Precision Farming in 4 Year No-till Dryland Rotations: Hopes and Possibilities.

For years in the semi-arid west Central Great Plains dryland farmers have been able to collect multiple layers of data about their individual fields. These data include yield maps, topography, soil depth, soil nutrition, soil color, Veris EC, etc. The problem is how to interpret these data to make smart management decisions with respect to plant population, weed control and plant nutrition via fertilizer or other soil amendments. It seems reasonable that management zones can be established to match yield potential with precision management. At the Central Great Plains Research Station we have established a new long term experiment to quantify the use of multiple layers of data collected from replicated fields to manage an “aspirational” 4 year no-till rotation (ASP) compared to a business as usual (BAU) reduce-till wheat fallow rotation. All fields are replicated 3 times. Fields with natural variability in production based on yield maps collected in the past were selected to ensure field variability for precision management. The 4 year ASP rotation is a wheat-(corn/sorghum)-millet/canola-flex fallow rotation. The design includes farmer input and is getting off the desk and into the field in the spring of 2017. The researchers are in the earliest stages of this experiment and welcome ideas and critique. Eddy covariance towers and other aspects of this new LTAR Cropland research project are yet to be established.