Dahlem and Buschei
Dahlem and Buschei
The best soils, high yields and an established superficial tillage system – despite the best conditions, three farmers in Rheinhessen have jointly invested in a Novag T-ForcePlus 350 and converted their arable farming to no-till. After 20 months of experience, they have a lot to tell.
The advantages of no-till farming had been discussed for a long time in the Rheinhessen Pfalz arable farming advisory council. However, when it came down to it, of the 15 interested farms, only three farmers remained who wanted to implement the unusual arable farming system: Adolf Dahlem, Niklas Jacob and Peter Buschei.
Independently of the advisory ring, the three farm managers had been interested in no-till for some time, although they had been quite successful with their previous arable farming concept. They also benefit from the very favorable conditions in the Gundersheim area near Worms. The farms have 120 to 250 hectares of land with some very good loess-loam soils that reach up to 90 soil points. The yields are correspondingly high. Almost 80 tons of sugar beet, 4.4 tons of rapeseed and over eight tons of winter cereals per hectare are the norm here.
New challenges at the site
Nevertheless, the three farm managers felt they needed to realign their arable farming system. The changes in the location and the associated challenges were too obvious: increasing spring and summer drought, extreme soil temperatures in summer, which no longer allow intercropping, and the first herbicide resistance in the control of black foxtail. Erosion control is also becoming more and more of an issue in the hilly region.
The decision to change course in arable farming was then made after a joint field day on no-till for catch crops. According to Dahlem, the move into no-till was intended to make the previously successful arable farming system fit for the future. After comparing various machines, they chose a Novag T-ForcePlus 350 with a working width of three meters. “We were particularly impressed by the standard cross Slot opener, which works in a wide variety of locations,” says Adolf Dahlem, explaining the decision.
High subsidy for investment in no-till technology
Financing was facilitated by a 40 percent subsidy granted by the state of Rhineland-Palatinate for the purchase of so-called innovative special machinery. In addition, all three farms have committed to participating in a multi-year research project in which mulch and no-till are directly compared on selected fields.
All three farm managers had mothballed their plows years ago. Instead, they practiced intensive mulch sowing with multiple cultivations and rotary harrows. “Unfortunately, the experience with mulch sowing was of no use to us. No-till is a completely different world,” explains Adolf Dahlem.
Top in oilseed rape, cereals and catch crops
Nevertheless, the three plant managers were able to build up a certain amount of expertise in the first 20 months with Novag. In addition to the consulting ring and experts from the Technical University of Bingen, their own research and the intensive exchange of experience among themselves also helped. And the first successes came quickly. “The catch crops are great. You rarely get them so well with mulch sowing,” says a delighted Niklas Jacob. According to Jacob, this had already been demonstrated in previous machine comparisons at field days. “The Novag was always the best at catch crops.”
He is also very satisfied with the results in oilseed rape and winter cereals. The yields with the Novag are at the same level as with the previous superficial tillage system. This was also confirmed by the trials in the accompanying study. “The no-till crops didn’t always look quite as good as with mulch sowing. But the yields were just as high,” reports Niklas Jacob.
So far, Jacob has only grown peas on his trial plots with the Novag. The results were somewhat worse than usual because very wet soils in spring delayed sowing. Nevertheless, he will be using Novag on all of his planned pea plots next year.
Underfoot fertilization improves nutrient efficiency
Farmers see the possibility of using the Novag to apply under-root fertilization for rapeseed and spring cereals as a major advantage. 25 kilograms of nitrogen per hectare are added to the seed in the form of sulphuric acid ammonia (SSA) or diammonium phosphate. “Both crops really take off in the start-up phase,” says a delighted Niklas Jacob.
Adolf Dahlem is also pleased that the four-tank system gives him “a lot of scope” for fertilization, under-foot fertilization and vegetable seeding. “We see a great opportunity in under-foot fertilization for spring cereals, especially because of the strict environmental policy requirements. This allows us to improve nutrient efficiency not only through catch crops, but also through the targeted placement of individual fertilizers for sowing,” explains Dahlem.
Less diesel, more mice
In terms of cost savings with no-till, the balance sheet of the farms is mixed so far. Adolf Dahlem certainly sees advantages in eliminating the usual three cultivator operations. In addition to working time, this also saves large amounts of diesel with each sowing. On the other hand, however, there has been an increased infestation of mice on some no-till areas, which required greater effort to control.
The farms had difficulties when sowing in wet conditions. On very heavy soils, the seed slot could not be closed completely and there was more soil build-up on the machine. “That’s why we get to the field later than we want to in very early spring. However, this had no effect on the development and yield of the winter crops,” says Adolf Dahlem.
The right step
Despite these challenges, the farmers are ultimately satisfied with their investment in no-till technology. Niklas Jacob: “I’m glad we took the step. And I honestly didn’t think it would go so well. Investing in Novag together was a great advantage, because the exchange of experience is extremely helpful.”
For Adolf Dahlem, no-till is a demanding process that requires experience and a sure instinct. That’s why he wants to slowly feel his way into the system and try out new things. “I still see a lot of potential for us to do things better,” says Dahlem. “The good experiences with Novag in catch crops, rapeseed and cereals show that no-till can be a way forward for us. That’s why we’re definitely sticking with it.”
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