2009 WHIRLWIND No-till EXPO
 July 15th, 2009     Clarkson, NE
Chris Clausen farm - southeast of Clarkson at the northeast corner of Co. Road S and Road 11 (Hwy 15) The morning portion of the event will be located on Hwy 15 4 miles south of the Junction of Highways 91 and 15.  The field site sits directly along the highway and attendees will park in the Co-op Fertilizer tank site.

                 $60 walk in registration
Join us for this summer event which will provide farmers with ways to increase profitability, gain better agronomic understanding of soils and their reactions to fertility, improve water quality, and also increase efficiency with new rotations and sequencing of crops.

The Whirlwind No-till Expo is set for July 15 near Clarkson, NE with power-packed hands-on learning featuring expert speakers as well as experienced local no-tillers from the area.  The day-long event will begin at 9:00 a.m. at the Chris Clausen farm - southeast of Clarkson at the northeast corner of Co. Road S and Road 11 (Hwy 15)

The Expo will feature soil pits on-site and in-the-field demonstrations.  This will be an excellent opportunity to see the rainfall simulator in action and witness the impact that continuous no-till practices have on soil.   After a morning of in-the-field demonstrations and talks, attendees will have the opportunity to enjoy a catered lunch along with speaker presentations at the Howells Ballroom, 515 North St, Howells, NE.

Sponsored in part by:
              

Featured Speakers

Schedule

Jerry Hatfield,  National Soil Tilth Research Laboratory, Supervisory Plant Physiologist, Ames, Iowa 
Dr. Hatfield’s research interests focus on the interaction of water, nutrients, carbon, and light in the response of crops to management systems across varying landscapes.  A portion of his current research efforts is directed toward the integration of remotely sensed information into agricultural management decisions to enhance agricultural production efficiency.     He is internationally recognized as one of the leading authorities on the impact of crop and livestock components of agricultural systems on air, water, and soil quality. 

Ray Ward is president and co-owner of Ward Laboratories, Inc. since 1983.   He holds numerous memberships in scientific and honorary academic societies and organizations.  His goals for agriculture and agronomy are to help production agriculture use its resources as efficiently as possible, to provide information and data for developing the best use of soil and water resources while maintaining environmental quality, to be involved in “value-added” agriculture, and to provide accurate laboratory data for managing production enterprises.

Paul J. Jasa  serves as an Extension Engineer, University of Nebraska.  Paul develops and conduct educational programs related to No-till equipment and system management.  He has been working with planting equipment and tillage system evaluation at the University since 1978.  With the experiences gained from research and Extension activities, he has become a good source of information in the Midwest on No-till planting equipment and system management. If there is a mistake to be made with No-till, he has either made it himself or has seen it done.  More importantly, he has learned from those mistakes and wants to share that information in presentations that stress the systems approach and the long-term benefits of No-till.

Dan Gillespie  (Rainfall Simulator)
Dan serves as the Nebraska NRCS No-till Specialist in the Battle Creek Field Office.  Dan has been thirty-three years in irrigated and dryland cash grain corn/soybean operation with cash wheat grain crop for the first time in 2007.  He first tried No-till corn into soybeans in 1987, and evolved to a Continuous No-till System on all acres in 1991.  Dan’s cropland is predominantly Nora Crofton silty clay loam soils on 4 to 16% slopes.  Long term CNT has increased biological activity in soils to the point where he felt that the residue produced by corn/soybeans alone was not sufficient to protect soils from the severe 4 to 6 inch rainfall events.  Any erosion is too much erosion!  In 2005 Dan incorporated cover crops following the soybean crop to increase erosion control and build soil organic matter.  Cereal rye has shown to be the best biomass producer but winter wheat provides him with the option of a cover or cash crop.  In fall 2006 he tried aerially seeded rye for the first time. 

Randy Rink  Randy has been a producer/farmer since 1979.  He farms over 2,000 acres with his father and employs one hired hand.  Randy has been continuous No-till for about 8 years.  He feeds 2,000 head of hogs.  Randy received a B.S.M.E  Mechanical Engineering degree from University of Nebraska and is one of the founders of Pender’s local rural wireless internet service.

No-till producer Chris Clausen (in yellow) prepares for the Expo along with UNL Extension Engineer Paul Jasa and Dan Gillespie of NRCS.

9:15 a.m. Rainfall Simulator / Soil Quality
               Paul Jasa, Extension Engineer, UNL Extension
               Dan Gillespie, NRCS Nebraska No-till Specialist
              

No-till and Conventiaonal Soil pits
Dr. Ray Ward, Owner, Ward Laboratories
Dr. Jerry Hatfield, ARS, National Soil Tilth Lab

Lunch / afternoon program at the Howells Ballroom

Water and Carbon: Building a Robust Soil System – Dr. Jerry Hatfield

Cropping Systems/Crop Rotations – Randy Rink, Pender, NE producer

Importance of Stand Establishment/No-till Equipment – Paul Jasa

Thank you to Chris Clausen for being the Cooperating farmer for this No-till On the Plains event!

Chris Clausen has been farming since 1981 and is the 5th generation of his family to do so since 1870.  Possessing an associate degree in agri-business, Chris and wife Lisa have two children, Rob and Beth.

He  has been no-tilling for 26 years, and the tour location will feature land that was prairie and pasture until 1998 and then put into no-till from 1998-2009.  The land is 15% slope, and typical moisture for the area is 27 inches annually.  Soils are Nora-Crofton, Moody, Alcestor, Hobbs, and Zook, and the crop rotation is Corn Soybeans>Corn Corn Soybeans Wheat>Continuous Corn under Irrigation.

Chris chose no-till for erosion control  and the fuel and labor savings.  The success that he has experienced includes good yields and low input cost, minimal runoff and good water quality.  He feels his greatest  challenge in continuing to no-till will be discovering which cover crops adapt to his region, planting in wet soil conditions, and incorporating other crops into his rotations.

The cover crops that he has planted include Rye, Oats, Sweet Clover, Sudan Grass, Field Peas, Foxtail, Millet, Canola, Lentils, Essex Rape, and Forage Radish.

Chris’ no-till goal is to leave the land in better condition than when he started.
 

These recent pictures from the Clausen farm show old radish cavities that are about 3.5 inches deep.  What is interesting is that the radishes were planted in July of 2007.  If you look closely you can see the old radish carcass next to the hole as well as the old wheat residue. Diversity at its finest!

Past Whirlwind Tours
Click on any picture for a larger view!