I beg to differ about the virtues of tillage before planting soys

Monday, January 2, 2012

The civil service view is that working the ground before planting produces only modest results, but the experience of many growers contradicts this

by PAT LYNCH

I have just finished a frustrating discussion with a civil servant about the benefits of tillage before soys. He said there was lots of information showing that the best you could expect if you work ground before planting soys was a couple of bushels per acre. He said he had seen numerous trials to prove that point. I replied that many growers told me that they were getting five to 10 bushels per acre by working the ground.

He asked me what their proof was. I said they had lots of comparisons of tillage versus no tillage on their farms. He replied he had seen things like that but, since the tests were not controlled, he had no faith in them. I countered that not all those growers could be wrong. He replied he was not convinced and we agreed to disagree. I also said that results with larger farm equipment will be different than small on-farm trials, where equipment size must be small.

This begs the question: "Where do growers go to get reliable information?" Our public servants argue that their information is unbiased, but I disagree. They have a very strong bias. It may be from personal experience, or from some research or researcher that has convinced them on a topic. Public servants argue that, since company information is necessarily biased, it is not as valid as their data.

However, there is a huge flaw in this argument. If public servants promote an idea or system and they are wrong, there are no consequences. They still have a job. If a private individual or researcher promotes a wrong idea or gives bad information, the consequences are severe. They can range from the loss of a customer or loss a revenue stream to loss of a job. From this perspective, private research is often more valuable than public research.

In the past, industry promoted high rates of nitrogen and fungicides on wheat. This was pooh-poohed by public officials. Until a couple of years ago, higher populations for corn were discouraged by many (including myself) as being self-serving for the seed industry. After looking more seriously at the private research on populations, many of us now promote higher corn populations.

Admittedly, there are some unscrupulous folks who use questionable research to promote their products. If you look long enough, you can probably find a research trial somewhere to prove what you are promoting. In fact, there are some research facilities that have a reputation for doing research to prove what you want.

But back to tillage before soys. The reason that it works and growers have seen the positive results is because of all the variables that go into getting the extra yield. If you research doing tillage before planting soys you must remove all variables except the tillage component. Tillage before soys works because you can plant earlier since the soil is warmer.

Doing a true tillage versus no tillage trial, you have to plant on the same date. Tillage also levels the ground. To compare tillage against no tillage, the ground must be equally level in both plots. This is really not a tillage comparison. But throw all factors together and growers see a response to tillage before soys with today's higher residue hybrids.

Accepting this conclusion is part of the truth of the "collective intelligence of growers." I have seen it at work many times. Many of my friends in the public sector do not understand this phenomenon. But then it took me years to understand it also.

In the future you will see more private research in domains that were historically in the public domain. Expect seed companies to look at fertility to increase the genetic potential of their genetics. Expect herbicide companies to look at tillage as part of a weed control strategy. Expect companies with seed treatments to look at rotation aspects. This research will be valid and valuable, because the consequences of it not being valid are huge for anyone bringing it forward.

Finally there are, and will continue to be, many more private researchers than public. There was a time when it was felt that a researcher who went to work for industry was selling out. "Now, because of the resources available, doing research for private industry is very rewarding. BF