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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] NO-TILL FARMING OFFERS A QUICK FIX TO HELP WARD OFF HOST OF GLOBAL PROBLEMS

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Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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Chronological Thread  
  • From: Ken Hargesheimer <minifarms2@yahoo.com>
  • To: Healthy soil and sustainable growing <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] NO-TILL FARMING OFFERS A QUICK FIX TO HELP WARD OFF HOST OF GLOBAL PROBLEMS
  • Date: Sat, 22 Dec 2007 13:20:05 -0800 (PST)

Marty,
 
As I have said before "The problem is in the farmer's head not in the field."
 
A no-till cotton farmer [7th crop] uses wheat for his winter cover crop.  Knocks it down and plants his cotton using a no-till planter.  If the farmer is growing winter wheat, plant a summer cover crop, knock in down and plant the wheat using a no-till drill. If he is growing Spring wheat, harvest it, plant the winter cover crop. Wheat is $8 per bushel, highest in many decades.  70 bushels@$8=$560x300=$168,000 gross.  His cost are: plant the wheat, harvest the wheat, plant the cover crop, knock down the cover crop, plant the wheat.  He can fish/hunt/volunteer work for 50 weeks a year.
 
The cotton farmer told me that his cost are so low, that cotton will never be so cheap that he will not make a profit. 
 
Ken H
 


TradingPostPaul <tradingpost@riseup.net> wrote:

My personal take on it: If the crop he's growing needs tilling or
herbicides, then why grow wheat or cultivate 300+ acres? I'd also be
interested to know if he's even making a profit. Cultivating also brings
more weed seeds to the surface to germinate. Probably he's never heard of
weed-suppressing cover crops.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net

*********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********

On 12/22/2007 at 1:10 PM Marty Kraft wrote:

>I talked to my friend who grows organic wheat this morning. He says
>that he can't suppress weeds unless he tills. He farms 300+ acres. He
>believes that the promotion of no-till methods is a furtherance of
>chemical dependent farming.
>
>When I talk about no-till I'm talking about a much smaller scale than
>planting acres and acres of wheat. I have no experience beyond
>vegetable gardening. Does anyone know how to organically grow large
>acreage of wheat without tilling. I'm sure my friend would like to know.
>
>I also do not want to inadvertently be promoting the idea chemical
>dependent farming when I say no-till is good.
>
>Marty Kraft
>On Dec 15, 2007, at 7:38 AM, E. E. Mitchamore Jr wrote:



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