how I'm doing it, and if it pays off, and I've
tried to be as honest as I could with everybody and tell them, "Yeah, it's worked good for me." >> In Stanly County now, we're starting to
see more and more producers adopt the use of the cover crop mixes as we have more and more
field days, more and more outreach trainings, more producers are becoming aware of it,
whether they see it or hear it from me, hopefully see or hear it from their neighbor. It makes me feel good to actually
know that we've addressed a resource and are doing good things to help conserve it. The opinions expressed in this video are those of the farmers and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of USDA. [ Music ]
This isn’t new to us farmers. The idea of cover crops took hold a couple decades ago and has grown since then to the point now it is pretty common nation wide. My wife is an agronomist and one of the biggest aspects of her job is designing cover crop blends for farmers. One current issue is the USDA has guidelines for what species can be used and how much of each crop in the blend. My wife has found some blends work better in certain areas than others with more soil benefits but USDA currently won’t allow those blends if the farmer wants to be included in the USDA program. This is pretty abbreviated, it’s kinda boring shit but my wife loves this stuff. She’s a plant nerd.
Very interesting, looks like the way of the future in farming to me. Thanks for sharing.
My family farm is experimenting with cover crops to see if they are worth the investment. We have already gone no-till because of herbicide resistant crops, which saves soil fertility and reduces run-off.
The lab I am working in is partly working on making the cover crops be actual crops that are useful aside from controlling weeds and replenishing soil.
No-till means less burning fuel and turning vegetation under and more chemicals used for preplant, burndown, and pre-emergence herbicides.
...and on most soils, you're still tilling every so often.
This isn't black magic fuckery. If it was cheaper/better/faster, the businesses doing the farming would adopt the practices to increase profits.
I work for the USDA and we encourage farmers to do this. The old guys are resistant to change. But there is more happening
[removed]
This is not really new.
After generations of taking the shortcut of Petroleum-based fertilizers, people have forgotten how to properly farm in a way that sustains the fertility of the land.
I want to try this in my backyard
Very eye opening, thanks.