*CA-CoP* *CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE* *for sustainable production intensification* Dear Subscribers, In view of the ongoing drought in the US we approached CASA to find out whether CA farms would perform differently – ideally better – than conventional or rotational no-till farms – something we would expect from experiences in other parts of the world. Among the responses which Karen Scanlon collected for us was a very interesting survey done by Brian Lindley from No-till on the Plains, which we would like to share with you. Also, please have a look at the attached press release Karen shared with us, and the following link in the Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-deans/conservation-helps-farmer_b_1746633.html It all seems to indicate that good quality CA can face this 'actual'drought. *Amir Kassam* *Moderator* ** ** Plant Production and Protection Division Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Viale delle Terme di Caracalla 00153 Rome Italy e-mail: [log in to unmask] URL: www.fao.org/ag/ca ***Save and Grow** Sustainable Crop Production Intensification Ecosystem Approach to Enhance Crop Production* *From*: Brian Lindley [mailto:[log in to unmask]] *Sent*: Thursday, August 09, 2012 05:14 PM *To*: Hatfield, Jerry; Karen Scanlon <[log in to unmask]> *Subject*: Re: drought in the US **** Karen, **** ** ** When I reply to all it comes back to me. A problem on our end I think.**** ** ** Last week we took an 1850 mile tour around KS, NE, SD and ND. It was very apparent that the high quality no-till is hanging on and pollenated and will be harvested. Based on ear and kernel counts, most of the fields look like they will make between 50-80, but like Jerry said it is a little early to tell. Irrigated crops look fine. Dryland intensive tilled and a lot of strip-till is toast and will be zeroed-out. **** ** ** I found it interesting that this producer at the intersection of hwy 281 & hwy 36 in north central KS still has double crop soybeans alive. If he catches some rains they will still produce grain. If not he will get nitrogen from them. I stopped and they are nodulating fine. I would guess the wheat yield at around 65 bu/ac. They had received a 1" rain the night before this picture was taken. **** **** ** ** Here is a closer view. I used an IR Thermometer to and the temperature of the residue was 142°. Closer to the growing plant it was 88° and under the residue it was 99°. I assume neither of the no-till fields had been sprayed with herbicide. I found no tracks.**** ** ** **** ** ** The picture below is about 100 feet south of the top two photos on the other side of the highway. Great cover, but not the life or options that the soybean field offers. I did not take the temp there.**** ** ** **** ** ** Just a half a mile east I found this field. First notice that he had run-off with just one inch of rain. Without fail every farm that was tilled had water in the terrace channels and road ditches. They did not capture much of the rain at all. The temperature was already at 153°. Microbial life does not survive at that temp according to Dr. Kristine Nichols. Ambient temperature for the day was only about 98° when I was taking the photos. **** ** ** **** ** ** Virtually NO residue on or life in this soil. The future does not look bright for producers like this. Unfortunately, in the US we are paying for farmers like this to degrade our soils!**** ** ** Here are a few pics of the ugly. **** ** ** Maybe a bit past 3 foot tall in a poorly managed no-till field.**** ** ** **** ** ** **** ** ** As you can see not enough residue to benefit anything.**** ** ** **** ** ** One observation that I made is that this year only high-quality no-tillage (100% residue, invisible planting, diverse rotations and proper intensity and management of the system as a whole) will harvest a crop. And those with properly managed cover crops are doing okay. **** ** ** Now this is what we have been advocating for 20 years, it is just that this year it is so dramatic a difference. **** ** ** Some models are showing that we are headed for 20 extreme drought episodes out of 50 years instead of the current 5 out of 50. We need for everyone to get on board NOW!**** ** ** Sincerely,**** ** ** Brian Lindley**** Executive Director**** No-till on the Plains**** 785.456.1433**** Skype: brian.lindley2112**** *Creating a Brighter Future for Humanity!™***** ** ** ✢✢✢✢✢✢✢✢✢✢✢✢✢✢✢✢✢✢✢✢✢✢✢✢✢✢✢✢✢✢✢✢✢✢✢✢✢✢✢✢**** To *subscribe* to the CA-CoP-L list, send an e-mail to [log in to unmask] leaving the subject line blank and placing only the one-line message: ‘*SUBSCRIBE CA-CoP-L Name Surname*’ in the message part without any further text such as an address, etc. ######################################################################## To unsubscribe from the CA-Cop-L list, click the following link: &*TICKET_URL(CA-Cop-L,SIGNOFF);