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SOIL HEALTH IN PRACTICE - REAL SOLUTIONS FROM REAL FARMERS

Another farm which uses cover crops for both nitrogen and caution people that they will likely not achieve these yield
fertility management is JNG LLC, a certified organic farm levels after a single year of cover crops without added ni-
operated by Jerry Lahners of Hebron, NE. JNG is primarily trogen and in the early years he used chicken litter to sup-
in a corn-soybean rotation, a rotation in which most people plement his nitrogen needs. However, after several cycles
have difficulty working in viable cover crops. At JNG, cereal with cover crops the pool of mineralizable nitrogen builds
rye is drilled after corn harvest. In the spring, soybeans up and can eventually provide good yields without the need
are planted into live rye when the rye is nearing pollina- for imported nitrogen. While Jerry relies on these practic-
tion stage. Once the rye reaches pollination stage, the rye is es primarily because he is certified organic, he also points
roller crimped down to flatten the mulch and allow the de- out that these same practices can also be used with equal
veloping beans to reach sunlight. Jerry feels that delaying the benefit by farmers who are not organic. There is no reason
roller crimping until after the beans emerge allows the rye to that a farmer could not supplement the nitrogen from the
pump more root exudates into the ground and provide more hairy vetch with a little additional nitrogen, or some phos-
benefit to soil microbiology. The rye in a normal year with a phate or potash, but be able to dramatically reduce their
good thick stand provides very good weed control, because need for nitrogen. Additionally, a farmer could supplement
it sucks up any nitrogen left over from the previous corn the mulch with a herbicide application, or use a chemical
crop and stores it in weed-suppressing residue, and out of the burndown rather than a roller crimper, but use the weed
reach of weed roots. Once the soybeans reach leaf yellowing control benefits of the residue to reduce herbicide rates or
stage, hairy vetch is aerial seeded into the standing soybeans applications. Jerry also points out the obvious benefit this
and the pivot is used to water them up as well. In the spring, system has to other organic farmers, in that he has nearly
corn is planted into hairy vetch that is rolled down after it eliminated tillage from his operation, and still manages to
begins blooming. This means that planting is a bit later than do a very good job of weed control. The success that Jerry
normal for the area, but yields are still ordinarily very good. has had demonstrates that tillage is NOT a necessary com-
The corn in the photos planted into hairy vetch mulch made ponent of organic farming, that there are other means to
185 bushels per acre. While that won’t win you many coffee control weeds. But while Jerry is happy with his results, he
shop bragging contests, remember this crop was produced is far from satisfied. He thinks we are just scratching the
with untreated non-GMO seed, no insecticide, no herbicide, surface of what we can do in eliminating both tillage and
no fungicide, no tillage, and no fertilizer, and then sold at synthetic inputs from cropping, and that there are lessons
organic prices (around $9 a bushel). to be learned in that pursuit that can benefit both organic
Other acres include wheat in the rotation followed by cover and non- organic farmers alike.
crops that are grazed to further build soil. Next, a hairy
vetch cover crop will be seeded around Labor Day to pro-
duce nitrogen for next year’s corn crop Jerry is quick to

Photos by Jerry Lahners Crimping hairy vetch and planting organic corn all in one pass, Jerry Lahners is

taking care of the entire weed control and fertility program for this crop all at once!
Just add water and watch it grow!

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