From san@nal.usda.gov Wed Nov 12 19:50:20 1997 Date: Wed, 12 Nov 1997 16:09:17 -0500 (EST) From: "Andy Clark, SAN Coordinator" To: sanet-mg Subject: Steel in the Field, a recent SAN publication FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Andy Clark (301) 504-6425 san@nal.usda.gov Farmers tell how cultivation succeeds with integrated systems BELTSVILLE, Md. Weed control demands time, labor and expense for every farmer every year. Steel in the Field: A Farmer's Guide to Weed Management Tools shows how today's implements and techniques can handle weeds while reducing or eliminating herbicides. In practical language and layout, the 128-page book presents what farmers and researchers have learned in the last 20 years about cutting weed-control costs through improved cultivation tools, cover crops and new cropping rotations. Steel in the Field, a publication by the USDA's Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN), charts new ground. It is the first tool-centered book to combine farmer accounts, university research and commercial agricultural engineering expertise. It directly tackles the hard questions of how to comply with erosion-prevention plans, how to remain profitable and how to manage residue and moisture loss. It also addresses variables such as field size and uncooperative weather. "This book addresses the four main concerns that farmers have about mechanical weed control: cost, effectiveness, dependability and soil impact," says Joe Johnson, a Mississippi State University agronomist. "The field equipment sections are the most descriptive that I have ever seen." Farmers -- 22 of them -- do a lot of the talking, sharing their struggles and successes with tools, weeds, herbicides and cropping systems. Their advice ranges from the specific (setting mini-disks 0.75 inches deep and 2 inches away from 2-inch tall plants) to the general, such as one farmer's estimate of the correct speed for using his coil-tine weeder: "as fast as you can hang on is fine." Mechanical weed control works in many situations. The book highlights successful examples on very different farms: no-till cotton in Georgia, corn and soybeans across the Corn Belt, safflower in Utah, wheat in Texas and Oregon, barley in North Dakota, vegetables in Massachusetts and California, and lots more. Steel in the Field covers a broad range of tools. Original line drawings accompany technical summaries of 37 implements and 18 accessories. They include rotary hoes, wide-blade sweep plows, high-residue cultivators, automatic guidance systems and back-pack flame weeders presented in three groupings: agronomic row crops, horticultural crops and dryland crops. Each tool entry describes how it works and lists its recommended tractor horsepower, ground speed and list price. To compare the field use of dissimilar tools with a common yardstick, the book uses two graphics. One shows the size of crop where the tool is intended to work, the other the size of weeds it is designed to control. Farmer accounts highlight tool use, management and adaptation by successful growers. Each opens with a summary of farm location and size, cash crops, tillage style, cover crops, soil types, rainfall, basic weed-management strategies, and the implements used. Within these accounts comes the critical, hands-on information that can transform a piece of steel into a well-functioning tool. Timing is emphasized repeatedly. Knowing when to put a tool in the field, how to adjust it and how fast to pull it are learned skills that make up part of the "art" of mechanical weed control. Practices that suppress or prevent weeds are especially important on these farms. Reducing overall weed pressure makes it more likely that mechanical or flame controls can stifle weeds with lower or no herbicide use. Main factors are winter and summer cover crops, delayed planting and weed-fighting crop rotations. The farmers frequently mention the benefits from improved soil health and soil organic matter. An appendix lists contact information for weed specialists and for 105 equipment sources, including specialized tractors for cultivation. The Sustainable Agriculture Network is the outreach arm of USDA's Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, which works to increase knowledge about and help farmers and ranchers adopt practices that are economically viable, environmentally sound and socially responsible. Outreach materials are available at SAN's electronic homepage at: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/san/ To order the $18 book, send your check or purchase order to: Sustainable Agriculture Publications, Hills Building, University of Vermont, Burlington VT 05405-0082. Please include mailing address, daytime phone number, and this reference number E1197. To inquire about rush orders, international orders or bulk discounts, call (802) 656-0471. We also accept orders via e-mail (nesare@zoo.uvm.edu) or FAX (802-656-4656) PROVIDING they include a purchase order number. EDITORS: To request a review copy, call (301) 504-6422 or email san@nal.usda.gov Andy Clark, Ph.D. SAN Coordinator c/o AFSIC, Room 304 National Agricultural Library 10301 Baltimore Ave. Beltsville, MD 20705-2351 PH: 301-504-6425 FAX: 301-504-6409 san@nal.usda.gov http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/san/ To Unsubscribe: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with "unsubscribe sanet-mg". 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