UVM EXT - Champlain Valley Crop, Soil & Pasture Newsletter

INJECT in the fall with a draghose system with disk injectors in corn stubble or after hay harvest.

AERWAY or GEN-TILL slots in the soil leave crop residue on the surface and let manure soak into the ground.

Plant a Cover Crop in the fall at the same time to take up Nutrients and save them for the next crop.

Leave it on the surface, lose all your Nitrogen and Phosphorus and keep a look out for environmental problems.

Farr Farms (Richmond) using their injector to apply manure into a rye cover crop in the spring before planting.

For questions about getting the most out of your manure, contact your UVM Extension Office.
(802) 388-4969-Middlebury
(802) 524-6501-St. Albans

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If you would like to Ask ELSIE? a question, please email her by clicking HERE.

FARM NEWS & EVENTS

Tile Drainage Research Conference

Miner Institute, Chazy,NY

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24th 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute, in collaboration with NY NRCS and the Lake Champlain Basin Program, is hosting a meeting to present the latest research and technology happening in the area of tile drainage water managemen and discuss their management implications.

Click HERE for the Conference Flyer

For more information and to pre-register, contact Eric Young at young@whminer.com or Rachel Dutil at dutil@whminer.com or 518-846-712

FARM NEWS & EVENTS

Register Now for Class to Re-Strategize Your Farm Business

Taking Stock is designed for farmers with 5 or more years of production experience.

At some point every farmer has to acknowledge that the business has undergone some unexpected changes. Whatever the catalyst, your business will likely need some reframing and re-strategizing to get back in sync with your life. Taking Stock leads participants through a process of re-envisioning the business-looking back and planning forward. This class will prepare you for the challenges of the next phase of business development.

Where: Rutland, VT
Dates: Nov. 11, Dec. 9, 2013 & January 13, 2014
Time: 10 am - 3:30 pm

Early registration deadline: Oct. 13: Cost: $110
Registration deadline:

Oct. 27, Cost: $150,

after Oct. 27 a $25 late fee

Online registration form or For more info -Jessie Schmidt or (802) 223-2389.

Funding for the Champlain Valley Crop, Soil & Pasture Team and the programs and resources we offer is provided by the following organizations:

UVM Extension
Lake Champlain Basin Program
Great Lakes Fishery Commission
USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service
VT Agency of Natural Resources
VT Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets
USDA-Risk Management Agency
NE-SARE

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Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture. University of Vermont Extension, Burlington, Vermont.

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University of Vermont Extension, and U.S. Department of Agriculture, cooperating, offer education and employment to everyone without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or familial status.

If you would no longer like to receive this newsletter, feel free to Unsubscribe by clicking the SafeUnsubscribe™ button at the bottom of this newsletter.
Although, we hope you won't!

Greetings

I can't even file my crop progress report this morning!

Since a lot of our work with farmers is so connected to Federal USDA programs, this message is all too common:

"Due to the lapse in federal government funding, this website is not available.

We sincerely regret this inconvenience. After funding has been restored, please allow some time for this website to become available again."

For information about available government services, visit usa.gov

To view U.S. Department of Agriculture Agency Contingency plans, visit: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/contingency-plans

UVM Extension is still actively working with farmers

and we don't plan to slow down.

Kirsten Workman and Jeff Sanders worked on the helicopter seedings this fall and they seeded 700 acres in Addison and Chittenden counties before corn was harvested. The results look great. The bulk of credit goes to Jeff Sanders and Heather Darby who organized rye seedings on nearly 6,000 acres in Vermont and New York with support from a grant from the Lake Champlain Basin Program, USDA EQIP/AGO funds and the Vermont FAP Cover Crop Program.

We have planted our Cover Crop Trials for our SARE project to compare aerial broadcast seedings in corn in August with waiting till after the crop is harvested and using the Haybuster no-till grain drills. Two different three-way mixes at different seeding rates are being evaluated for cover and nutrient capture. The Millet, Forage Brassica and Tillage Radish Trial results are done and we'll publish the results this fall and present at our winter meetings. Planting in extremely dry or very wet clay soil continues to be a problem with closing the planting slot, so we are looking at how to modify the closing wheels similar to no-till corn planters.

More than 60 farms have signed up for the FAP - Farm Agronomics Program - for Cover Crops and we are working through the process of helping the State Agency of Agriculture to distribute incentive payments for nearly 6,000 acres of corn ground in this southern part of the Lake Champlain Watershed.

With the many cover crop trials we have in place, over 110 farms who used our grain drills for no-till plantings, more interest in double-crop corn silage and forage rye, and successful no-till corn BMP challenges - it might make sense to mark you calendar for a winter event we are planning:

Champlain Valley Cover Crop and No-Till Symposium

February 19 & 20, 2014

Meanwhile, please call if you have an interest in helping us move forward with selecting projects that you feel are important to you. We are hearing more about how soil health is so critical to your farm profitability and will protect the lake water quality, we just need to be sure any moves toward reduced tillage and more soil cover are based on good field research data.

Jeff Carter

UVM Extension Agronomy Specialist

http://www.uvm.edu/extension/cvcrops

https://www.facebook.com/ChamplainCropSoilPasture

News and Events

For Vermont Farmers in the Lake Champlain Watershed

GRAZING GREENER

Save the Date!
Champlain Valley Grazing Symposium

Mark your calendar for Thursday, November 14th, 2013 for an afternoon of Holistic Planned Grazing

WHEN: Thursday, November 14, 2013 10:00 am - 2:30 pm

WHERE: Bridport Community Hall, 52 Middle Rd., Bridport

Come hear grazing expert, Troy Bishopp, (aka 'The Grass Whisperer') discuss Holistic Planned Grazing. Learn tips and techniques for planning, monitoring and evaluating your grazing management. We'll learn about the how and why of the planned grazing monitoring chart and how to use this tool to optimize your productivity and profit.

The Grass Whisperer, Troy Bishopp

"The planned grazing monitoring chart has become an invaluable decision-making tool for our grazing operation, as well as our friends in the farming community and those agency professionals who give practical advice", says Troy Bishopp. Troy brings his 27 years of on-farm grazing experience through his family's custom grazing operation and 8 years of helping farmers make grazing management decisions through the Madison County Soil & Water Conservation District/Upper Susquehanna Coalition, to Vermont farmers.

Inspired by other profitable graziers and the Northeast SARE project, "Utilizing Holistic Planned Grazing as a Regenerative Engine for Sustainable Agriculture", he will exhibit his own 3 years of grazing records and decisions and facilitate discussions around the whole-farm grazing planning process.

Julie Smith, UVM Extension Dairy Specialist will also be here to discuss how to manage and troubleshoot common herd health issues including Johne's, BVD and nutritional deficiencies that rob your herd's productivity. Internal parasites can be a real problem on pastures and we'll have a discussion about a serious concern with lungworms.

Jeff Carter and Kirsten Workman will lead a group discussion on how local farmers are using the no-till drills to improve their pastures with legumes, grasses, tillage radish and other summer annuals. Interseeded crops can increase yields and extend the grazing season, we just need to figure out the best methods for your farm and soils.

The meeting is partially supported by funds from the USDA Risk Management Agency. There still is a registration cost of $20 for a locally-sourced lunch.

Click HERE for the Workshop Flyer and a more detailed agenda!

You can register on-line at http://grazingsymposium2013.eventbrite.com/

or by calling the Cheryl Cesario at the Extension office at 388-4969. We hope to see you there!

CONSERVATION PARTNER SPOTLIGHT

Foster Brothers Farm in Middlebury Named Otter Creek Conservation District Farm of the Year

Otter Creek Natural Natural Resources Conservation District presented the Foster Brothers Farm with their Conservation Farm of the Year award at their annual meeting on October 8th. Attendees toured the farm and before the Otter Creek NRCD Annual Meeting that was held over a tasty lunch.

The Foster Brothers farm began its dairy operation in 1941 and incorporated in 1971. Today, the farm covers 1537 acres in Addison County. The dairy has a herd of more than 630 cows, of which more than 370 are milked. The herd produces over 10.8 million pounds of milk each year. Recognized as innovative leaders in the farm community they expanded their farm to include the first methane digester for electrical generation in Addison county and developed VT Natural Ag Products for a premium line of compost products. As each new generation of farm family members joins in the business, the farm continues to evolve and adapt new conservation practices.

George & Jeremy in No-Till Field

Jeremy explains No-Till Corn planting

Foster Brothers Farm Family
2013 Conservation Farm of the Year Award

To learn more about the Conservation Farmer of the Year Award

Otter Creek Natural Resources Conservation District

Pamela Stefanek at 802.388.6748 x26 or

Pam.Stefanek@vt.nacdnet.net

COVER CROP CORNER

Mix it Up...Cover Crop Diversity in Vermont

by Kirsten Workman

In Vermont, winter rye is by far the dominant cover crop used in annual field crop systems. It is for good reason. It germinates quickly, can be planted fairly late, is very winter hardy, is a great nutrient scavenger and when planted early enough can provide good weed suppression and soil health benefits. Sometimes, however, a little diversity may be a good thing. The Champlain Valley Crop, Soil & Pasture Team is looking at cover crop mixtures and how they might best be used in Vermont. We are in the middle of a Northeast SARE grant looking at cover crop diversity in no-till systems. In addition, we were just awarded an NRCS-CIG grant to look at 10 different cover crop mixes in field crop systems.
We are excited to work with Vermont farmers and farms to figure out cover cropping systems that work in our climate, cropping systems and soils. Our work will have a particular focus on the heavy clay soils of the Champlain Valley. Although you may see some of our trials on the sandy loam of the Winooski Valley and everything in between.

Why Mixtures?

The obvious question is why would you want to have mixtures of cover crops instead of single species? Would it not be easier to establish and manage a cover crop of just one species, like winter rye? Like all things in life, sometimes a little diversity is good for the system. There are many touted benefits of cover crop mixtures over monocultures. Some of these include:

Higher overall biomass production
Better weed suppression
Longer fall growth of more tender plants like radish and sunn hemp when mixed with more cold-tolerant plants.
Accomplishing multiple management goals with one planting
Assisting in the transition to a no-till system
Increases in soil health

None of these have been truly tested here, so we are busy trying to see what makes sense in Vermont.

According to participants in a cover crop focus group held in Middlebury in July, farmers in the Champlain Valley are interested in learning more about these mixtures and finding answers to these questions. One common theme we heard was farmers want to know just how early they can plant their cover crops, interseeding into their main crops. This may be one place where alternative cover crops and mixtures may play an important role.

What Mixtures?

A good cover crop mixture can have anywhere from two or three different species to more than a dozen. The right mix for your field will depend on many factors.

What are your management goals?
What is your soil type?
Do you want it to live over the winter or die?
What is the next cash crop that will be grown?
What time of year are you planting the cover crop?

The list goes on, but you get the idea. Once you have an idea about your goals, timing, etc. you can start to make some decisions about which species you want to include in your mix.

The CV Crops team is currently doing work with three-way mixes that include a grass or cereal grain, a legume, and a brassica. Having these three types of plants allows for biomass production, N fixation and deep taproot penetration/nutrient scavenging, respectively. We have planted the following mixes on three farms in Richmond, Ferrisburgh, and Shoreham .

Mix 1 (Winter Kill Mix) = Oats, Cow Peas & Tillage Radish
Mix 2 (Winter Hardy Mix) = Winter Triticale, Winter Pea & Winter Rape

Mix 2:Triticale, Winter Pea & Winter Rape

Mix 1: Oats, Cow Peas & Tillage Radish

Considerations

As with all crops, growing good cover crops takes good management. There are a few considerations you should keep in mind as you start 'mixing it up' with your cover crops.

Know what your goals are - so you can match the right plants to accomplish those goals.
Start Small - Start by mixing two or three species you are familiar with on just one field. Once you have had success, start building on that.
Seeding Rates - Don't plant full rates of all the species in the mix, especially the more competitive species like oats and other grasses.
Read Seed Tags & Ask Questions - Whether you do your own mixing or purchase a pre-made seed mix, pay attention to varieties and look for certified seed. Make sure you know how much of each seed is in the mix. If your dealer doesn't know, call the seed company!
Pay attention to planting - We find that if you are drilling (and even broadcasting) setting your planter for largest or most predominant seed in your mix seems to work well for seeding rates, and you can usually come to a compromise on seed depth. Try a small section of the field first and see if you are seeding at the correct rate and depth and make any needed adjustments.

Conclusions

The best cover crop (mix or otherwise) is the one that grows well on your soils,

Oats, Peas and Radish interseeded into corn silage in one of on-farm research plots.

gets a good cover, and accomplishes your goals. This is going to be different on your farm than it is on your neighbor's. But as Jeff Carter always says, "That seed won't grow if it's still in the bag!" So get out there and plant it, and see how it goes. Make changes next year, and try it again.

Give us a call and let us know what you're trying. We are happy to work with you as you make decisions or if you just want figure out how to measure success. We are hoping this project gives us some insight as we move forward looking into the practice of cover cropping in the Champlain Valley. We can only do that with input from farmers like YOU. What would you like to know about growing cover crop mixes? Let us know, so that we can continue to keep our work pertinent.

Agronomy & Conservation Assistance Program

No-Till Matches Yields of Conventional Till Corn on Heavy Clay

by Rico Balzano

Preliminary results from the BMP Challenge project this year show that no-till corn on Covington clay here in Addison County equaled the yield of corn grown on plowed and disked ground. Also, no-till corn yielded higher than conventional till on Swanton sandy loam in the same trial.

The BMP challenge trial consisted of two strips planted side by side in the same field, one area was moldboard plowed and disked while the other was not tilled and the rye cover crop was burned down with an herbicide application. Corn was then then planted into both with the same no-till planter on the same day.

Corn silage harvested on September 24th was weighed and after adjusting to 35% dry matter, yields on the clay soil showed no difference between the two different methods. On the sandy loam soil, the no-till corn showed a 7% yield increase over the plowed and disked corn. After factoring in costs of both systems, the no-till system is clearly ahead. Table 1 shows the cost comparison.

Table 1: Cost comparison for no-till v. conventional till.

Check strip operations
Tillage operations	Cost/acre
Moldboard Plow	$22.11
Disk	$10.75
Planter	$11.02
Tillage Total	$43.88

No-Till operations
Tillage operations	Cost/acre
Planter	$14.01

No-Till Savings /Acre	$29.87
Operations Cost Source: U. of Minnesota Extension

No-till shows another advantage at harvest time that is best explained by the picture below.

To the right is the no-till plot being harvested by the chopper. On the left is the check strip that was plowed and disked. The soil is Covington clay and the ruts left by the chopper

show compaction can be much worse in plowed fields. Now, the check strip will need to be tilled to smooth out the ruts, creating a cycle of tillage that degrades soil health and robs future yields.

CHAMPLAIN VALLEY FARMER COALITION NEWS

Building Partnerships for Farmers

CVFC Board of Directors - 2013

Plan to attend the Annual Meeting of the Champlain Valley Farmers Coalition on January 8th, 2014.

We are working out details for the rousing agenda and action items for that dinner event.

The board invites all interested farmers who would like to see action taken on a number of issues that directly affect your farm business.

Contact John Roberts, President of Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition to reserve a seat at the table - 388-4969

For more information about this farmer organization visit our website at:

www.champlainvalleyfarmercoaltion.com

If you know someone else who might be interested in receiving this jeff

newsletter, please share it and encourage them to join our mailing list.

Sincerely,

Jeff Carter,
Extension Agronomist
UVM Extension- Champlain Valley Crop, Soil & Pasture Team