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bjrogg:
Ed we haven’t mold board plowed in about 20 years. People complain about GMO crops, but as far as I’m concerned they have been a huge positive effect on the environment the way we use them.

Before them we plowed, tilled, cultivated left bare dirt with very little residue on top. Wind and rain would erode our dirt all winter and spring till the crops got big enough to slow it.

Now the way we farm. We use conservation tillage. It leaves lots of residue on top to help reduce erosion. We planted cover crops of clover or rye as soon as we harvest our crops that help build up our soil, give it tilth and save our soil and nutrients. The wildlife enjoy it. And seem to be doing very well around here. I know that’s not how everyone farms, but it is becoming more common and very popular in our area. GMO’s have made all this possible. Fields have gotten bigger. Fence rows have gotten further apart. I know people miss them. I really doubt they are coming back. Fence rows are great for predators. Especially when there isn’t any other cover. That concentrates the prey in a small area. Cover crops spread the prey over large areas. This practice is something I really think we should try to encourage.

Bjrogg

BowEd:
Yes my first few years of farming alone I plowed but after acquiring a planter with culters  there was no need to plow leaving residue to prevent erosion and humus material.Just disking and harrowing while incorporating herbicide.My father plowed all the time every year.More livestock too.Hauling and spreading manure.Better overall for the soil.More diverese in all.We just raised corn,beans,and alfalfa hay.
It all depends on type of profiled ground you got too.My ground is terraced with water ways to prevent erosion also.Very well kept ground.
GMO crops sure do make field work become minimal.No more cultivating.Less fuel and compaction but made up expense wise with the cost of GMO seed and expensive herbicide.Walking beans is unheard of nowadays and for quite some time.
The new wave of technology gps planting etc. does make it more efficient/higher yield,but a lot to learn with that technology running it.
Wildlife still thrived though.Pheasants and fox wise.

bjrogg:
This is what my field looks like before planting. This field was sugar beet field last year. We spread rye seed after harvest. In the snow. Even so it grew under snow and whenever temperatures were above freezing. The deer and other animals love it. For GMO crops we just till it once to get some lose dirt. It doesn’t really kill the rye, but does knock it back a bit. Then when my crops come up I can kill the rye . It leave lots of residue to protect the soil from erosion. Puts organic matter into soil and protects nutrients from leaching away.

This field will be Navy Beans. They are non- GMO crop so I have to kill rye before planting my crop. I still got a lot of benefits from the rye. Hopefully I will plant Navy Beans here in about a week. The bunnies were hopping all over in this field. The fox were enjoying the bunnies. As soon as I harvest the beans I will plant either wheat for a crop, or rye for a cover crop. If I plant wheat crop, I will spread clover seed in the spring and when we harvest our wheat in July the clover will grow lush. It will give us the same benefits as the rye plus add nitrogen. It’s a legume.

I’m a big believer in cover crops. Being friendly to our environment. Improving our soil health and using modern technologies together with old technologies to achieve my goals.

gps and precision farming equipment is amazing. The accuracy of this application equipment is totally awesome.

The GMOs also prevent tons and tons of insecticides from being applied. I personally consider the insecticides that are no longer needed to be some of the most dangerous of the chemicals we have. Before Bt corn. We always put a insecticide down to help slow down the corn bore and root worm. Now a natural protein scientist found in the ground is genetically engineered and introduced into the corn plant. This protein is very specific and effects the digestive system of the corn bore and root worm when they eat the corn. It was the first GMO that I was introduced to. I believe it was in the late 80’s or early 90’s. I had saved many, many tons of insecticides from being applied.

Bjrogg

PS I know that GMOs are held up as a detriment to environment. I’ve lived through some interesting decades and decades and decades of farming. For my operation, GMOs have allowed me to produce more crops, using less insecticides and herbicides. It has allowed me to use cover crops that are Beneficial to soil, environment and the animals I share the land with.

The bunnies seem to agree

BowEd:
Good looking stand and nice looking bins.
The corn bore and root worm resistant corn variety sure produced better yields maintaining the stalks.No more moths flying around either.Biggest thing was planting more seeds per inch for better yields.Same with the round up ready soybeans.
Otherwise we used to band the corn row with a root worm deterant.No need for that later.Other than that no other insecticide was used.
Rotation of crops was always done too.Legume plantings like alfalfa and soybeans to oats or corn with hauling manure a regular thing from feed lot.
Good yielding ground.
Every once in awhile depending on the year double cropping was done.Usually rye planted in fall after harvest/chopped in june/and replanted to soybeans,or oats and straw harvested in july to alfalfa later in the same year.
Farther south where growing season was longer double cropping was the usual.
We used to chop a lot of corn silage also.We had a cement silo.Picked corn mostly.Brought beans to town.Baled the hay in small squares up in the hay mow.Put up lots of brome hay from the ditches also.
Always fed around 300 fat cattle to go to IBP in Sioux City.Back then we always bought our feeder calves from South Dakota.Later we backed off and raised calves from 150 cows or so.
Decided to live in a more wooded area in southern Iowa with some land attatched and live out my dream while keeping the ground in the other county.I help out farmers here in the fall for something more to do.Yields are'nt quite as high as the old farm but it's not my worry any more.....Ha Ha.
Kinda pleasant not getting all the BIG bills any more but less responsibility then too.
It's different raising trees rather than row crops.The southern and eastern counties have more wildlife overall.Especially deer/coyotes and bobcats.
Both farms dandy places to live with the one I live at now with a half mile driveway out in the sticks.
We like to watch wildlife every day out the screened porch and balcony.



The old farm where I lived 45 years of my life.

Hawkdancer:
Bet those trees have some nice colors in the fall!  Look good in green, too!
Hawkdancer

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