Land/Wildlife Management Without Chemicals?

[Brian662]

Something I've been wondering is, what's more damaging to the soil, tillage or chemicals? I've long thought the answer was tillage, but the plots do generally turn out real nice when tilled. I know the oxygen added will negatively impact OM%, but it sure does seem to be a nice seed bed and a good jump start for the crop.

 

[SD51555]

Something I've been wondering is, what's more damaging to the soil, tillage or chemicals? I've long thought the answer was tillage, but the plots do generally turn out real nice when tilled. I know the oxygen added will negatively impact OM%, but it sure does seem to be a nice seed bed and a good jump start for the crop.

My first thought is soil can heal from tillage. Who knows the lasting effects from a long chemical campaign? I know there's all kinds of science saying this and that about half lives of pesticides, but nobody warned us the neonics would make it to the groundwater either. You can heal from tillage, you can't pick up the chemical after you've put it down.

 

[Bill Loser]

My first thought is soil can heal from tillage. Who knows the lasting effects from a long chemical campaign? I know there's all kinds of science saying this and that about half lives of pesticides, but nobody warned us the neonics would make it to the groundwater either. You can heal from tillage, you can't pick up the chemical after you've put it down.

My thoughts exactly. Best case figure out a way to do minimal tillage with 0 chemicals.

 

[Westwind]

After spraying again this spring, I was really hoping for better. Almost tropical weather here this summer and have a lot of foxtail, planting my fall mix soon. IDK what to do.

 

[Cool Hand Luke]

Relating to tillage, what’s better for the soil health? Disking or tilling with 3 point type tine tiller? Compaction-wise, you’re making more passes with a disk. Or maybe not as the disk is often a wider implement.

 

[Belo]

I'm really getting to the point of just mowing 3 times a year, frost seeding clover and then fall seeding clover and chickory. This way you have lush 4 inch fields of greens to eat. When all around you is bracken fern and you have almost 4 acres of edible field that seems the best and easiest choice to me. I really don't care to spend any more time than that any longer. As SD said you you could buy tractor and drill and have better foods but in the long run your really not gaining anything and the amount of work and expense rises for what? To shoot a deer? Those days are long gone. I ask you southern boys can you live with mowing 3 times a year? Ever tried that?

this is what i do for 2 acres of my plots. But I do a fall plot, nothing with a tractor or drill, just a disc hooked up to my utv, fertilize, and cultipack. Still a bunch more work than the frost seeding and mowing.

 

[Turkish]

Something I've been wondering is, what's more damaging to the soil, tillage or chemicals? I've long thought the answer was tillage, but the plots do generally turn out real nice when tilled. I know the oxygen added will negatively impact OM%, but it sure does seem to be a nice seed bed and a good jump start for the crop.

Again, it is shortsighted to make this a food plot thing.

What’s more damaging to the landscape: responsibly used chemicals or unchecked proliferation of exotics and invasive monocultures? This one seems pretty easy to me.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

My first thought is soil can heal from tillage. Who knows the lasting effects from a long chemical campaign? I know there's all kinds of science saying this and that about half lives of pesticides, but nobody warned us the neonics would make it to the groundwater either. You can heal from tillage, you can't pick up the chemical after you've put it down.

I drive by Amish farms every day that produce solid crops year after year using manure, a moldboard plow, disk, and a few cultivator passes for weed control. Those fields see way more steel than the neighboring conventional ag fields, but they sure produce some nice crops with no spraying. Year after year. I know that soil disturbance like that decreases organic matter, but if it takes decades to even notice any type of decline in production, is that something we should lose sleep over? These Amish farmers don't seem to worry at all about that, and they don't have to mess around with spraying.

I used my sprayer more this year than any other year, but that isn't a good thing. My soybeans are looking good, so I'm pretty hopeful for a solid rut and late season hunt. I could reduce spraying and go with more multi-species plots, but the deer here walk right through those plots to hit the beans.

Like others have said, it is a balancing act, and I don't know if I'll ever come up with the perfect plan. I know I'm not there yet though.

 

[SwampCat]

Again, it is shortsighted to make this a food plot thing.

What’s more damaging to the landscape: responsibly used chemicals or unchecked proliferation of exotics and invasive monocultures? This one seems pretty easy to me.

Yes, I agree. And I have some ground long used as cattle pasture that was washing away. When I got it, I disked and planted for a few years and washed away even quicker - I mean this ground becomes 8 ft deep gullies in a few years. Now, I spray and no till or throw n mow most of the time and the ground is repairing - because I spray herbicide

Crawfish are considered a good indicator species. I have about 8 acres of impoundment that the runoff from 600 acres of row crop went through annually - for thirty years. I cant imagine the chemicals - I saw an ag cat out there spraying on a regular basis. The creek that winds through the 600 acres of row crop all dumps into my 8 acre impoundment. It is literally crawling with crawfish. My wife, the retired science teacher, who loves crawfish - wont eat them out of that pond

 

[Barndog56]

Bottom line for me is that in a perfect world I wouldn't use any sprays or tillage, and everything I planted would grow perfect. My world is far from perfect.

In my real world, I use as little sprays or tillage as I can get away with so that everything I plant grows at an acceptable level.

 

[Badgers80]

I drive by Amish farms every day that produce solid crops year after year using manure, a moldboard plow, disk, and a few cultivator passes for weed control. Those fields see way more steel than the neighboring conventional ag fields, but they sure produce some nice crops with no spraying. Year after year. I know that soil disturbance like that decreases organic matter, but if it takes decades to even notice any type of decline in production, is that something we should lose sleep over? These Amish farmers don't seem to worry at all about that, and they don't have to mess around with spraying.

Interesting comment. I think the manure replenishes the pain caused by all the tilling. Without it, I think the soil would start to struggle quickly in 5-10 years without inputs.

This all boils down to trying to find the best method available in terms of taking care of the land in a responsible and safe way. Nobody likes to use chemicals and they have a negative effect on the environment/humans? and tilling depletes your soil structure & causes erosion… At least we’ve made progress in regards to no till and now we have ag technology that can detect and zap only weeds when spraying.

 

[Catscratch]

To all you guys planting 50-60 acres, and/or gardening 1-2 acres... my hats off to ya!!!