Conservation Agriculture (CA) principles like minimal soil disturbance through no-till or direct seeding, permanent soil cover, the use of crop residue and/or green manure cover crops, multi-cropping and crop rotation.
CA not only reduced costs, but enhanced soil structure, increased humus content, nurtured microbial life, prevented erosion and increased moisture absorption. Jaco realised South Africa needed CA to become globally competitive. Today, Jaco is reaping the benefits of no-till and crop rotation.
He doesn’t, for instance, allow market prices to determine which crops he plants – with his own silos, he can sell his crops when the prices are right. He doesn’t believe in debt, and to avoid it, he doesn’t take out production loans, but rather buys and pays for his year’s seed and fertiliser at the end of February.
~ Conservation Agriculture (CA): No-Till Farming:: Fifteen years of no-till – the results || No-till success on the Orange River ~The related terms, "sustainable" and "sustainability" are popularly used to describe a wide variety of activities which are generally ecologically laudable but which may not be sustainable. An examination of major reports reveals contradictory uses of the terms. An attempt is made here to give a firm and unambiguous definition to the concept of sustainability and to translate the definition into a series of laws and hypotheses which, it is hoped, will clarify the implications of the use of the concept of sustainability. These are followed by a series of observations and predictions that relate to "sustainability." The laws should enable one to read the many publications on sustainability and help one to decide whether the publications are seeking to illuminate or to obfuscate.
~ Reflections on Sustainability, Population Growth, and the Environment: Carrying Capacity & Denial of Population Problem ~Today, 6.5 billion humans depend entirely on oil for food, energy, plastics & chemicals. Population growth is on a collision course with the inevitable decline in oil production.
~ The Oil Factor: Behind the War on Terror, by Free Will Production ~
Fifteen years of no-till – the results
Farmers Weekly | Robyn Joubert
Farmers Weekly | Robyn Joubert
Karkloof’s no-till pioneer René Stubbs has been at it for 15 years. His maize silage yield has increased from 8t/ha DM in 1995 to 14,5t/ha DM in 2008, with a saving of up to 40 of diesel/ha in land preparation. On pastures, he saves up to 60 diesel/ha which is close to R90 000 for 170ha of annual re-sown pasture, bringing total fuel savings to R132 000 a year, writes Robyn Joubert.
René Stubbs has come a long way since he first dipped his toes into the milk industry in 1989. Not only has he built up his dairy from a small leased herd to his own impressive herd of 760 Holsteins in milk, René has also pioneered no-till farming in Karkloof outside Pietermaritzburg.
“When we bought Denleigh farm in 1986, the soils were shot,” he recalls. “The land had continuously been farmed to produce maize for an intensive beef operation, as well as potatoes and later carrots. The soils were full of harmful pathogens, had very little structure and contained hardly any organic matter.” René explains that the contour banks were huge and poorly constructed, leading to severe erosion whenever they had a big storm. Conventional tillage practices required tractors and equipment clocking up many working hours and he was faced with mounting bills to replace equipment which he couldn’t afford at the time. Despite his best efforts, René was unable to improve maize yields beyond 7t/ha. “The writing was on the wall – it was time to change the way we did things on the farm.”
The no-till movement was gaining momentum then and good experience was emanating from the US, Brazil, and locally. “We were seeing improvements in no-till equipment and people were starting to understand that with the right equipment, herbicides and technique, the system was feasible,” he says. “The price of glyphosate had also become more favourable and I was faced with an interesting challenge.” René, who is chairperson of Midlands Milk (Pty), uses two systems of forage production at Denleigh to support his dairy herd.
The first is maize silage and cover crops, the second is pastures consisting of kikuyu and perennial ryegrass for the summer and annual ryegrass for winter forage.
He has used no-till on maize for 15 years now and over that period, rain-fed maize silage yield improved from 8t/ha DM in 1995 to 12t/ha DM in 2002 and 14,5t/ha DM in 2008. In terms of pasture, René is going into the third year of no-till and expects to establish all newly sown pastures with this method.
Diesel savings and soil improvement
René estimates that on the maize fields alone, he saves 30ℓ to 40ℓ of diesel/ha in land preparation, which amounts to R38 000 a year on 110ha of maize silage produced. On the pastures, he saves 50ℓ to 60ℓ diesel/ha, which is close to R90 000 for 170ha of annual re-sown pasture, bringing total fuel savings to R132 000 a year.
“That’s not taking into account the savings of up to 900 tractor-hours per year between maize silage and pasture establishment. The money I’m saving could buy a new 65kW tractor every 11 years,” he points out.
Perhaps even more important for René than the economic aspect is the improvement in the condition of the soil. Soil pH has improved from 4,5 to 5 on average.
“We are consistently applying lime topdressings and gypsum at strategic times. The average soil acid saturation in 1995 for the entire farm was 16%, now it is close to zero.” With the acid saturation coming down, calcium levels have improved to just below 1 000mg Ca/ℓ in the soil. Magnesium increased at the same time. Soil organic carbon is increasing slowly but steadily.
On average, most of Denleigh’s soil contains over 4% organic carbon in 2008 compared to 2% in 1996, and that improvement comes on fields that produce maize silage alone, René says. “We have also seen a spectacular increase in the earthworms and other indicator species. Earthworms have improved from no earthworms per square metre in soil that had been ploughed for many years to 300 earthworms per square metre after three years of no-till. We work in an amazingly forgiving environment.”
Weeds have also been reduced significantly. “There has been an enormous change in weed species and reduced populations of grasses, especially stoloniferous types in maize and nutgrass in pastures.” A sharp decrease in soil pathogens has come as a welcome relief. “Soil pests like rootworm and wireworm, together with black maize beetle, were prolific 15 years ago and were costing us close to R500/ha to try and combat,” René says. “Now we no longer treat for any of them. We only use Eco-T from Plant Health Products, which helps restore the balance in the soil of predatory fungi, ensuring improved germination and plant health.”
Improving water, reducing erosion and returning wildlife
The no-till system has had a significant impact on the quality of catchment water. A Sappi water quality test repeated from 1999 to 2001, measuring the number of organisms in the water, found that while the Karkloof River was in “fair” health in the first two years, it was upgraded to “good” in 2001. “We have seen a significant improvement in water quality in the river as more farmers adopt the no-till method,” explains René.
Soil erosion has been reduced during heavy summer rainfall due to soil cover. “If the soil is tilled, cover is reduced and soil gets washed away. This fact drives us away from conventional to alternative cultivation methods.”
The increase in cover and food for wildlife has resulted in the return to the valley of some indicator species such as the wattled crane and the bald ibis and an improvement in the numbers of other species such as the guinea fowl.
Promoting no-till
René is emphatic that the no-till production system is effective, economically sustainable and environmentally acceptable. “The system works. However, it requires a thorough understanding and needs a long-term commitment to see it through. As we are the custodians of our farms, we have a responsibility to become sustainable, innovative and economical in the way we manage our farms for future generations.”
Contact René Stubbs on (033) 3302822 or e-mail denleigh@mweb.co.za.
Timeline of silage maize and cover crop system
Mid-September/mid-October: spray cover crop with glyphosate.
November: plant maize and apply pre-emergent herbicide spray.
November/December: nitrogen top dressing and post-emergence herbicide sprays.
April: silage-making and simultaneous seeding of cover crop. Plant cover crop in the same four-day period that maize silage is harvested to prevent the soil from drying out.
June to September: intermittent grazing of cover crop. If decent rain falls, put cows in to graze. But keep cows out if there is no rain or if it is muddy to prevent compaction.
June to September: this is the ideal time to take soil samples and make soil fertility corrections. Apply lime and gypsum.
September to October: allow cover crop to grow out.
Timeline of no-till pastures
The no-till method for pasture is based on ensuring planting is done at the right time. René says they generally plant for winter production in February.
Kikuyu over-sow:
Late February: spray the cover crop with glyphosate (400ml/65ℓ water) and mulch if necessary.
Early March: plant kikuyu seed and irrigate.
Annual ryegrass:
End December: stop grazing and bulk up organic matter.
Mid February: spray off with glyphosate (3ℓ/65ℓ water).
End February: spray off with glyphosate (1ℓ/65ℓ water).
End February: plant ryegrass into cover, band-applied fertiliser for pop-up.
Mid April: graze.
Source: Farmers Weekly
No-till success on the Orange River
Farmers Weekly
Farmers Weekly
From his farm Rivierkraal on the Orange River, Jaco van Niekerk plays a leading role in local research into cultivars and no-till practices, which include soya production – both with Argentinian cultivars and for the proposed Sasol project – and alternative crops such as paprika. Jaco earned a BSc Agric from the University of the Free State in 1985 and started sheep farming with his father and brother on Winterhoek farm in the Strydenburg area of the Northern Cape.
In 1986 he bought the then 132ha farm with his father’s help. Today he farms on 1 139ha, including 440ha of irrigated crops, 3ha of pecan nuts and about 4ha under lucerne, planted between the centre pivots. O n sandy loam soils with a clay content of 10% to 12%, Jaco’s soya, maize and wheat respectively yielded 4,3t/ha, 14,9t/ha and 7,3t/ha this past season. He grazes his 130-strong commercial Bonsmara beef herd on the thick residue of his maize crop, while he also runs a flock of 600 Dorper ewes for fat-lamb production.
Soil: a lifelong fascination Jaco’s interest in soil structure and the damage done by conventional tillage, inorganic fertilisers and harmful chemical applications was nurtured by his father and reinforced at university. S eeking alternatives, he went on a farmer’s tour to the US in 1995, where he first learnt about conservation agriculture (CA) principles like minimal soil disturbance through no-till or direct seeding, permanent soil cover, the use of crop residue and/or green manure cover crops, multi-cropping and crop rotation.
CA not only reduced costs, but enhanced soil structure, increased humus content, nurtured microbial life, prevented erosion and increased moisture absorption. Jaco realised South Africa needed CA to become globally competitive.
Today, Jaco is reaping the benefits of no-till and crop rotation. Crop residue mulch captures rain and irrigation water, letting him use up to 30% less water, and cutting down on pumping costs. As Rivierkraal receives only 300mm rainfall per year, and with moisture retained due to no-till, weekly irrigation scheduling, done by GWK using a neutron moisture meter, is vital. The crop residue also forms a blanket that regulates temperatures and helps control weeds.
Thanks to the build-up of humus, Jaco also needs less fertiliser, while microorganisms and earthworms flourish in the wetter soil. Ahead of his time When Jaco adopted no-till, it was rapidly increasing worldwide. In 2001/02 an estimated 72,1 million hectares were under no-till, South Africa accounting for only 300 000ha. Jaco blames this on a lack of knowledge, citing the dearth of information on CA available in South Africa. “Farm machinery and diesel were more expensive here than in the US, but financial savings weren’t what motivated me to go no-till,” says Jaco.
“I wanted to save and enhance my soils for myself and future generations. But local farm machinery companies weren’t importing no-till equipment. Alongside other input companies, they were actively discouraging no-till for fear it would hurt their sales.
For example, I use only 6ℓ/ha of diesel to no-till plant, and only about 20ℓ/ha to plant, spray, combine and deliver the crop to my on-farm silos. In 2003 I managed to buy a Brazilian no-till Tatu planter for my maize and soya, and a no-till John Deere 1570 drill for my wheat. I’ve never looked back.” Jaco approaches his farming operations holistically.
His soils have been analysed and balanced on a grid basis according to the Albrecht system, with soil samples initially being sent to the US, before GWK took over. He plants weed- and pest-resistant GM cultivars which need fewer chemical applications and when selecting cultivars, Jaco first considers trials he has conducted himself, then other trials conducted in the area. Jaco believes that by balancing his soils, using GM cultivars and adopting CA principles, he has had to spray less for fungal diseases.
He didn’t have to apply chemicals to his soya for the last three years, or to his wheat for the last two. He has also found that weed populations have declined, allowing him to spray less pre- and post- emergent glyphosate to control them. Sound financial approach Jaco believes the key to success is sound financial management.
He prepares and monitors a monthly budget, so that any corrective action necessary can be dealt with immediately. He doesn’t, for instance, allow market prices to determine which crops he plants – with his own silos, he can sell his crops when the prices are right. He doesn’t believe in debt, and to avoid it, he doesn’t take out production loans, but rather buys and pays for his year’s seed and fertiliser at the end of February.
Shared prosperity Jaco also provides for his workers and their dependants. He and his wife Marlene sent their domestic worker on a Smile training course so she could teach at a nursery school for workers’ children. Jaco provides school transport, sponsors fees, clothing and a soccer team and pays doctors’ bills. And, since they receive a bonus based on the season’s profits, Jaco’s workers have nothing to worry about.
E-mail Jaco van Niekerk at rivierkraal@telkomsa.net.
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