Production Blog
Dan Davidson DTN Agronomist

Friday 02/05/10
From CRP to What

Taking land out of CRP and going to a crop is a bit of a challenge and some first year crops do better than others. If you are in small grains country you probably have little choice and have to go back into wheat or perhaps a pulse legume (similar to soybeans). If you are in corn country, you can easily go into soybeans and that seems to be the preferred first year crop.

And soybeans do make sense. Coming out of CRP the soil is full of root mass that will tie up nitrogen and other nutrients the first year. And since soybeans don't require nitrogen and there is less investment other than herbicides and an inoculant, they are the least expensive way to produce a crop when the yield potential is limited that first year.

So I asked the poll question "If you have cropped land after coming out of CRP do you?"

42.9% said would no-till right to soybeans

20.5% said they would till the field and then plant to corn

16.3% said they would no-till right to corn

15.8% said they would till and then plant to soybeans

4.5% said they would plant another crop
Posted at 8:48AM CST 02/05/10 by Dan Davidson
Comments (12)
What reader from central Iowa said in an email "It's important in our area to burn the crp down in the fall if we want to no-till corn or soybeans the next spring." I didn't know anyone did burning anymore. Why would you want to burn up and volatilize all that carbon and nitrogen instead of keeping it in or on the soil is beyond me. However I can under that all that residue can get in the way of planting and some growers bale it off instead. I guess the choices are bale, burn or bury it with tillage.
Posted by Daniel Davidson at 9:21AM CST 02/05/10
We have burned a field of before because, we want to remove the residue so it would dry out faster. When the ash lays there black it really helps warm and dry the soil. We did it in the early spring.
Posted by Aaron R. Ritchie at 9:38AM CST 02/05/10
In Missouri we like to graze the field as tight as possible in the fall and winter. This way we can recycle all the plant material back as manure. We like the field to be as fee of residue as possible come planting time. If we have area not grazed out we will burn in March prior to planting corn in April.
Posted by Robert Johnson at 11:06AM CST 02/05/10
We are in central Michigan and getting the soil warm and dry is a big concern and challenge.
Posted by Aaron R. Ritchie at 11:34AM CST 02/05/10
I just hate the idea of burning off all that value carbon and contributing to global warming. Better to bale, bury or graze!
Posted by Daniel Davidson at 12:08PM CST 02/05/10
Dan, global warming? really?
Posted by Aaron R. Ritchie at 12:23PM CST 02/05/10
Aaron - hardly seems like it with the cool wet spring, cool moist summer and hard winters we have experienced the last couple years. But the government cant' be wrong can it??
Posted by Daniel Davidson at 2:11PM CST 02/05/10
Dan, back in the dark ages (early 80's) when I went to ISU my soils teacher said that you didn't lose that much unless a big wind blew all the ashes off. I think the only reason I remember is he called them wackos back then.
Posted by BOB BIRDSELL at 10:34AM CST 02/07/10
Dan, If we have any math skills or common sense the only thing to do is put it back in CRP. It don't take alot of thought as to what to do, when you have low crop prices and a guarantied income off CRP land.
Posted by Raymond Simpkins at 6:54AM CST 02/08/10
Dan..I think you misunderstood your central Iowa reader. By "burning down"..I don't think he meant with fire...I think he just meant it's important to get the CRP killed in the fall with some glyphosate, because invariably there will be perennial weeds..and the residue will have the full winter to decompose. You really don't want to deal with all that green residue in the spring do you?
Posted by Dave Watson at 6:59AM CST 02/08/10
The native prairie gets burned every year to help cylce nutrients and reduce weed competition. Yes you will reduce the above ground carbon that has been sequestered, but you still have and extensive root network underground. Burning CRP in the spring then going to soybeans has worked quite well in our area. A good herbicide program is a must but that comes with any crop. I don't know why anyone would till CRP ground. Why tear up all those root channels that have established over the past 10 - 20 years? Tilling also leaves the door wide open for erosion, which is one of the reasons that piece of land was put to CRP to begin with.
Posted by Richard Newhardt at 12:15PM CST 02/08/10
It really comes down to planning and what weather mother nature gives us. If you have to burn with fire that probable means you have cold wet soils or mother nature is not cooperating. I would not feel to bad about burning off with fire. The Iowa DNR, Minnesota DNR and the Nature Conservancy all burn many acres in the spring to raise game birds that end costing about $1,000.00 per bird or about $500.00 per pound ( these numbers are about 10 years old! )with all costs of land , DNR labor, licenseing and fuel. The CRP acres that are put back into grain will help our citizens live a better quality of life by having cheap abundant food and lower fuel costs with renewable fuels.
Posted by ax handle at 7:02AM CST 02/09/10
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