Economic and Marketing Information for Indiana Farmers (May 29, 1970) |
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Economic and Marketing Information FOR INDIANA FARMERS Prepared by the Agricultural Staff of Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana May 29, 1970 CORN TILLAGE SYSTEMS Paul R. Robbins and D. Howard Doster, Agricultural Economics* A: ,S FARMS have gotten larger and farmers have become more specialized in corn production, they have learned much about growing corn. Top farmers have put together a total package of practices and newer technologies which have greatly increased yield and increased per acre profits. In trying to put together this improved package of practices and technologies in corn production, farmers have added more fertilizer, used higher populations, better weed control, better soil insect control, better hybrids, etc. Most everyone has reduced tillage operations. Now some are trying radically different methods of tillage to put together a still more profitable corn production package. The reasons most often presented by farmers for going to some form of limited tillage are: 1. To reduce costs. This may or may not actually happen. 2. To save labor. This can often be accomplished, but labor distribution is a more important consideration than saving some labor during the slack reason. 3. To reduce erosion losses and increase water infiltration. This can be a very important plus factor. 4. To reduce investment costs. This can usually, but not always, be accomplished. 5. To increase yields. The jury is still out on this one. We must have more years of research data before it can be conclusively stated what happens to yield. Also the answer will likely not be the same for different soils, weather conditions, etc. Minimum tillage began to catch on about the mid-fifties. We have made considerable progress in reducing the number of trips over the field during recent years. However, we still have a long way to go in tillage research. In trying to find some needed answers, Purdue started a comprehensive research project in 1967 in which several departments of the "School of Agriculture are participating in trying to compare eleven major tillage systems. These systems are being compared in northern Indiana at the Pinney-Purdue Agricultural Center, in east central Indiana at the Davis-Purdue Agricultural Center, and in southern Indiana at the Feldun-Purdue Agricultural Center. About 10 or 15 years ago when we became interested in reducing tillage operations in corn production, we still stuck with the mold- board plow every year. A number of systems caught on, and some are still being used. The wheel- track planting is a prime example. In the last 5 years, we have entered a new era. This might be characterized as the no-plow, once over era, where the moldboard plow is not used every year and in fact, might not be used at all. Yield Losses from Delay in Planting With farms getting larger and labor becoming more scarce and higher priced and the importance of timeliness being better documented as more research data comes in, farmers are looking for ways to get corn planted faster and in a more timely manner. Thus they are very interested in any new tillage system that will help them do these things. Research from throughout the Corn Belt in recent years has well documented corn yield loss from delay in planting. Thus any tillage system that reduces the rate of accomplishment during the critical plating period presents a serious handicap. The rule of thumb yield reduction often used at Purdue for delay in corn planting is as follows: 1. Yields reduced 1 bushel per acre per day from May 10 to May 23. 2. Yields reduced 2 bushels per acre per day from May 23 through June 6. Yield reductions of this magnitude put a high value on each hour of the few good field work days available during the prime planting season. Conventional Tillage The term "conventional" means many things to many people. Farmers using a conventional tillage system on heavy soils may work their plowed ground several * The authors take full responsibility for data interpretation appearing in this article. However, they wish to express thanks to various members of the interdepartmental tillage research team and especially to Don Griffith, Harry Galloway and Jerry Mannering of the Agronomy Department and Sam Parsons of the Agricultural Engineering Department for helping provide much of the basic data upon which the economic analysis was based.
Object Description
Title | Economic and Marketing Information for Indiana Farmers (May 29, 1970) |
Purdue Identification Number | UA14-13-econ197005 |
Date of Original | 1970 |
Publisher | Purdue University. Agricultural Extension Service |
Subjects (LCSH) |
Farm produce--Indiana--Marketing Agriculture--Economic aspects--Indiana |
Genre | Periodical |
Collection Title | Extension Economic & Marketing Information (Purdue University. Agricultural Extension) |
Rights | Copyright Purdue University. All rights reserved. |
Coverage | United States - Indiana |
Type | text |
Format | JP2 |
Language | eng |
Repository | Purdue University Libraries |
Date Digitized | 05/01/2015 |
Digitization Specifications | Original scanned at 400 ppi on a BookEye 3 scanner using Opus software. Display images generated in Contentdm as JP2000s; file format for archival copy is uncompressed TIF format. |
URI | UA14-13-econ197005.tif |
Description
Title | Economic and Marketing Information for Indiana Farmers (May 29, 1970) |
Purdue Identification Number | UA14-13-econ197005 |
Transcript | Economic and Marketing Information FOR INDIANA FARMERS Prepared by the Agricultural Staff of Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana May 29, 1970 CORN TILLAGE SYSTEMS Paul R. Robbins and D. Howard Doster, Agricultural Economics* A: ,S FARMS have gotten larger and farmers have become more specialized in corn production, they have learned much about growing corn. Top farmers have put together a total package of practices and newer technologies which have greatly increased yield and increased per acre profits. In trying to put together this improved package of practices and technologies in corn production, farmers have added more fertilizer, used higher populations, better weed control, better soil insect control, better hybrids, etc. Most everyone has reduced tillage operations. Now some are trying radically different methods of tillage to put together a still more profitable corn production package. The reasons most often presented by farmers for going to some form of limited tillage are: 1. To reduce costs. This may or may not actually happen. 2. To save labor. This can often be accomplished, but labor distribution is a more important consideration than saving some labor during the slack reason. 3. To reduce erosion losses and increase water infiltration. This can be a very important plus factor. 4. To reduce investment costs. This can usually, but not always, be accomplished. 5. To increase yields. The jury is still out on this one. We must have more years of research data before it can be conclusively stated what happens to yield. Also the answer will likely not be the same for different soils, weather conditions, etc. Minimum tillage began to catch on about the mid-fifties. We have made considerable progress in reducing the number of trips over the field during recent years. However, we still have a long way to go in tillage research. In trying to find some needed answers, Purdue started a comprehensive research project in 1967 in which several departments of the "School of Agriculture are participating in trying to compare eleven major tillage systems. These systems are being compared in northern Indiana at the Pinney-Purdue Agricultural Center, in east central Indiana at the Davis-Purdue Agricultural Center, and in southern Indiana at the Feldun-Purdue Agricultural Center. About 10 or 15 years ago when we became interested in reducing tillage operations in corn production, we still stuck with the mold- board plow every year. A number of systems caught on, and some are still being used. The wheel- track planting is a prime example. In the last 5 years, we have entered a new era. This might be characterized as the no-plow, once over era, where the moldboard plow is not used every year and in fact, might not be used at all. Yield Losses from Delay in Planting With farms getting larger and labor becoming more scarce and higher priced and the importance of timeliness being better documented as more research data comes in, farmers are looking for ways to get corn planted faster and in a more timely manner. Thus they are very interested in any new tillage system that will help them do these things. Research from throughout the Corn Belt in recent years has well documented corn yield loss from delay in planting. Thus any tillage system that reduces the rate of accomplishment during the critical plating period presents a serious handicap. The rule of thumb yield reduction often used at Purdue for delay in corn planting is as follows: 1. Yields reduced 1 bushel per acre per day from May 10 to May 23. 2. Yields reduced 2 bushels per acre per day from May 23 through June 6. Yield reductions of this magnitude put a high value on each hour of the few good field work days available during the prime planting season. Conventional Tillage The term "conventional" means many things to many people. Farmers using a conventional tillage system on heavy soils may work their plowed ground several * The authors take full responsibility for data interpretation appearing in this article. However, they wish to express thanks to various members of the interdepartmental tillage research team and especially to Don Griffith, Harry Galloway and Jerry Mannering of the Agronomy Department and Sam Parsons of the Agricultural Engineering Department for helping provide much of the basic data upon which the economic analysis was based. |
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