Pockets of stubble still stand in the northeast region. Direct seeding and concerns over El nino, dry times, and erosion are some of the reasons quoted for leaving stubble standing.
After last years miserable harvest the early dry harvest this fall has been a relief. A lot of stubble has also been worked but it is interesting to observe that there are areas where significant acres of stubble still stand. In the past a long open fall like this one would have meant every possible stalk of stubble turned over. Grant it, some areas were wetter and there is always some later harvesting but even for those early areas some conventional farmers have decided to leaves more stubble standing.
Two of these farmers are Bill and Dale Wildeman. They farm just west of Leroy which is about half way between Humbolt and Wynyard. The Wildemans have stayed conventional fallowing about 25 % and seeding with a disc drill. To make the drill do a good job they work their stubble in the fall so seeding can start early. One of the interesting things they do is leave strips of unworked stubble during the dry spells we experience in our weather cycles. They started doing this in the late 80s and now again this fall.
Stubble is worked in the fall with a 32 ft. tandem disk. Every two passes they leave 5 to 10 ft. of stubble unworked. Bill says 10 years ago when they started doing this they seemed to collect more snow and keep their snow cover longer. He also points out that if they didn't have enough snow for a good cover the stubble still keeps a lot of dirt from blowing!
Another two farmers; Robin and Duff Fenton operate Fenton's Seed Farm northwest of Tisdale. They farm mostly conventionally but did try some peas direct in this past year with good results. They have completed their second season with an air hoe drill.
This fall they have stubble still standing on fields which are subject to erosion. Robin is pretty adamant about the need to protect some of their fields from water erosion. He says they have some fields further west which have wind swept areas too. Much of their cereal acreage was straight cut 12 to 14 inches high. This will give good protection from both water and wind damage. They have knifed in NH3 into some of this but won't knock the stubble down until next spring.
A family farm operation to the north and east of the Fentons run by Darren Ukrainetz and Al Zielke has not worked stubble this fall either. At the time of writing they still hope to knife in NH3 this fall but that is all the tillage they will do. Darren says they are concerned about the forecast for a dry winter and want to conserve as much moisture as possible. They seeded with an air hoe drill this spring and plan to move into direct seeding.
Experienced direct seeder Gary Svenkeson concluded during the past growing season that the more stubble over winter the better. He farms 13 miles north of Kinistino. His best crops last summer were grown on land that had the most stubble on them over winter. Even though the spring was wet he says every bit of moisture you get is worth hanging on to. Direct seeding is one of the best ways to do that. Their area was very dry later in the growing season and the residue direct seeding leaves reduces evaporation. He is convinced the extra moisture conserved and trapped as snow meant his crop stayed green longer and yielded better. Several of his direct seeding neighbors confirrmed his conclusions so he is confident he is on the right track!