Bruce Sundeen 0:00
This is the sugarbeet report, bringing you the latest information from NDSU. Throughout the sugarbeet growing season sugarbeet planting is right around the corner, producers need to take some time to prepare their fields for planting date friends and NDSU extension soil science specialist has some advice for prepping your field. Dave, when it comes to field preparation, is it the same as usual? Or is there anything unique about this spring?
Dave Franzen 0:26
The unique thing about this year is that thank goodness, a lot of people are starting to embrace stripped Hill, especially in the northern Valley. And that's huge. So these people didn't have soil blowing like the neighbors did. This all kept in place the snow was more uniform across their field. Even though people think that people are in no till or modified no till getting in the field after they do. what reality is, is that with the snow kept on the field, the fence rows aren't nearly as deep. Were the people that are in conventional till and they have a fence row where every mile or so that are almost inconsequential. Those snow drifts are 20 feet deep. The people that are in those no till strip till systems, they don't have hardly any drift alongside their hedgerow and so they can get in the field very, very soon, they don't have the big drifts. And so they don't have dry and they will have wet and they have a more even water across the field. So we'll start with a stripped Hill first. And let's with stripped Hill, all that people have to do is go ahead and play it. So whenever you're going to play up the plant and sugar beets into the strip after the corn, which I've seen quite a bit of it last year, then you just plant the sugar beets into that you don't prep them at all, you just go across the the planter it's ready to go. It's just as warm and just as dry as a conventional till neighbor, but you actually had to keep your soil you got to keep your fertilizer, where's your neighbor didn't if they're not scratching their heads wondering how much fertilizer they lost you should be.
Bruce Sundeen 1:52
What about preparing conventional fields.
Dave Franzen 1:55
So we get the conventional fields, a little bit of patience is okay is probably a good thing, especially those that have three rows ahead 20 foot drifts on them. But I think most people know that especially when we start getting higher clay that less is more. So there's no reason to go across a field twice. To get the field ready to plant those fields are probably pretty flat anyway with the wind and all the moisture and everything. So once slightly across the field and then plant in go very shallow, they'll go very deep, you go very deep and you bring up all this muck and your stand will be horrible. That's the plan.
Bruce Sundeen 2:33
There are farmers that haven't tried strip tilling, what can they do to learn more,
Dave Franzen 2:37
since growers are so far successfully performing strip till, and there's some strip tilling the area. And there's some to observe farmers without doing it and still have reservations about going to a system like that should keep their eyes open, see how it's gone. Don't stop every time that you drive by and you know, bother the person but at least keep an eye on it. And then I'm sure that there'll be field tours in the area probably next August or so in fields or sugarbeet and fields around there other crops. So keep your eyes open for them to actually walk in the fields and talk to people that are doing it and learn a little bit from them and see if somehow that you can adapt it to your operation so your soil doesn't blow to France or something next year.
Bruce Sundeen 3:25
Thanks Dave. Our guest today has been Dave Franzen NDSU extension soil science specialist. This is the sugarbeet report, bringing you the latest information from NDSU throughout the sugarbeet growing season
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