Got a message from OMAFRA soybean specialist Horst Bohner on my voice mail on Thursday night. He had just finished combining some research plots. His short message: "Now I know what 80 bushels of soys look like."
It was too late to do anything for the upcoming edition of the Ontario Farmer but I'm curious to hear more. Look for more details in the Nov. 3 edition.
While doing this week's Production Roundup I got into a discussion about tilling versus no-tilling soybeans. It seems that side-by-side comparisons over the past couple of years have shown a five to eight bushel advantage for doing some tillage. I can just hear those on the tillage side of the debate saying: "I told you so." But I don't think the results are as clear-cut as they seem. Let's not forget that the past couple of springs haven't been quite as warm and dry as the years before. It's common knowledge that no-till struggles when it's cool and damp early on. Anything that warms up the soil in such a spring is bound to help. So, I'll need a larger sample - more years - before I believe such a big yield advantage is real.
One more thing. Tillage costs money. It doesn't take too many field passes to blow a couple of bushels worth of beans out through the tractor exhaust. So, if the tillage versus no-till survey viewed over 10 or 15 years shows the two systems within three bushels or so, I'd stick to no-till.
Any thoughts? Are you planning to stick with no-till or compromise a little in the interest of warmer soil? You can leave any replies at this site or email me at: preschke@bell.net
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