Crops
Our farming operation is diversified between dry land and
irrigated crop production and custom farm work.
We farm several irrigated tracts but the greatest percentage of our land is in dry land production of wheat, corn, soybeans and milo (grain sorghum).
We stay busy much of the year planting, spraying and harvesting. During the winter we attend educational meetings to improve our farming skills; we also make equipment purchases and prepare cropping plans for the coming year.
No-Till
We began no-till farming in 1996 and we are now experiencing the benefits of improved soil organic matter, water holding capacity and decreased soil compaction. We have maintained excellent yields and have decreased our fuel consumption and labor. If you are interested in more information on this topic please visit the no-till website.
Crop Rotations
We aggressively rotate crops to reduce weed pressure and decrease herbicide use. We take advantage of available soil moisture by double cropping which also hastens the rotation cycle.
Typically, we raise wheat two consecutive years then double crop soybeans in the wheat stubble in late June going back to milo in that field the following spring.
The next spring we plant soybeans and double crop wheat in the soybean stubble in October to complete the rotation cycle. We are still fine-tuning this cultural practice and are considering additional crops to substitute in this rotation to provide longer spans between like crops to further reduce the incidence of weeds.
Grain Storage & Marketing
We have increased our marketing flexibility by building additional on-farm grain storage. This has also streamlined our harvesting; we are able to avoid some of the long lines at elevators and take advantage of quick truck unloading times to complete our harvesting efficiently.
Precision Ag
We utilize the tools of precision agriculture: yield monitors, GPS guided soil sampling, GIS record keeping, lightbar guidance systems and even automated steering. Our goal in farming is to manage our larger farm as well as our grandfather was able to intimately farm a quarter section of land. We have the ability to record and monitor the exact locations where we are applying seed, fertilizer and herbicides.
On-Farm Research
These are some of the studies we have done on our farm recently
- Inoculation (soybeans)
- Starter fertilizer (soybeans, milo)
- Plant populations (corn, soybeans and wheat
- Row spacing (soybeans and milo)
- Topdress with sulfur (wheat)
- Planter attachments (corn, milo, soybeans)
- Planting speed (corn)
- Variable rate lime and gyp
- Seed variety selection
We belong to several organizations to keep abreast of the changes rapidly taking place in the agricultural industry and our society.
- Kansas Ag Research & Technology Association
- Kansas Crop Residue Management Alliance
- Kansas Association of Wheat Growers
- National Farmers Organization
- Kansas Grain Sorghum Producers Association
- Rice County Residue Alliance
- Kansas Water Protection Association of Central Kansas (WaterPACK)