Former CRP ground (pic)

[Oleozz]

After 20 yrs of being in the CRP my contract ran out last fall. For me it was time to do something else and it had nothing to do with the price of crops, I just wanted to get the ground back in shape again. Last fall I sprayed Roundup on the field, my neighbor hauled in pig manure this spring, plowed on April 19, and wasn't able to disc until about six weeks later. On this past Tuesday I planted the field in beans and am waiting for them to come up. Most of the groundhog holes are gone, the multiflura rose and poison ivy have been hammered but will spray again once the beans are ready.
I will put a cover crop in this fall and probably timothy next spring.

 

[randy41]

does beans mean soybeans? looks like you had some rain.

 

[Oleozz]

Yes, soybeans.
Just had two inches of rain before that picture was taken.
We had about 17 inches total rainfall between when I plowed and when I took the pic.

 

[mark.r]

Would you mind explaining to me the theory behind a cover crop or more so how it works?

 

[redlevel]

RR beans? It looks like you drilled them.

Did you use a pre plant grass herbicide?

I'm just curious.

 

[Oleozz]

Mark---The cover crop idea is to plant after your crop is out, let it grow over the winter and plow or disc it under in the spring. It adds nutrients to your soil, helps with erosion, and keeps the weeds down. The areas where I put the rye last fall is just about weed free. Last year the soil conservation folks paid farmers so much an acre to plant wheat as a fall cover crop. It was enough to pay for the cost of the seeds.
Redlevel---Yes I did drill them. Would prefer notill but am trying to get the ground back in shape and notill would not have worked. I did not spray a preplant grass herbicide. The beans are RR so I will put roundup on them later in the season.
I am trying a new spray for my sweet corn, it's called Impact and is supposed to be an excellent postemergence spray.

 

[forgeblast]

I am in the beginning stages of trying to figure out which part of our property to crp. did you have any negatives with doing crp?
thanks
forgeblast

 

[mark.r]

What does CRP stand for?

 

[Oleozz]

Mark--CRP is Conservation Reserve Program. The feds pay you so much an acre for leaving your land idle, you can mow parts of it after Aug 1 (after nesting season) .
Forgeblast----It was good for wildlife, mostly deer and turkey, but the land can get unruly in a short time. You will get all kinds of weeds moving in and choking about everything else out. Poison ivy and multiflura rose in this area can become a big nuisance. You are allowed to spot spray but that just wasn't enough to keep things under control. I'm glad I participated for 20 yrs but am now happy that I can do other things with the land.

 

[mark.r]

Mark--CRP is Conservation Reserve Program. The feds pay you so much an acre for leaving your land idle, you can mow parts of it after Aug 1 (after nesting season).

Ah, ok. Thanks.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Don't feel like you have to justify what you do with your land to other people. I know a lot of people are jumping all over the farmers who have taken land out of the CRP program and I understand why some people are upset but the fact remains that the people who own the land have the right to do as they please with their land.

A lot of the CRP land will be back into the program in a few years once the market comes back down. But at the current prices it makes sense for some of the CRP land to be put back into use.

Tomorrow will be the last day for my planting. I need to finish discing a 5 acre field then plant 8 acres of corn, a half acre of sunflowers and 5000 square feet of wild flowers for my daughter to play with

How are you coming along? Are you done with all your planting now?

 

[forgeblast]

Thank you, the area that i am considering putting in is damp/wetland some of the year. i just spent a couple of years getting rid of brambles. Looking at the list of plants that i can choose from, i plan on going for plants that will allow me to get the best investment on the idle land.
So far the list includes, blueberries, hazlenuts, high bush cranberries,
trees black walnut, shagbark hickory, sugar maple, and white oak. and i can also have a max of 7 apples--i plan on doing some herloom varities/rare.

I am just tired of cutting and spending the gas to cut a part of the property that we dont use. I want to make it productive, and to be able to harvest food from it.

The multiflora is just a fact of life where we are, i spray every year and cut every year all that i see. The japanese knot weed is horrible too. (thats the bamboo looking plants).

I did ask also what happens if they drill for gas on my property, they said its not a big problem, if they drill in the crp part i just have to pay back some of the rental fees.

thanks
forgeblast

 

[Luremaker]

Would you mind explaining to me the theory behind a cover crop or more so how it works?

I broadcast 2 bu per acre of fall rye as a cover crop every fall right after my harvest. The fall rye will keep the weeds down and is supposed to reduce nitrogen loss over the winter. I till the rye in May. Here is a picture of my rye being tilled last month. Some guys will roll down their rye and notill plant over the flattened rye whch acts as as mulch.

 

[4720 OWNER]

Hay has been in such short supply for the last year that they are opening up the CRP to hay cutting and grazing in Aug to Nov. so the nesting birds will be out of the way.