No-Till Soil Management Strategy
The following suggestions are the ways in which we know that we can help you create the maximum revenue per acre with the lowest input costs.
If you no-till, we suggest that you spread Ecochar in the fall at the rate of 1 ton / acre (or equal to the agronomic rate for nutrients, whichever is less) before you plant your cover crop. Ecochar has nutrients encapsulated from the organic feedstock that is processed through our Gasification System to produce Ecochar. Ecochar will then adsorb the nutrients in the soil and these nutrients are released by the microbes in the soil when the plant calls for them. The char base stays in the soil forever providing moisture retention, surface area for beneficial microbes, and cation exchange capacity.
Wood char does not have self-contained nutrients in the char and will adsorbs nutrients in the soil, but holds them and does not release those nutrients when the plant calls for them until a certain saturation of nutrients are built up. Wood has a char value but does not have the self-contained high nutrient value nor the immediate nutrient release than that of Ecochar.
When you plant your legume cover crop in the fall and it matures, (either fall or spring – dependent on the type of farming such as food or grain crops), to the point when the plant is in the “milk” or “dough” stage of seed maturity or when 3⁄4 of the plants are flowering if not a cereal crop, we suggest that you terminate the legume with a crimper. Crimping is time selective and must be done before the seed matures.
The roller crimped cover crop would act as your pre-emergent because it would block out the weed seed while your corn or bean crop is coming through. You will greatly reduce or eliminate the use of herbicides realizing savings in your input costs for herbicides, fuel and time. Pesticide use should also decrease over a 3 years period because of the increasing organic matter, increasing the microbial population.
For those of you that mix your own fertilizer, or want to spread additional nutrients on your plants, we will be offering a dry Soil Amendment blend, (regenerative product), for spring application. This is to be applied when the plant is sprouting as it feeds the plant. It does have NPK and micronutrient value.
The facility processing this product uses 100% renewable power and dries predominantly using recovered heat from the carbonization system (low / no fossil fuel use, renewable heat treatment / drying). This facility is part of a carbon negative biochar production facility.
In applying the Ecochar to the soil in the fall and spreading the Soil Amendment when your plants start sprouting in the spring, it helps you to reduce or eliminate extra cost of commercial fertilizer and additional nitrogen and reduces or eliminates the need for pesticides and herbicides.
If you are interested in our ideas for this type of management strategy, please contact us as we look forward to visiting with you.
Thank you, Bob
