Rock County Soil Health Team makes recommendations for restarting flooded ground
by Sirrina Martinez
On July 3, the Rock County Soil Health Team met to share their experience and thoughts, and create recommendations for preventative planting and saving drowned-out fields in the region. According to the board, there is a considerable amount of drown-out or prevent plant in the region, and steps may be taken to prevent fallow syndrome and future weed pressure.
Justin Decker, who recently filled a new conservation agronomist position with the Pipestone County Soil & Water Conservation District, broke down the concepts behind prevent plant and fallow syndrome.
Prevent planting is defined as a failure to plant an insured crop with the proper equipment by the final planting date designated in the insurance policy's Special Provisions or during the late planting period, if applicable. Final planting dates and late planting periods vary by crop and by area.
"If fields that were planted to a typical cash crop have drown out due to the recent rains, they may be considered for prevent plant acres. That is where you plant an intentional crop (Cover Crop) out there so that you don't have just bare dirt or acres with nothing growing on them outside of weeds," Decker said. "If we would get another big rain event and there is no ground cover, erosion potentially gets to be a big problem. Another very likely issue is Fallow Syndrome on those acres. These are some of the issues on those bare acres and the benefits of having a cover crop on prevent plant acres."
The prevent plant program is not a typically available program, Decker said. Rather, it is sort of a rescue plan or a secondary program developed as a result of the effects of the heavy rains we have had. Prevent plant utilizes a cover crop on fields after the water has receded from acres that have been drowned-out, killing some or all of the cash crop. Most cover crops can be expected to be killed off during the following winter, Decker said, while some may be harvested in the fall for graze or feed. The key is having something growing in the field to prevent fallow syndrome,
"In a situation like this, if they wouldn't put anything on the drowned-out acres and there's nothing growing, you have nothing to help maintain healthy soil and soil microbial activity and you have nothing growing out there, in the following season on good farming acres you would see the effects of it," he said.
Some effects a producer might see include a lower yield. According to mentor members of the Rock County Soil Health Team, fallow syndrome can reduce yields by 15 plus bushels the following year. A key solution is keeping living roots in the ground, which can enable nitrogen and other nutrients to be captured at affected sites for future crop usage. Covering these areas with as much cover crop diversity as possible may offset potential impacts from previous herbicide applications. Cover crop diversity translates to a mix of cover crops, with each having a different benefit.
"A mix is always helpful just because each one does a different thing," he said. "Maybe it's compaction or water infiltration, especially in this case. Some are really good at that, others are really good at scavenging and hanging onto nutrients like commercial fertilizer or winter application stuff that has been done for the cash crop. That cover crop would utilize that and keep their dollars that they put out there from disappearing. It is going to be more beneficial to have a mix out there if it fits their (the producer's) plan."
Prevent plants may include annual forage that could be either chopped or cut for hay, or it would be a cover crop mixture that can be grazed or used to just keep a growing plant to prevent erosion, suppress weeds and feed the soil biology through the rest of the season, Decker said. Cover crop seedings will vary based on the producers goals and the potential herbicides used at the affected sites. Timing is everything when it comes to these affected areas, and timely planning and ordering of seed early is strongly recommended.
"Just getting it into the ground as soon as it is fit is a part of the importance of timing," he said. "These wet acres are across a big area and not just the state of Minnesota. I'm not saying the sky is falling but it is important to get orders in early and get a plan put together so that when the field is fit, the seed you want is here and you can get out there and get it planted."
The board outlined the following recommended steps for producers dealing with drowned-out fields: Step one is to check with your crop insurance agent before destroying anything, and step two is to check with your Farm Service Agency to see if they need to report anything for future options or opportunities. Step three is for a producer to check into their chemical program used at the site, and assess with their agronomist to come up with a suitable plan option for the site for follow-up crops or impacts of future plantings. Step four, is to consider herbicides that have been used, as awareness of potential restrictions on haying and grazing is imperative. It is important, the board said, to assess your goals and determine if you are looking for weed suppression, grazing, forage harvesting and biology/compaction. Once goals have been assessed, the next steps can be determined.
Currently, there are some potential programs available to assist producers, Decker said.
"Right now you can apply for cost share potentially through private entities," he said. "SWCD's current funding has been used up but there is more coming, but that won't be eligible for anything being done this summer. There are private entities that are looking for acres to tie in with some of the carbon market stuff and they are offering cost-share dollars for some of the cover crop acres as well."
Anyone interested in learning more about potential programs should contact their Natural Resources Conservation Office, or the SWCD for more information.
On July 3, the Rock County Soil Health Team met to share their experience and thoughts, and create recommendations for preventative planting and saving drowned-out fields in the region. According to the board, there is a considerable amount of drown-out or prevent plant in the region, and steps may be taken to prevent fallow syndrome and future weed pressure.
Justin Decker, who recently filled a new conservation agronomist position with the Pipestone County Soil & Water Conservation District, broke down the concepts behind prevent plant and fallow syndrome.
Prevent planting is defined as a failure to plant an insured crop with the proper equipment by the final planting date designated in the insurance policy's Special Provisions or during the late planting period, if applicable. Final planting dates and late planting periods vary by crop and by area.
"If fields that were planted to a typical cash crop have drown out due to the recent rains, they may be considered for prevent plant acres. That is where you plant an intentional crop (Cover Crop) out there so that you don't have just bare dirt or acres with nothing growing on them outside of weeds," Decker said. "If we would get another big rain event and there is no ground cover, erosion potentially gets to be a big problem. Another very likely issue is Fallow Syndrome on those acres. These are some of the issues on those bare acres and the benefits of having a cover crop on prevent plant acres."
The prevent plant program is not a typically available program, Decker said. Rather, it is sort of a rescue plan or a secondary program developed as a result of the effects of the heavy rains we have had. Prevent plant utilizes a cover crop on fields after the water has receded from acres that have been drowned-out, killing some or all of the cash crop. Most cover crops can be expected to be killed off during the following winter, Decker said, while some may be harvested in the fall for graze or feed. The key is having something growing in the field to prevent fallow syndrome,
"In a situation like this, if they wouldn't put anything on the drowned-out acres and there's nothing growing, you have nothing to help maintain healthy soil and soil microbial activity and you have nothing growing out there, in the following season on good farming acres you would see the effects of it," he said.
Some effects a producer might see include a lower yield. According to mentor members of the Rock County Soil Health Team, fallow syndrome can reduce yields by 15 plus bushels the following year. A key solution is keeping living roots in the ground, which can enable nitrogen and other nutrients to be captured at affected sites for future crop usage. Covering these areas with as much cover crop diversity as possible may offset potential impacts from previous herbicide applications. Cover crop diversity translates to a mix of cover crops, with each having a different benefit.
"A mix is always helpful just because each one does a different thing," he said. "Maybe it's compaction or water infiltration, especially in this case. Some are really good at that, others are really good at scavenging and hanging onto nutrients like commercial fertilizer or winter application stuff that has been done for the cash crop. That cover crop would utilize that and keep their dollars that they put out there from disappearing. It is going to be more beneficial to have a mix out there if it fits their (the producer's) plan."
Prevent plants may include annual forage that could be either chopped or cut for hay, or it would be a cover crop mixture that can be grazed or used to just keep a growing plant to prevent erosion, suppress weeds and feed the soil biology through the rest of the season, Decker said. Cover crop seedings will vary based on the producers goals and the potential herbicides used at the affected sites. Timing is everything when it comes to these affected areas, and timely planning and ordering of seed early is strongly recommended.
"Just getting it into the ground as soon as it is fit is a part of the importance of timing," he said. "These wet acres are across a big area and not just the state of Minnesota. I'm not saying the sky is falling but it is important to get orders in early and get a plan put together so that when the field is fit, the seed you want is here and you can get out there and get it planted."
The board outlined the following recommended steps for producers dealing with drowned-out fields: Step one is to check with your crop insurance agent before destroying anything, and step two is to check with your Farm Service Agency to see if they need to report anything for future options or opportunities. Step three is for a producer to check into their chemical program used at the site, and assess with their agronomist to come up with a suitable plan option for the site for follow-up crops or impacts of future plantings. Step four, is to consider herbicides that have been used, as awareness of potential restrictions on haying and grazing is imperative. It is important, the board said, to assess your goals and determine if you are looking for weed suppression, grazing, forage harvesting and biology/compaction. Once goals have been assessed, the next steps can be determined.
Currently, there are some potential programs available to assist producers, Decker said.
"Right now you can apply for cost share potentially through private entities," he said. "SWCD's current funding has been used up but there is more coming, but that won't be eligible for anything being done this summer. There are private entities that are looking for acres to tie in with some of the carbon market stuff and they are offering cost-share dollars for some of the cover crop acres as well."
Anyone interested in learning more about potential programs should contact their Natural Resources Conservation Office, or the SWCD for more information.
