Title Year Category
Description

Weed management in 1993 was often a case of “damage control,” as the effectiveness of both chemical and mechanical controls was hurt by the continual rains. Despite the problems, a number of PFI cooperators conducted weed management trials. …


Publish Date
February 2, 1994

PFI Staff
Practical Farmers of Iowa
Cooperators
Paul and Karen Mugge
Vic and Cindy Madsen
Dick and Sharon Thompson
Dordt College Agriculture Stewardship Center
Grazing 1988-1999
Description

PFI cooperators are working with support from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture to document the economics of management-intensive-grazing, using the Beef Cow Business Record. Those results will become available later in the project. The Leopold Center and …


Publish Date
February 1, 1994

PFI Staff
Practical Farmers of Iowa
Cooperators
Steve Hopkins and Sarah Andreasen
Description

Two PFI members have carried out trials of soil amendments in the general category of “biologicals” (Table 4.). They don’t happen to be research cooperators, but it hasn’t held them back. John and Rosie Wurpts, Ogden, submitted a …


Publish Date
February 11, 1993

PFI Staff
Practical Farmers of Iowa
Cooperators
John and Rosie Wurpts
Mike Hermanson
Description

Two cooperators gave serious examination to the use of cover crops to control weeds. Jeff and Gayle Olson, Mount Pleasant, compared mechanical and chemical means of removing a cover of springseeded rye from the ridge (Table 7). The …


Publish Date
February 10, 1993

PFI Staff
Practical Farmers of Iowa
Cooperators
Jeff and Gayle Olson
Dick and Sharon Thompson
Description

One more tool is coming into use in PFI trials. It is a “rear view mirror” test to tell you how the crop fared for nitrogen. It is the late season stalk nitrate-N test. Eight-inch sections of stalks …


Publish Date
February 9, 1993

PFI Staff
Practical Farmers of Iowa
Manure Trials 1988-1999
Description

PFI farmers have always been interested in the most efficient and profitable ways to use resources like livestock manure. This year’s field trials with manure looked at economics placement, comparisons with other fertilizers, and manure’s effect on soybeans. …


Publish Date
February 8, 1993

PFI Staff
Practical Farmers of Iowa
Cooperators
Vic and Cindy Madsen
Dick and Mary Jane Svoboda
Tom and Irene Frantzen
Mike and Jamie Reicherts
Ron and Maria Rosmann
Description

Past experience has suggested that the biggest advantage of narrow strip intercropping is seen in years with good yield potential. In years of drought stress, yields of stripped crops are no better than yields of whole-field blocks, and …


Publish Date
February 7, 1993

PFI Staff
Practical Farmers of Iowa
Cooperators
Doug Alert
Jeff and Gayle Olson
Dick and Sharon Thompson
Paul and Karen Mugge
Dordt College
Tom and Irene Frantzen
Description

In 1992 PFI cooperators received support from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture to document crop growth and economics in narrow strip intercropping. In narrow strip intercropping, alternating strips of different crops run side by side across the …


Publish Date
February 6, 1993

PFI Staff
Practical Farmers of Iowa
Cooperators
Doug Alert
Jeff Olson
Paul and Karen Mugge
Nitrogen 1988-1999
Description

The 1992 growing season was the fifth year PFI cooperators used the late spring soil nitrate test to set nitrogen rates for corn. The late spring, or “pre-sidedress,” test is taken when the crop is 6-12 inches tall …


Publish Date
February 5, 1993

PFI Staff
Practical Farmers of Iowa
Cooperators
Tom Frantzen
Jeff Olson
Mike Natvig
Description

Several additional fertility trials were carried out by cooperators. Paul and Karen Mugge, Sutherland, checked for residual differences due to deep banding in the ridge versus surface broadcast P and K fertilizer in December, 1990 (Table 5). There …


Publish Date
February 4, 1993

PFI Staff
Practical Farmers of Iowa
Cooperators
Paul and Karen Mugge
Jeff and Gayle Olson
Steve and Gloria Leazer
Ray and Marj Stonecypher
Description

A good argument could be made that there will never be a definitive answer to the question: “Do starter fertilizers pay?” The difficulty is in the complexity of the situation – there are multiple nutrients, environmental variables, producer …


Publish Date
February 3, 1993

PFI Staff
Practical Farmers of Iowa
Cooperators
Ray and Marj Stonecypher
Dick and Mary Jane Svoboda
Richard and Sharon Thompson
Tillage Trials 1988-1999
Description

Tillage is one of the most fundamental building blocks of a cropping system. There the agreement ends. Some prefer primary tillage, some say ridge tillage is the best of both worlds, and others believe no-till is the way …


Publish Date
February 2, 1993

PFI Staff
Practical Farmers of Iowa
Cooperators
Don and Sharon Davidson
Dave and Lisa Lubben
Jeff and Gayle Olson
Mike and Jamie Reicherts