Schmid
Schmid
Claus Schmid was one of the first farmers in the region in the south of Baden-Württemberg to venture into no-till farming. After purchasing a Novag T-ForcePlus 450, he realized that many of his colleagues had obviously just been waiting for it.
It’s not always easy being a pioneer. Farmer Claus Schmid also had to learn this. He had been looking into no-till for his farm in Hattingen on the southern edge of the Swabian Alb for several years. In order to gain first-hand experience, he sought out farmers in the region who were already practicing the system. But there were none.
However, he was not discouraged by this and continued to gather information on the internet and in social media specialist groups on the practical implementation of no-till. When he was offered a Novag T-ForcePlus 450 after a machine demonstration, he grabbed it after intensive consideration and two short nights with little sleep.
500 hectares in wages – in the very first year!
What happened next surprised even him. “The phone never stopped ringing. Lots of colleagues suddenly wanted to try out no-till on their land and asked if I could come over with the Novag,” says Schmid, still somewhat surprised. He tilled around 500 hectares in the very first year on a contract basis. At some point, he had to turn down further requests. “And I was still wondering beforehand whether I would be able to keep the machine busy,” smiles Schmid.
Observations on his fields led him to no-till. He noticed that the more often he used the cultivator, the higher the weed pressure on all crops. In addition, when looking through old photos, he got the impression that he was losing topsoil. “Some areas were 30 to 40 centimetres higher from the road 40 years ago than they are today,” says the farmer. “That’s when I realized that my arable farming system with mulch sowing and intensive use of stubble is not optimal.”
No-till works for all crops
After just under a year of experience, he is now absolutely convinced that he is on the right track with no-till and the Novag. Right from the start, he sowed all crops with the machine, from rapeseed to cereals, maize, peas and catch crops through to grass. According to Schmid, everything worked perfectly. He also received this feedback from the farm managers for whom he sowed on a contract basis. “Almost all of them said: more next year, please!” reports Schmid. “The organic farmers were also very satisfied.”
His arable advisor had previously warned him not to plant all crops as no-till so as not to risk a loss of yield given the current high producer prices. “But there was no question of that,” says Schmid. “All yields remained stable. We were even better with winter cereals.”
Rapid field emergence even after long periods of drought
He was particularly impressed by Novag when sowing catch crops in the summer. Despite prolonged drought, there was still enough moisture in the soil after sowing for rapid field emergence. According to Schmid’s assessment, the situation was very different for his conventionally farming colleagues. “The water was completely gone after the usual cultivator pass. What’s more, they really had to push their machines through the dry soil.”
Initially, Schmid had to get used to the Novag’s default settings. But with increasing experience, he developed a feel for the machine and now quickly finds solutions for things that don’t work perfectly straight away.
Best seed quality despite massive stone cover
Schmid was surprised at how well the machine copes with his highly variable soils and, above all, with the massive stone cover on 90 percent of the fields. In his experience, the seed quality was equally good everywhere and wear was normal. He had to replace the seed discs for the first time after around 1,000 hectares, which is “absolutely okay” for him.
He has already come closer to his goal of improving his soil with no-till in the first year. “This is already visible in the much more intensive soil life,” says Schmid: “The amount of earthworms, beetles and other animals that are now on the move is amazing.” The soil structure of his fields also proved to be very stable when there was heavy rain in late summer.
However, he observed slug infestation in his maize and rapeseed crops for the first time, which he was not used to with his mulch sowing system. For this reason, he always applies additional slug pellets to the seed in these crops via an additional Novag hopper. This allows him to control the infestation well.
Until now, Schmid has used glyphosate for weed control in no-till farming. But the farmer, who is keen to experiment, has no problem with the expiry of the approval for the product. “The product makes no-till easier, of course. But it also works without it,” Schmid is convinced. He gained this conviction in his own trials, in which he sowed winter triticale in a man-high intercropping mixture. “It looked very wild at first. But the seed placement was absolutely perfect and the Novag didn’t get blocked once. And now I’m just delighted with the crops,” says Schmid.
Less diesel, more leisure time
He was just as pleased that he was able to realize the hoped-for savings in operating resources and working time. “I actually only drive over it once,” says Schmid. On average, he uses around 13 liters of diesel per sowing with the Novag. When mulch sowing with a cultivator, on the other hand, it was three to four passes and therefore three to four times the amount of diesel.
A particular benefit for him is the time saved: “It’s really huge when you don’t have to work the soil. I have a lot less stress as a result and have also realized that Free time is also nice.”
Additional income with CO2 certificates
Schmid was surprised at how well the machine copes with his highly variable soils and, above all, with the massive stone cover on 90 percent of the fields. In his experience, the seed quality was equally good everywhere and wear was normal. He had to replace the seed discs for the first time after around 1,000 hectares, which is “absolutely okay” for him.
He has already come closer to his goal of improving his soil with no-till in the first year. “This is already visible in the much more intensive soil life,” says Schmid: “The amount of earthworms, beetles and other animals that are now on the move is amazing.” The soil structure of his fields also proved to be very stable when there was heavy rain in late summer.
However, he observed slug infestation in his maize and rapeseed crops for the first time, which he was not used to with his mulch sowing system. For this reason, he always applies additional slug pellets to the seed in these crops via an additional Novag hopper. This allows him to control the infestation well.
Until now, Schmid has used glyphosate for weed control in no-till farming. But the farmer, who is keen to experiment, has no problem with the expiry of the approval for the product. “The product makes no-till easier, of course. But it also works without it,” Schmid is convinced. He gained this conviction in his own trials, in which he sowed winter triticale in a man-high intercropping mixture. “It looked very wild at first. But the seed placement was absolutely perfect and the Novag didn’t get blocked once. And now I’m just delighted with the crops,” says Schmid.
In addition to contract sowing, the introduction of no-till also opened up another source of income for Schmid through the sale of CO2 certificates. This is because companies that generate greenhouse gases during their production are obliged to offset these emissions with certificates. Due to the expected build-up of humus on his land and the associated fixation of CO2, Schmid can sell such certificates via an intermediary company on the energy exchange. In order to determine the actual humus build-up and CO2 sequestration, the soil on his land is regularly tested.
Today, he is glad that he listened to his gut feeling a year ago, despite the difficult conditions, and opted for Novag as a pioneer in the region. The machine has fully met his expectations, but this did not really surprise him. Schmid: “The philosophy of the company, the openness and helpfulness of the employees, that suited me right from the start. I’ve never experienced anything like it before.”
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