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Farmer's Field Day Showcases No-Till
May 6, 2008 Bill Lucke is so sold on no-till farming that he wants others to see for themselves the time-savings and environmental benefits of no-till. Open to all, he’s hosting a no-till field day June 17 at his farm near Minden, Interstate 80 exit 29. Sponsored by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Iowa State University (ISU) Extension and the soil and water conservation districts of Harrison, Shelby and Pottawattamie counties, the no-till field day will examine planting corn-on-corn, corn following soybeans and soils displays. Speakers include Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey, Climatologist Elwynn Taylor, ISU Agronomist Mahdi Al-Kaisi, ISU Agricultural Engineer Mark Hanna and NRCS soil conservationists. Farming together since 1959, Lucke’s wife Babetta has been a Harrison County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) commissioner since 1992. In 1998, she urged Bill to try no-till on their corn fields as part of their farm’s conversation practices. After three years of side-by-side comparisons looking for yield drag, Lucke said, “I couldn’t see any change so I went strictly no-till.” That was seven years ago. He got rid of some equipment and gave away a field cultivator. Bill found he could greatly reduce time in the field by planting in one pass. The Luckes said they really like the time savings no-till offered. “Going no-till,” said Babetta, “meant I could retire from field work. I’m very happy with no-till.” Babetta is now chairwoman of the Harrison SWCD and the Region 5 director of Conservation Districts of Iowa. The Luckes farm 1,000 acres of crop ground in the gently rolling Loess hills of western Iowa. Bill follows a 100 percent rotation between no-till corn and soybeans, with the one exception. This year Lucke will plant four acres of no-till corn-on-corn to further test the benefits of no-till. No-till is just one of the many conservation practices found on Lucke land. Russ Kurth, NRCS Harrison County district conservationist, notes terraces, waterways, wetlands, watershed structures and ponds are all installed on Luckes’ farms to save soil and improve the environment. “Hard as you try,” said Kurth, “not one thing works on these soils. It takes a combination of conservation practices to really make a difference." Adding no-till to the conservation practices on the Lucke farm offers very noticeable benefits. Bill Lucke said, “Terraces last longer and don’t require cleaning nearly as often. The tractor rides over farm fields are much smoother because of less erosion. No-till makes the ground softer and “mellower” which allows rainwater to more easily soak into the ground.” “When rain hits,” he said, “the water more easily goes into the ground. There is less erosion even though we’ve had some really bad rains. When storm water starts to run over fields, the rains take the residue not the soil. Plant roots are still in place and hold the soil. Residue ends up caught in fences and ditches—not the soil.” Wet springs aren’t much of a worry for Lucke now. “Everyone has to wait until fields are dry enough to work them,” said Bill Lucke. “When my fields dry out I’m planting. I’m not plowing or disking and then planting. No-till allows me to cover more acres in less time than using conventional tillage and I’m not losing needed soil moisture if a wet spring turns into a dry summer.” For more information about the No-Till Demonstration Field Day on the Lucke farm, call Harrison County Extension at 1-888-644-2105. -USDA-
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