DeKalb County works to connect producers and conservation……….

New for 2013: Great Plains 1006NT Drill

The promotion of soil health and cover crops has been part of the mission of the DeKalb SWCD for several years.  We have held field days, planted cover crop plots to showcase different varieties, and written grants to fund the planting of cover crops by producers.  In 2012, in conjunction with the Steuben County SWCD, the DeKalb District applied for and received a 3 year, $60,000 CWI grant for “Innovation Conservation Implementation”, the planting of cover crops and installation of Blind Inlets.  One of the goals and challenges of this grant was to plant a minimum of 1500 acres of cover crops in the upper Cedar Creek and Fish Creek watersheds.

In preparing to administer this CWI grant and with experience from our previous promotion of cover crops we identified a significant road block for our producers: the lack of proper equipment for the planting of cover crops.   Most producers have no-till drills but often they are not equipped with seeder boxes required for the planting of many varieties of cover crops.  Additionally, the current trend is moving toward bean planters rather than no-till drills, which also lack the versatility to plant cover crops.  Some of our producers were willing to experiment with cover crops using aerial and broadcast seeding methods.  However, results were mixed and less than persuasive for the long-term adoption of cover crops as part of their cropping system.  

To resolve this road block the DeKalb SWCD with the support of our partners and producers proposed to purchase a 10ft no-till grain drill equipped with grass seeder(s) for the planting of cover crops.  This width of drill would allow for the additional benefits of the seeding of conservation practices such waterways, filter strips, and experimentation of no-till crop production. 

With this in mind the DeKalb SWCD took the lead in completing a Great Lakes Commission grant application for the purchase of just such a drill.  We learned in early October 2012 that our application had been chosen for funding!  We ordered our Great Plains drill and began preparation for the 2013 planting season.  With spring upon us our drill arrived just in time for seeding of filter strips, waterways, no-till soybeans, and later that year, the planting of cover crops.  The roadblock that we had identified had been removed.   

Use of the drill is increasing as more producers become aware of its availability.  Our promotion of cover crops and conservation practices is also increasing as we continue the work of the DeKalb SWCD.  This success is due to the contribution and effort of many partners.  Specifically, the DeKalb SWCD would like to thank the Great Lakes Commission, the Steuben County SWCD, the DeKalb County Surveyor, and the Indiana State Department Agriculture, Division of Soil Conservation for the Clean Water Indiana grants program.