NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665
December 7, 2000
An expert on no-till farming in the Northern Great Plains will be the featured speaker at the 17th annual Western Dakota Crops Day show being held at the Hettinger Armory on Dec. 14 beginning at 9 a.m. MST. The event is being presented by the North Dakota State University Hettinger and Dickinson Research Extension Centers and is free of charge.
Dwayne Beck, director of the Dakota Lakes Research Farm at Pierre, S.D., has worked on developing no-till farming systems for more than 10 years. His field-scale research has demonstrated how diverse crop rotations can make no-till profitable. Beck’s approach is to look at the local native vegetation of an area and then mimic that ecosystem with a wide variety of diverse crops.
In Beck’s system, crop diversity keeps pests such as weeds, insects and diseases in check, and techniques such as precise nutrient placement, accurate seeding and proper variety selection enhance crop competitiveness.
"By using a variety of different crops, we also spread out our work load and utilize our equipment more efficiently," Beck says. "Every farmer’s system is different and there is not a one-size-fits-all. The bottom line for the farmer is, how do I make more money?"
Beck will also show how no-till conserves soil moisture and how producers can capitalize on that to enhance crop production. "In our system, we can grow corn on land priced to grow wheat. Our total cost to produce a bushel of corn is about $1.40, including land costs. In the Corn Belt, farmers pay up to $1 per bushel on land costs alone. A system that is built correctly will save water, use fewer inputs, increase yields and make more money," Beck says.
In addition to Beck’s presentation, agronomists from the NDSU Hettinger and Dickinson Research Extension Centers will give presentations on crop varieties and highlights of ongoing crop production research. Eric Eriksmoen, NDSU agronomist at Hettinger, specializes in crop variety adaptation and will speak on small grain varieties and alternative crops for the western Dakotas. Pat Carr, NDSU agronomist at Dickinson, specializes in forage crops and crop rotations and will speak on those topics.
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Source: Eric Eriksmoen, (701) 567-4325,
eeriksmo@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu