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Grain production

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NASS

US Select Crop Value 2010Billions of Dollars

Oats Barley Sor-ghum

Wheat Soy-bean

Corn

$1.7$0.7$0.2

$13.0

$38.9

$66.7

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Sorghum production

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Small grain production

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Corn

• Graze corn - alternative pasture• Corn silage - dairy• High moisture corn• Grain

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Corn production

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Corn consumption

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Soybean production

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Uses for soybean• Oil, human, 81% of edible fats in US• Soybean meal, 38.1 mil ton• Soydiesel, biodiesel• Ink• Crayons• Crop oil as surfactants• Wax• Aquaculture• Lubricants

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Why does the Midwest lead in corn and soybean production?

Why corn?

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Glaciers shaped the MidwestLate Wisconsinan - 10,500-30,000 yrs BP

Illinoian - 130,000-300,000 yrs BP

Pre-Illinoian - 500,000-2,500,000 yrs BP

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Estimated extent of the tall grass prairie, about 1800Representing approx. 400 million acres

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Mollisols are the soils of grassland ecosystems, characterized by a thick, dark surface horizon. This fertile surface horizon, known as a mollic epipedon, results from the long-term addition of organic materials derived from plant roots.

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16Image of NRCS

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Iowa’s (Midwest) Landscape Changed

• Iowa’s tall grass prairie declined from12.6 million ha to 24,560 ha, a 99.9% decrease

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Iowa’s (Midwest) landscape changed

Causes:• Human settlement• Steel, moldboard plow• Water drainage of land• Agriculture production, WW II• Chemicals• Specialization• Urban development?• Biofuel production?

19historywired.si.edu/ images/objects/212a.jpg

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Prairie potholes

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Tiling of prairies and wetlands to drain water for agriculture and development

Image of NRCS

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Crop

Iowa 1984-1986

Ohio 1962-1980

Ontario 1979-1986

Corn 10-45 20-30 26

Soybeans 4-15 7-14 7

Yield increase (bu) with subsurface drainage

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Iowa’s (Midwest) landscape changed

Causes:• Human settlement• Steel, moldboard plow• Water drainage of land• Agriculture production, WW II• Chemicals• Specialization• Urban development?• Biofuel production?

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Tillage systems for seedbed preparation:Operation Conventional

tillageReduced, minimum, conservation

Ridge-till Strip-tillage

No-till

Primary tillage/land preparation

Chisel plow, often in the fall, 30-85% residueDisk-harrow/field cultivator

30-80%

Chisel plow with harrow fall or spring

Deep ripping, fall, 12-14 in.

50% residue

Scrap off ridges burying manure and weeds at planting, 40-60%

Inject anhydrous ammonia into the soil, fall

70% residue

Secondary tillage/weed control

rotary hoe (2 passes),

row-crop cultivation (1-3 passes)little chemical control of weeds

0-1 pass cultivationchemical control of weeds

rotary hoe,

1-2 pass cultivation, last cultivation makes the ridges for next year, banding chemicals

chemical control of weeds

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Dec. - Mar. Fields remain dormant

April - May Pre-plant seedbed prep., fertility source, pre-plant herbicides, planting late April-late May

June - July Pre-emergent herbicides, post-emergent herbicides, mechanical weed control

July - Aug. Soybean pest control, corn fungicide applic.

Sept. - Oct Harvest

Oct. - Nov. Stalk chopping, deep ripping, fertility application, liming, seedbed tillage

Production Cycle, corn and soybeans alternating years

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Fertility needs

• N - 0.7-1.2 lb/bu 3.8 lb/bu • P2O5 - 0.36 lb/bu 0.82 lb/bu• K2O - 0.26 lb/bu 1.00 lb/bu

Corn Soybeans

Water needs: 20-24 inches of water - 150-200 bu corn; 50-60 bu soybeans

pH, liming needs: corn - 6.0-7.0; soybeans - 6.5-7.0

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Site-specific management• uses grid sampling• recommendations are made for

each 2.5-5.0 acre cell• image represents 152 acres

Phosphorus recommendations

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Problems:• Seemingly erratic weather, the only aspect of

farming that is not controlled• High N and P levels in surface water, because of

subsurface drainage and less filtering by the soil• Corn/soybean monoculture, little crop diversity on

the landscape:• Less chance to disrupt pest cycles• Greater outbreaks• Large supplies of grain

• Corn/soybean monoculture, little genetic diversity within each crop:• Greater outbreaks• Bioterrorism

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• Open canopy much of the year• not getting the full benefits of sunlight• erosion, not an perennial system• unused nutrients, N and P

Iowa Daily Erosion Project:http://wepp.mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/GIS/rainfall.phtml?

31Source: USGS, 2005

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Nitrate-Nitrogen Loss in Tile Drainage (Randall et al., 1997)

Cropping system NO3-N loss

(kg ha-1 yr-1)

Continuous corn 55

Corn-soybean rotation 51

Alfalfa 2

CRP (perennial grasses and alfalfa)

1

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• New/more GMO products will increase corn/soybean monoculture

• Bt control of corn rootworm• Continuous corn• GMO boycotts• More fertilizer, 30-50 lb N from soybean residue

• Little profit, small margins• Commodity• More acres, larger farms

• Consolidation of agricultural industry

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Increase diversity with markets:• Development of new products, increasing

demand and more acres of monoculture• Export - some GMO boycotts• Non-food products - plastics, candles, fibers• New animal products - soybean meal for

aquaculture• Ethanol

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Increase diversity with markets:• Identity preservation:

• White corn, high oil corn• Clear hilum soybeans for human

consumption• Non-GMO grain for foreign export• Low linolenic acid (low-lin) soybeans• Organic, fastest growing ag sector• “Farmaceuticals”, profit for a very few

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Increase crop diversity:• Perceived problems

• No government payments• No market, little demand• Need different equipment, knowledge, skills• Little research• Another commodity crop from somewhere

else• BIG paradigm change