Bean Yeild observations

IaGary · Oct 9, 2014

First field I was in yielded in the mid 60's(58acres). This field has only been in beans 2 of the last 20 years so diseases are low. Chisel plowed last fall and one pass with a field cultivator this spring.

Second field (52 acres) was mid 50's. It has been in corn bean rotation since 1976. Disced this spring and planted.

Next 4 fields (200+ acres total) were all Notill beans on corn stalks. They yielded mid to upper 40's. Some of these fields have had some pasture and hay mixed in over the last 30 years so disease pressure should not be to bad. Some of the soils were better CSR than the second 52 acre field.

Conclusion- the best yields were tilled fields.

May need to do more tillage in the future?

How do your notill beans stack up?

Gary

JD Seller · Oct 9, 2014

Notill has a yield drag around here. I know some people love it but I could not afford the yield loss.

The bean drag is usually around 3-5 bushels here. On corn on corn it is over 10 bushels.

I jumped on the notill wagon hard in the mid to late 1980s. I was 100% notill for 4-5 years. Yield never came up like they claim. I deep tilled the last fall after notill and my yields jumped 5-10% the next few years.

Might just be my soils but notill is a no go for me.

IaGary · Oct 9, 2014

I also have tilled most of my ground till this year. I have tried a field here and there of notil corn on bean stubble in the past.

The notil field of corn was always my worst. So I swore off notil corn 4 years ago.

Chisel plowing takes lots of fuel but may be worth it. I will at least disc all corn stalks from now on for bean planting.

I subsoil my bean stubble in the fall then field cultivate in spring and plant corn.

Gary

Goose · Oct 9, 2014

When I was farming back in the 1980's, I chiseled half the farm each fall after harvest, so the entire farm was chiseled every two years. I ran over it with a disc in the spring before I planted.

When I quit farming, I leased the ground out to an old friend of mine on shares. He was enamored with no till. I kept telling him that river bottom ground needed to be broken up frequently. He adamantly refused to chisel.

I told him, let's try an experiment. Make two rounds across the middle of a field with a chisel and see if it's noticeable next year when the crops are growing. He refused to even do that. So I told him, "To hell with it. I'll lease it to you on a cash basis and you can do whatever the hell you want".

So that's what we did. The issue was never resolved one way or the other.

Tech 7 · Oct 9, 2014

No till beans are almost a "must" around here. The soil is a heavy clay that is slow to dry in the spring. If the clay is worked wet it is a recipie for disaster, if it is worked and dries too much and a shower doesn't follow seeding, germination rates plummet. In corn most use a wavy coulter arrangement on the planter.
There are many farms that have been entirely no till here for close to 30 years. The soil health on these farms is excellent and yields are at or exceed provincial averages.
It makes a large difference in the return per acre when the cost of tillage is not there.One years results are herd to judge a program on.

Allan in NE · Oct 9, 2014

I'm going back to the plow.

Allan

Bobl1958 · Oct 9, 2014

You guys get better rainfall than we do here in Central KS.

Around here, no-till is the way to go. Saves on all the moisture. Tilling ground is a very big gamble most years here. My Brother and I have no-tilled wheat and beans for 8 years now, and I'll promise as a whole our yields are as good, and sometimes better than the neighbors that till their ground. Again, rainfall is the key for the tillage ground.

However, I know for sure that when we do a plow day on 80 acres or so, that ground will always produce better wheat than the no-tilled ground, with adaquet rain. Tilled ground, in my opinion, is always better, but if you are short on moisture, it's a whole different ballgame. Again, it depends on your part of the country. Bob

RodinNS · Oct 9, 2014

Have you considered a vertical tillage tool? We started running one this spring. It's only small grains we're doing here but if you hit it fairly early while there's still some moisture it will break up stubble in one pass and plant. I didn't see any difference in yield between that and fields that were disced this year... The main advantage I see is that you can cover twice the land for the same horse power because you're running nearly twice as fast as with a disc, it doesn't object to rock... and it does an excellent job of leveling. We were running a Salford RTS 1100 that has two gangs of wavy spring loaded coulters (1.75" and 1.5") followed by a rod harrow and a crumbler on back. It just does shallow tillage, breaks the crust, breaks down, spreads and slightly incorporates the trash... and basically leaves the ground red enough to start drying.
It's not for every situation... but it sure makes me hate the thought of dragging a disc around anymore.

Rod

fixerupper · Oct 9, 2014

46 to 53 bushel beans came off my farm. Best ever. The no tills were the best. Mt soil ph doesnt favor beans

paul · Oct 9, 2014

Don't think I have ever no tilled.

Tried some less till, just field cultivate bean stubble in spring,
but over a few years things drifted down hill.

Molboard plow most cornstalks, chisel most bean stubble,
trying some disk chisel on some cornstalks going to beans.

See very few acres that don't get fall tillage in my county. I got
38 acres I let the cows run on, I might be the biggest min tiller
in the county with that!

Paul

Indiana Ken · Oct 9, 2014

Just a comment: I am sure your numbers are correct however, it may be misleading to take one years data. My brother no-tills and my farm is no-tilled. He has always stated it takes several years for the soil to change and the yields to reach the maximum.

JMS/.MN · Oct 9, 2014

What these responses show is that no one system is a panacea. People who claim there way is the only way to g(r)o(w) are simply wrong. They get to be annoying. Different soils/climate...different systems.

Bobl1958 · Oct 9, 2014

I have always heard that it takes 5 to 7 years for the soil to start loosening up, but, again, that is just "what they say" - Bob

David G · Oct 9, 2014

I would check the chemicals, another thing would be spreading oil radishes on in the fall. I have found them to break up the soil without tilling.

fixerupper · Oct 9, 2014

I was in the DR office waiting room and was called in when I made the first post and I didn't have time to finish it. I do no-till on a 1/4 section that is light soil, some downright sandy. The rest is deep tilled. I assume the reason my no-till beans did better this year is because they are on well drained, drier soil. the beans in my low heavier soil were 12" tall because the soil was too wet for too long. The soil PH in my neighborhood just isn't good for beans. No one has beans that yield over fifty no matter what they do. My average bean yield for this farm is 48. I've seen 245 bushel corn on the yield monitor in soil that grows 35 bushel beans at best. Jim

John M · Oct 9, 2014

Growing up, Dad put beans in several fields we rented, mostly like these 10 - 15 acre plots. Hadnt had beans on this place since 1986. Helped a buddy put beans in here. Hes cutting as I type. Growing up it was cut, plow, seed. (Got fertilizer, etc as needed. Buddy did no till on it this year, Im waiting to see his yields compared to what we use to get off of it. I know, not a good comparison, but its all I have to go on. By coincidence, he has our old farm truck, so I can kinda go by that.

John M · Oct 9, 2014

A little more than 300 bushel off of about 9 1/2 acres.

keh · Oct 9, 2014

Land a mile or so from me in W SC has been in
Fescue pasture for 40 plus years. Somebody
leased 2 tracts last year and notilled it with
soybeans. Rainy year last year, yields looked
good, never did talk to the farmer about
details. This year notill again in beans. They
look better this year, but not ready to combine
yet. Generally people here don't combine until
after frost, no frost yet but one day had ice on
windshield. Just got in from baling hay, some
Johnson grass in common bermuda. No frost
damage.

KEH

ROME/NE.IA. · Oct 9, 2014

How you been, Gary ? Havn"t talked since Lake Ozarks. We are No-till soybeans, also. Started out with some O.K. beans. (50 ish) Then things went south in a bad way. 35 to 45 bpa. We are now about half done and , after looking at planting data, realized it"s just in the maturity of bean seed. Soil types are not as critical. Early 2"s are horrible. mid 2"s are O.K. and late 2"s are doing 60ish. We switch numbers when ever previous number runs out, so we have no farm to farm pattern. It sounds like this is pretty typical for our area of N.E. Iowa. I was suspicious of no-till, also.

John M · Oct 9, 2014

Wow, the difference a few miles makes, huh? These over here should have been cut last week, but something happened to the guys combine, so it had to wait.

David G · Oct 10, 2014

The maturity is a gamble on when the rains will come. We won big this year with late maturing, was dry summer, then rainy early fall.

formenwhogrow · Oct 10, 2014

A tillage operation after long periods of no-
till or sod will release nutrients that get
"bound up" in the soil, thus increasing yields
for year or so. But, from what I have learned
about no-till, it is a system which is a lot
more intensive than simply not plowing for a
few years. Long crop rotations (including a
few years in sod/hay), cover cropping, and
incorporating livestock seem to be what they
say is the secret to no-till farming. I do
know this, and correct me if I am wrong, but I
don't think there is a soil scientist out there
who would say tillage is "good" for soil
health.

Bean Yeild observations

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Similar threads