Zone Tillage Creates Better Seedbed Than No-Till LITITZ (Lancaster Co.) A national zone-till expert said that 30 years ago, he realized he couldn’t survive using only nchtill, because crop yields were falling and the soil fertility conditions deteriorated. So he invented a way to create a “zone” of conventional tillage measuring 8-10 inches wide in the seed planting path, while leaving the rest of the field undisturbed, according to the specifications of a no-till soil management strategy. Ray Rawson, Farwell, Mich., spoke about the benefits of using zone-till using the Unverferth/ Rawson one-pass couller/disc til lage combination at the annual Binkley and Hurst Bros., Inc. Open House. Approximately 300 Binkley and Hurst customers attended the open house on Wednesday. Rawson said zone till “is the intensive tillage of a narrow area in which we place that seed.” Raw son said that regular no-till cultiva tion docs not incorporate the Farm Safety Fact Sheet Available UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre Co.) Would you scale a cliff without climbing ropes or play professional football without a helmet? Many farmers take simi lar risks by not wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) in hazardous situations, said a farm safety expert in Penn State’s Col lege of Agricultural Sciences. “According to one survey, only 44 percent of farmers always wear gloves when working with pesti cides,” said Dr. Dennis Murphy, professor of agricultural engineer ing. “The same survey found that only 22 percent of farmers always wear eye protection. 8 percent always wear respiratory protec tion, and 4 percent always wear coveralls. "Maybe these fanners try to BASS CONSISTENT TOP PERFORMER FULL SEASON OR DOUBLE CROP Maturity Group Late 111, Good Standability, Good Shatter Resistance, Great for Drilling or Narrow Rows STILL IN 60 LB. BAGS!! Available only as certified seed CONTACT YOUR CERTIFIED SEED DEALER I. Sturttey, January 29, 1994 residue to create good soil fertility. Also, a no-till planter will create compacted “sidewalls” in the seed planting line, which restricts growth of the hair roots, dropping crop yield potential. But the three-disc coulter method creates a one-pass opti mum seedbed area for fine seed-to soil contact, and allows oxygen and nutrients to be utilized more effectively by the plant. “If you use Ray’s system, you get all of the advantages of con ventional tillage, but you do it in one pass,” said Bill Ferris, an Unverferth Manufacturing rep resentative, at the open house. In past experience, according to Ferris, com planted using no-till creates a sidewall, where the roots grow in the coulter disc track, rather than the way they’re sup posed to, which is outward in a circle around the plant The coulter/disc combination can create a seedbed through 220-bushel/acre com residue. Using zone tillage, said Raw- save money by not buying the proper equipment,” Murphy said. “But they can wind up paying with their health or their lives. Some farmers say wearing PPE is uncomfortable, or that it’s a nui sance to lug it from job to job. But the protection it offers outweighs any inconvenience.” Murphy has prepared two new fact sheets that explain the equip ment farmers need for protection from pesticide exposure, respirat ory hazards and other farming risks. The fact sheets are part of a series on PPE, which will include educational plans and a training program. Two more fact sheets are scheduled for release this spring. “Personal Protection from Pes ticides,” fact sheet Safety-35, describes how to choose the SOYBEANS son, has increased yields by a third over no-till. Yields have increased by 25 percent using zone tillage over conventional till, according to studies done by Rawson on his 5,500 acre cropping operation. Zone tillage “takes die best of both worlds the best of the no till and the best of the conventional and combines it in one operation,” said Rawson. What farmers should ask them selves if they are going to change from conventional to no-tillage, said Rawson, is; does the change address all of the things that we need to have happened in the soil to make that seed grow successfully? Also at the open house, Rich Merrill, Case representative, spoke about the Case IH Products of Excellence, including the new line of 7200 Scries Magnum tractors. Liquid manure management equipment and insights, in addi tion to pesticide update and safety * training, were also discussed at the open house. appropriate equipment for jobs involving pesticides, including various types of gloves, respira tors, chemical-protective clothing, eye protection and boots. It also covers PPE maintenance and what to do in the event of an accident. “ Farm Respiratory Protection,” fact sheet Safety-36, discusses respiratory hazards commonly found on farms and the types of respirators that are appropriate. It also covers respirator mainte nance and testing. “The first step in choosing a respirator is determining what kind of hazard you’ll be facing,” Murphy said. “There are three basic categories. Particulate hazards include dust, mists, fumes and mold spores. Gases such as hydrogen sulfide or nitrogen diox Due To Weather Conditions Messick Farm Equipment, Inc. OPEN HOUSE Will Continue One More Week ★ NEW HOLLAND SALE PROGRAM CHANGE FEB. 1, 1994 Ray Rawaon, Farwell, Mich., apoka about the beneflta of uaing zona-till using the Unvarterth/Rawson ona-pass coulter/dlsc tillage combination at the annual Binkley and Hurst Bros., Inc. Open House. The combination Is attached here to a Klnze 2000 six-row com planter. Approximately 300 Binkley and Hurst customers attended the open house on Wednesday. ide present another hazard. The third category involves atmo spheres without enough oxygen, such as those in manure storages or oxygen-limiting silos.” The fact sheet covers two categories of respirators air purifying and supplied air. “Air purifying respirators are appropri ate for many hazards,” Murphy said. “But because they only filter the air outside, they don’t protect the wearer from an oxygen KI3IH SPECIALS* Jan. 31 Thru Feb. 5 deficient atmosphere. Only supplied-air respirators, which provide clean, fresh air from an outside source, can be used when the air has too little oxygen.” Fact sheets Safety-35 and Safety-36 are available free from the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, 246 Agricultural Engineering Building, University Park, PA 16802, (814) 865-7685.
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