top soil erosion?

lunkerslayer

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As to the no-till/minimum till goes what happens when you have a 2+ year drought and no crops grow? They're will be no stubble to stop wind erosion. Probably won't be too worried about that few thousand $'s lost to tree rows at that point. The cost analysis of going around tree rows or any natural habitat has always been rather funny to me. Farmers like to try to justify their actions yet you see many also weaving in and out of power line poles along the road, double seeding/fertilizing just to gain another few acres. Makes sense.:::

I get that some of the trees are dead and removal is the only option in some cases. Would like to see more taking advantage of NRSC programs and replace some of those either on edges and buffers along water sources.

:;:thumbsup
 


guywhofishes

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As to the no-till/minimum till goes what happens when you have a 2+ year drought and no crops grow? They're will be no stubble to stop wind erosion. Probably won't be too worried about that few thousand $'s lost to tree rows at that point. The cost analysis of going around tree rows or any natural habitat has always been rather funny to me. Farmers like to try to justify their actions yet you see many also weaving in and out of power line poles along the road, double seeding/fertilizing just to gain another few acres. Makes sense.:::

I get that some of the trees are dead and removal is the only option in some cases. Would like to see more taking advantage of NRSC programs and replace some of those either on edges andbuffers along water sources.

those are now extinct in the RRV - too many extra pennies to be made by farming right up to the creek's edge
 

espringers

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i've got a video from a 35 mph wind day out by southam, ND a year ago last fall. i can't get the damn thing to load. but, it makes it pretty clear the days of wind blown soil erosion are far from over.
 

gst

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As to the no-till/minimum till goes what happens when you have a 2+ year drought and no crops grow? They're will be no stubble to stop wind erosion. Probably won't be too worried about that few thousand $'s lost to tree rows at that point. The cost analysis of going around tree rows or any natural habitat has always been rather funny to me. Farmers like to try to justify their actions yet you see many also weaving in and out of power line poles along the road, double seeding/fertilizing just to gain another few acres. Makes sense.:::

I get that some of the trees are dead and removal is the only option in some cases. Would like to see more taking advantage of NRSC programs and replace some of those either on edges and buffers along water sources.

Curious if you can tell us the last time we have had a drought so severe that NO crops grew 2 years in a row using no till cropping methods here in ND?

Of course it can happen. But when was the last time it did. Remember now in the 30's people farmed with plows and packers and really did not know much about the value of organic matter in retaining moistures in soils and the impact years of no till farming has on moisture retention and soil tilth and health.

I do find it interesting that people that do not have any skin in the game (or any real life experience) are so willing to tell others how to manage their business.

So we should manage our farming business to protect the soils? What a novel thought. After 3 generations of farming I wonder why we did not think of that earlier.

For some reason I don't think concern over soil erosion is what is driving some peoples comments and it is likely tied more to impacting their recreational opportunities regarding hunting. Which is fine, just be upfront about wanting others to manage their business to improve your recreation opportunities.

As I have said, the last 3 or 4 years much of ND has been dealing with extreme excessive moisture so land management practices have changed to adapt. Once these moisture levels change (and they will) and no till and minimum till return the soil erosion will not be apparent .
 
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eyexer

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farming practices are far different now. granted there are tree rows being torn out but still there is far more residue left in the fields. I remember in the 70's and 80's there were always dust clouds blowing when the wind blew. rarely if ever see that anymore. It's not a concern.
 

lunkerslayer

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Irrigating with tile

FARGO, N.D. — In a dry year, some farmers in the region are designing sub-surface tile drainage systems to use as sub-surface irrigation, and some soon will be able to control and monitor their pumps from smart phones and other computers. - See more at: http://www.agweek.com/event/article/id/20144/#sthash.J6IJVuUo.dpuf

food for thought interesting read
 

deleted_account

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farming practices are far different now. granted there are tree rows being torn out but still there is far more residue left in the fields. I remember in the 70's and 80's there were always dust clouds blowing when the wind blew. rarely if ever see that anymore. It's not a concern.

Full on till in the rrv. Did you even watch the video?
 


Davey Crockett

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Eyexer , It's as rare as a drought then you will have dust to eat along with those words, Wheres the sarcasm button ? But I do believe the dry windy days of the 30's can and will come back to haunt us again someday, I'm as sure about that as I am we will get another snow blizzard someday, That's why we stay prepared.
 

Davey Crockett

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imagephpu337dateline1431012857-1.jpg
I chuckle every time I see that picture , I think it's awesome , Something Norman Rockwell would have thought of.
 

gst

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Full on till in the rrv. Did you even watch the video?

wags, I will bet you a top notch steak dinner in 50 years the top soil in the RRV will still be there despite your "expert's" claims.
 

deleted_account

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wags, I will bet you a top notch steak dinner in 50 years the top soil in the RRV will still be there despite your "expert's" claims.

They're not my experts. One guy works for a seed company so I would think his input would be valid. No? I would like to know how you can guarantee no soil erosion in the rrv?
 


gst

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Wags, no where did I guarantee no soil erosion in the RRV.

I simply said/bet the top soil in the RRV will not disappear in 50 years as discussed in the video.

Out here we measure top soil in inches...........the RRV measures it in feet.

Once again, as said before, no reason not to try and focus on soil health and less erosion...........but the 50 years claim is a good tag line to capture peoples attention.
 

Kentucky Windage

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GST, I don't want to argue with you......but could you please try entering into a conversation without turning it into a full on debate? What are you trying to accomplish or win here? Most posts I read of yours have you either on the offensive or defensive. Chill bra! Ok? Just chill!
 

gst

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a thread was started about concerns over no topsoil being left becasue of erosion. So far it has been a pretty cordial discussion, at least I thought so. A miscue about what was said, but otherwise pretty much a simple discussion about top soil loss and reasons for things happening that has been pretty straight forward.


Wags, soil erosion occurs because you touch yourself at night.

I thought wags actually wanted to have a serious discussion about soil erosion..............maybe not. If so, my apologies.
 
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NDSportsman

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- - - Updated - -


Curious if you can tell us the last time we have had a drought so severe that NO crops grew 2 years in a row using no till cropping methods here in ND?

Of course it can happen. But when was the last time it did. Remember now in the 30's people farmed with plows and packers and really did not know much about the value of organic matter in retaining moistures in soils and the impact years of no till farming has on moisture retention and soil tilth and health.

I do find it interesting that people that do not have any skin in the game (or any real life experience) are so willing to tell others how to manage their business.

So we should manage our farming business to protect the soils? What a novel thought. After 3 generations of farming I wonder why we did not think of that earlier.

For some reason I don't think concern over soil erosion is what is driving some peoples comments and it is likely tied more to impacting their recreational opportunities regarding hunting. Which is fine, just be upfront about wanting others to manage their business to improve your recreation opportunities.

As I have said, the last 3 or 4 years much of ND has been dealing with extreme excessive moisture so land management practices have changed to adapt. Once these moisture levels change (and they will) and no till and minimum till return the soil erosion will not be apparent .

Nice try gst but as you said no-till/min-till practices haven't been around long enough. The fact is there have been 2+ year droughts in our past and there will be again, to think otherwise is kind of foolish. Will todays practices help, certainly in the short term but none of us know about long term. It simply hasn't happened, yet.

And I think every tax payer has "skin in the game" whether you like it or not. I would much rather see my tax dollars going towards something that benefits every one of us like clean water, air and reasonable food prices then being given to some who like to work the system.

Whether or not you are willing to admit it there are indeed people out there who work the system. Who want the $ now and don't really care what happens 5, 10, 50 years from now.
 


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