The unfiltered roundtable discussions that take place at our annual National Strip-Tillage and No-Tillage Conferences are almost worth the price of admission alone, as farmers ask questions, share solutions and address challenges on everything from nitrogen (N) application strategies to slug control. The roundtable moderators record notes and pass them on to us after the discussions. As I was doing some spring cleaning this week, I came across a stack of those moderator note sheets on one of my shelves. So, let's press pause on the spring cleaning to sift through these notes, which include over 40 actionable ideas, tips and observations from the most recent roundtable discussions.

• Ways to get the most bang for your buck with N: Variable-rate second sidedress application, use sulfur (thio-sul) always with UAN 28 or UAN 32, plant green into cover crops to maximize growth, always use N with planter, apply more N to better corn and less to poorer corn.

• You can never solve compaction issues with mechanical equipment. The problem will just keep coming back. Anything with deep roots, like ryegrass, can help alleviate compaction. Is it OK to use a deep ripper occasionally to solve compaction issues? Many farmers used a deep ripper pass in the fall on hard, dry soils. Increased soil organic matter can prevent compaction and hold up to heavy equipment.

• Adding “pop-up” fertilizer to 2-by-2 or 2-by-2-by-2 may not be worth the added cost. 2-by-2 seems to do the job itself. A starter fertilizer program is essential in no-till planting.

• Hydraulic downforce is worth its weight in gold. If you’re having problems maintaining depth and downforce is maxed out, then you may need to back off on pressure. Conceal precision didn’t work for some no-tillers, as it ended up dragging bean stubble regardless of depth. Other no-tillers liked it and haven’t had any issues with it. 

• Yetter Devastators on front of planter help with planting green (especially with rye and vetch). Slow and steady is best when planting green. 

• Diverse, multi-species cover crops pay off better than single species. Broadcasting cover crops with fertilizer or alone is the most cost-effective way for application. Growing your own covers can be a good option to lower seed costs. Cover crops help with erosion control, allowing strips to be put in straighter on hills. Different cover crop application methods include tanks on combines or on strip-till bars applying covers between strips. 

• Cover crop termination strategies and considerations: Roller-crimper doesn’t always result in 100% kill (two-roller system might help). Clethodim could be used to terminate cereal rye instead of Roundup. One farmer is trying a mix of apple cider vinegar, Select and thiosulfate. Some farmers think the residual products are getting tied up in the residue and not getting to the soil. Send water sample to know exactly how to treat the water to get 4.5 pH for glyphosate treatment.

• Narrow rows are harder to get through, so you need to do pre-emerge weed control and fertility before planting. Much wider rows (48 to 60 inch) can help with establishing cover crops in growing cash crops (less competition and canopy for the cover crop). Narrow rows would be more compatible with broadcast fertilizer and wide rows for banding fertilizer.

• It takes multiple practices to control slugs, and any one practice only gets 50% control at best. Slugs like low C:N crops (legumes), lots of vegetation and moisture. Jim Hoorman has free fact sheets on slugs and voles.

• To get more even residue separation to keep planter from plugging, dealer recommends dual-disk spreader combines instead of whale-tails. 

• If you add concealers or liquid to your system, the horsepower requirements of your planter increase significantly.

• Univ of. Nebraska points out that if you’re worried about compaction, don’t add tanks to the sides of the tractor, especially since the front axle is the heaviest part.

• Look into heavier bearings, harder blades for disc openers vs. OEM blades for better longevity planting no-till/cover crops.

• Keeton Seed Firmers are a must for improved seed-to-soil contact. Beware of running fertilizer through them. Pay attention to style, the newer models are improved.

• Take the no-till coulters off. Less downforce needed, disc openers can cut through residue fine.

• Nutrient stratification of phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) isn’t a big problem in healthy no-till soils, even though it does exist. Therefore, sidedressing P & K isn’t very useful for no-tillers and not widely practiced.

• Livestock considerations: Farmers are interested in fenceless electronic fences and eager to try them. Don’t leave cattle on 1 paddock for too long, move regularly. Multi-species of forage work best to lengthen the grazing season. Many farmers have had good luck with seeding forage covers aerially, and doing it early to get more fall pasture. Some no-tillers had poor results from grazing sheep on standing corn planted in 60-inch rows.

• Do biologicals work consistently? Maybe. Sometimes. Nobody seems to have the answer to make them work every year. Very mixed results in good soils. They might work better in poorer soils.

• Soil testing and good harvest data are the beginning points for building variable rate fertilizer prescriptions. Determine goals for why and what you want to accomplish with variable rate technology. Previous crop removal or future crop removal based on past yield history is good for variable rate prescriptions. Use soil testing by grids or zones to deal with initial field imbalances. Make sure you have access to equipment and support to get quality variable rate prescriptions and applications.

• Broadcast turnip, clover, ryegrass around the mid-to-end of August in double crop soybeans to jump-start a spring forage.

• Poultry manure can kill soybean cyst nematode.