Progress 08/12/03 to 08/11/08
Outputs
Progress Report Objectives (from AD-416) Develop flexible dryland cropping systems that enhance soil moisture and precipitation use efficiency from year to year and are economically and environmentally sustainable. Develop decision aids that help accomplish this for producers with different soils and climate conditions. Assess the effect of intensive cropping systems on soil quality, particularly soil carbon Sequestration. Extend the management-decision support systems to include risk assessment and management for variable weather, production hazards such as insects and hails, and marketing uncertainties. Assess the value of precision farming in dryland systems management (spatial variability) and develop technology to extend plot results to field and farm scales. Approach (from AD-416) Field evaluations of dryland, no-till, crop rotations of varying intensities, will continue at 3 locations in Eastern Colorado with special emphasis on flexible cropping. Data will be collected on weather variables, soil water storage, plant growth and yield, residue levels, soil N and C, and natural hazards. Results will be analysed and published and the data used to verify and refine models and decision- support systems. Different crop rotations and residue levels will be assessed for changes in soil organic matter content, compaction, soil structure stability, infiltration and soil nutrient status. Spatial analysis will be conducted for crop yield as a function of soil type and landscape position. Decision aids will be developed for spacial management and for flexible cropping based on soil moisture at planting and forecast of rainfall. Estimate of risk will be given for different options. Significant Activities that Support Special Target Populations Administrative close-out processes were completed in FY-09; please refer to the Final Progress Report submitted in FY-08 for this project.
Impacts
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Progress 10/01/06 to 09/30/07
Outputs
Progress Report Objectives (from AD-416) Develop flexible dryland cropping systems that enhance soil moisture and precipitation use efficiency from year to year and are economically and environmentally sustainable. Develop decision aids that help accomplish this for producers with different soils and climate conditions. Assess the effect of intensive cropping systems on soil quality, particularly soil carbon Sequestration. Extend the management-decision support systems to include risk assessment and management for variable weather, production hazards such as insects and hails, and marketing uncertainties. Assess the value of precision farming in dryland systems management (spatial variability) and develop technology to extend plot results to field and farm scales. Approach (from AD-416) Field evaluations of dryland, no-till, crop rotations of varying intensities, will continue at 3 locations in Eastern Colorado with special emphasis on flexible cropping. Data will be collected on weather variables, soil water storage, plant growth and yield, residue levels, soil N and C, and natural hazards. Results will be analysed and published and the data used to verify and refine models and decision- support systems. Different crop rotations and residue levels will be assessed for changes in soil organic matter content, compaction, soil structure stability, infiltration and soil nutrient status. Spatial analysis will be conducted for crop yield as a function of soil type and landscape position. Decision aids will be developed for spacial management and for flexible cropping based on soil moisture at planting and forecast of rainfall. Estimate of risk will be given for different options. Significant Activities that Support Special Target Populations This report documents research conducted under a Specific Cooperative Agreement between ARS and Colorado State University. Additional details of research can be found in the report for the in-house associated project 5402-66000-005-00D, Integrated Farm and Ranch Management Decision Support System. We have added detailed cropping system information for two full cycles of the new crop rotations (10 years) to the previous 12 year database, making a total of 22 years. Since 1998, annual precipitation has been below average 9 of 10 years at Sterling, 6 of 10 years at Stratton, and 5 of 10 years at Walsh. This prolonged period of drought has included several years of severe drought, including the driest year on record for Eastern Colorado in 2002. In 2002, annual precipitation was only 50-60% of normal resulting in total crop failure except for wheat after fallow (avg. yield = 700 kg ha-1 During drought years, yields of all crops and all rotations are significantly reduced compared to wet years. Drought year yields were 80% of wet year yields for WF, 75% for WCF, and 60% for WCMF. Annualized grain yields for intensified crop rotations during drought years were increased 30% to 60% compared to WF. Similar to results during average to above precipitation, these results show those overall yields during drought are greater when rotations reduce the frequency of fallow compared to WF. During periods of drought, reducing fallow frequency to every third year is beneficial, but more intensification and continuous cropping do not improve yields. However, yearly fluctuation in yields and vulnerability to crop failure also increases with increasing crop intensity during drought. There was no crop failure observed for average or above precipitation from 1998-2001 in the WCF system, while crops failed 18% of the time for the continuous cropping during the same period. During drought, frequency of crop failure increased with less frequent fallow. Crop failure occurred 14% and 16% percent of the time for the WF and WCF systems and 21% and 42% of the time for the WCMF and continuous cropping, respectively. During drought, rotating summer fallow is important for reducing risk of crop failure. A runoff and erosion study was conducted during the 2005 and 2006 seasons on side slopes of the WCF, wheat-corn-millet (WCM), and perennial grass (G) systems at Sterling and Stratton. There was runoff from 10 events at Stratton averaging 2.9 cm, 3.1 cm, and 0.9 cm for the WCM, WCF, and G systems, respectively. There was runoff from only 2 storm events at Sterling with less than 0.4 cm average runoff. An analysis of long term weather records suggest that there are an average of 3.1 rain events expected to cause runoff per year. Frequency of high intensity rain events is as great or greater during drought compared to average precipitation years. As a result, risk of runoff and erosion is greatest during drought periods when soil cover from canopy and residue is lowest. Erosion rates were generally low. ADODR monitoring activities to evaluate research progress included conference calls, meetings with cooperators personnel, and site visits.
Impacts
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Progress 10/01/05 to 09/30/06
Outputs
Progress Report 4d Progress report. This report serves to document research conducted under a specific cooperative agreement between ARS and Colorado State University. Additional details of research can be found in the report for the parent project 5402-66000-005-00D. This project's working hypothesis is: No till practices permit cropping system intensification beyond the long term standard system of wheat fallow because no till improves capture and retention of the incident precipitation. Results from this project from 1986 to 1997 showed that cropping systems with 3 and 4 year rotations were superior to 2 year wheat fallow systems with 70% increases in annualized grain production and 25 to 40% increases in return to land, labor, capital, and management. The project also demonstrated that no till cropping systems with greater crop intensity and fewer fallow periods resulted in an increase in soil organic carbon and improvement in soil physical properties near the soil
surface. Soil carbon increased by 1,230 kg C ha-1 in the 0-10 cm depth in the first 12 years after intensive cropping systems adoption, with 46% of the C being in the surface 2.5 cm of soil. The POM-C fraction, which is defined as the intermediately stable C pool, increased by about 600 kg C ha-1 in the surface 2.5 cm depth. These data show that soil quality is being improved by the adoption of no-till intensive cropping systems. Results from the first 12 years of the study correspond with a period when precipitation was average to above average during most years. In 1998, the experiment was modified by changing the crop rotations being evaluated. The wheat-fallow treatment was dropped and the wheat- corn-fallow rotation became the standard of comparison (wheat-sorghum- fallow at the Walsh location), with new three and four year continuous crop rotations being added. We have added detailed cropping system information for two full cycles of the new crop rotations (9 years) to the
previous 12 year database, making a total of 21 years. Since 1998, annual precipitation has been below average 9 of 9 years at Sterling, 6 of 9 years at Stratton, and 5 of 9 years at Walsh. This prolonged period of drought has included several years of severe drought, including the driest year on record for Eastern Colorado in 2002. In 2002, annual precipitation was only 50-60% of normal resulting in total crop failure except for wheat after fallow (avg. yield = 700 kg ha-1). We have used the long term production dataset to contrast crop yields for the different crop rotations during drought with yields from years with above average precipitation (yields for the discontinued WF and WCMF were estimated). During drought years, yields of all crops and all rotations are significantly reduced compared to wet years. Drought year yields were 80% of wet year yields for WF, 75% for WCF, and 60% for WCMF. Annualized grain yields for intensified crop rotations during drought years were increased
30% to 60% compared to WF. Similar to results during average to above precipitation, these results show that overall yields during drought are greater when rotations reduce the frequency of fallow compared to WF. However, yearly fluctuation in yields and vulnerability to crop failure also increases with increasing crop intensity. In the spring of 2005 we instrumented selected plots at the Sterling and Stratton locations with automated runoff and erosion monitoring equipment and have monitored these continuously until the present. The objective of this project element is to obtain more detailed understanding of the fate of precipitation in dryland agroecosystems and to understand the extent of soil erosion. We measured no runoff from snowmelt, illustrating that snow is highly efficient precipitation. On the other hand, we have measured significant runoff from summer rainfall for multiple events, the majority at the Stratton location. Greatest runoff has occurred in corn plots because
corn has very little canopy development during the period of greatest rain intensity. Annual runoff averaged 1.9 cm for WCF, 1.6 cm for WCM, and 0.7 cm for grass. Erosion rates have been less than 0.5 Mg ha-1 for all treatments. Farmer interest in wheat based no-till systems with less frequent fallow continues to be strong as demonstrated by demand for dryland cropping systems information and by practice adoption rates. Dryland corn acreage increased from 23,700 in 1986 to an average of 230,000 over the last 5 years (2001-2005), reflecting a 10-fold increase. Sunflower acreage increased from 63,000 in 1991 (first year of records) to 215,000 in 2005. There is no official record of proso millet acreage in Colorado, but unofficial sources report increased acreage. Overall summer crop acreage has increased by about 500,000 in Colorado since 1986. Assuming that summer crops are grown in a 3-year rotation (wheat-summer crop-fallow), it means there are about 1,500,000 acres under more
intensive cropping systems compared to 75,000 in 1986. Producers have publicly testified that they use our research findings as they shift from wheat-fallow to more continuous cropping. Impact Statement: Conversion of about 1,500,000 acres in CO from wheat-fallow to wheat- summer crop-fallow has increased net return by $22,275,000 per year, based on an increased return of $14.85/acre as documented by the most recent economic analysis. Intensive cropping systems build soil organic carbon and improve soil quality. These systems also improve both air and surface water quality because they provide high amounts of year around cover that reduces soil erosion by 80 to 99%. 7. List your most important publications in the popular press and presentations to organizations and articles written about your work. (NOTE: List your peer reviewed publications below). Lyon, D.J. and Peterson, G.A. 2005. Symposium Introduction: Continuous dryland cropping in the Great Plains: What are the limits?
Agron. J. 97:347-348. Ortega. R. A., Westfall, D.G., and Peterson, G. A. 2005. Climatic gradient, cropping system, and crop residue effects on carbon and nitrogen mineralization in no-till soils. Comm. Soil Sci. Plant Anal. 36:2875-2888. Mosier, A.R., Halvorson, A.D., Peterson, G.A., Robertson, G.P., and Sherrod, L.A. 2005. Measurement of net global warming potential in three agroecosystems. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 7: 67-76. Cantero-Martinez, C., Westfall, D.G., Sherrod, L.A., and Peterson, G.A. 2006. Long-term crop residue dynamics in no-till cropping systems under semi-arid conditions. J. Soil and Water Conservation.61:84-95.
Impacts
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Progress 10/01/04 to 09/30/05
Outputs
4d Progress report. This report serves to document research conducted under a specific cooperative agreement between ARS and Dept. of Soil and Crop Science, Colorado State University. Additional details are given in the report for parent project 5402-66000-005-00D, Integrated Farm and Ranch Management Decision Support System. This projects working hypothesis is: No till practices permit cropping system intensification beyond the long term standard system of wheat fallow because no till improves capture and retention of the incident precipitation. Results from this project from 1986 to 1997 showed that cropping systems with 3 and 4 year rotations were superior to 2 year wheat fallow systems with 70% increases in annualized grain production and 25 to 40% increases in return to land, labor, capital, and management. The project also demonstrated that no till cropping systems with greater crop intensity and fewer fallow periods resulted in an increase in soil organic
carbon and improvement in soil physical properties near the soil surface. Soil carbon increased by 1,230 kg C ha-1 in the 0-10 cm depth in the first 12 years after intensive cropping systems adoption, with 46% of the C being in the surface 2.5 cm of soil. The POM-C fraction, which is defined as the intermediately stable C pool, increased by about 600 kg C ha-1 in the surface 2.5 cm depth. These data show that soil quality is being improved by the adoption of no-till intensive cropping systems. In 1998 the experiment was modified by changing the crop rotations being evaluated. The wheat-fallow treatment was dropped and the wheat-corn- fallow rotation became the standard of comparison (wheat-sorgham-fallow at the Walsh location), with new three and four year continuous crop rotations being added. We have added detailed cropping system information for two full cycles of the new crop rotations (8 years) to the previous 12 year database, making a total of 20 years. The last four years have
been characterized by drought conditions, including the driest year on record for Eastern Colorado in 2002. In 2002, annual precipitation was only 50-60% of normal resulting and resulting in total crop failure except for wheat after fallow (avg. yield = 700 kg ha-1). Precipitation patterns in 2003 resulted in above average winter wheat yields but below average yields of corn and proso millet. Wheat yields in 2004 were poor due to draught conditions in the fall of 2003. Wheat yields after fallow were 2170, 2360, and 1680 kg/ha for Sterling, Stratton, and Walsh, respectively. Yields of wheat following wheat (W-W-C-M rotation) were very low (avg = 410 kg ha-1), while no wheat was harvested in rotations following prosos millet. Timing of precipitation in 2004 permitted good establishment of summer crops at all sites and average corn yields at Sterling (3820 kg ha-1) and Walsh (3440 kg ha-1). Corn yields were depressed at Stratton (1970 kg ha-1) due to very dry conditions. We have
determined that corn yield is highly dependent on precipitation from mid July to mid August during critical reproductive growth stages. Stored soil moisture at planting is not a good indicator of the yield potential for corn. Trends in proso millet yields in 2004 were similar, averaging 1690 and 610 kg ha-1 at Sterling and Stratton. Millet is a good rotation crop for the Eastern Colorado environment. This project has demonstrated the production and economic impacts of drought for different cropping systems. It is apparent that in drought years, a fallow period is required before wheat. In non-drought years, we have demonstrated that crop rotations with two consecutive years of wheat can be successful. The second year of what requires the use of a Clearfield tolerant wheat variety in order to control grassy weeds such as jointed goat grass and downy brome. We have been evaluating alternative summer annual crops that would be profitable, break weed and pest cycles in the grass
dominated systems, and have a short enough growing season to allow for timely wheat planting in the fall. We have shown that currently developed varieties of soybean are not adapted to our semi-arid environment. At the Walsh location we tested Mung bean in 2003 and 2004, but its production has been very poor, averaging less than 400 kg ha-1 over both years. Forage crops may fit well in dryland systems. We are currently experimenting at the Sterling location with the use of a forage triticale and a mixture of triticale and Austrian winter pea as possible forage crops to include in the dryland cropping systems. Production in 2005 averaged 4200 kg ha-1 when grown following wheat and 2700 kg ha-1 following millet. In the spring of 2005 we instrumented selected plots at the Sterling and Stratton locations with automated runoff and erosion monitoring equipment. The objective of this new project element is to obtain more detailed understanding of the fate of precipitation in dryland
agroecosystems and to understand the extent of soil erosion. We have collected data from a total of 6 individual runoff and erosion events and we are currently analyzing this information. At this point it is apparent that storm intensity is often high enough to cause a significant portion of the precipitation to runoff the soil surface, even in no till systems. We plan to use the information on runoff and erosion to develop techniques to improve water capture and cropping system sustainability. Farmer interest continues to be strong as demonstrated by demand for dryland cropping systems information and by practice adoption rates. Dryland corn acreage increased from 23,700 in 1986 to an average of 257, 000 over the last 5 years (1999-2003), reflecting an 11-fold increase. Sunflower acreage increased from 63,000 in 1991 (first year of records) to 195,000 in 2001, but dropped to 130,000 in 2002 and 2003. There is no official record of proso millet acreage in Colorado, but unofficial
sources report increased acreage. Overall summer crop acreage has increased by about 500,000 in Colorado since 1986. Assuming that summer crops are grown in a 3 year rotation (wheat summer crop fallow), it means there are about 1,500,000 acres under more intensive cropping systems compared to 75,000 in 1986. Producers have publicly testified that they use our research findings as they shift from wheat fallow to more continuous cropping. 5. Describe the major accomplishments over the life of the project, including their predicted or actual impact. Impact Statement: Conversion of about 1,500,000 acres in CO from wheat-fallow to wheat- summer crop-fallow has increased net return by $22,275,000 per year, based on an increased return of $14.85/acre as documented by the most recent economic analysis. Recently herbicide costs have decreased, which will increase the profit of no-till systems relative to tilled fallow systems. Intensive cropping systems build soil organic carbon and improve
soil quality. These systems also improve both air and surface water quality because they provide high amounts of year around cover that reduces soil erosion by 80 to 99%. 7. List your most important publications in the popular press and presentations to organizations and articles written about your work. (NOTE: List your peer reviewed publications below). Campbell, C.A., H.H. Janzen, K. Paustian, E.G. Gregorich, L. Sherrod, B.C. Liang, and R.P. Zentner. 2005. Carbon Storage in Soils of the North American Great Plains: Effect of Cropping Frequency. Agron. J. 97:349- 363. Lyon, D., Bruce, S., Vyn, T., and Peterson, G. 2004. Achievements and challenges in conservation tillage. In T. Fischer et al. (ed.) Proc. 4th Int. Crop Sci. Congr., Brisbane, Australia. 26 Sep. - 2 Oct. 2004. [Online] Available at www.cropscience.org.au. The Reg. Inst., Gosford, Australia. Miller, H. R. 2004. Carabid beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) seasonal occurrence and species composition in Colorado dryland
cropping systems. MS Thesis, Colorado State University. Peterson, G.A. and Westfall. D.G. 2004 Managing precipitation use in sustainable dryland agroecosystems. Annals Applied Biology 144:127-138. Peterson, G.A. 2005. Dryland Farming. Encyclopedia of Soil Science 1:414-417. Peterson, G.A. 2005. Water conservation principles and no-till practices. In: The second international conference on sustainable and effective agriculture using no-till systems approach. Majskoye, Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine Peterson, G. A. and Westfall. D.G. 2004. Landscapes, soil and water conservation, and diversity in Great Plains agroecosystems. (Invited paper)[CD-ROM computer file] Abstract 3518. Amer. Soc. of Agron., Madison, WI.
Impacts
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Progress 10/01/03 to 09/30/04
Outputs
4. What were the most significant accomplishments this past year? 4D. Progress Report: This report serves to document research conducted under a specific cooperative agreement between ARS and Colorado State University, Dept. of Soil and Crop Sciences. Additional details of this research can be found in the report for the parent project, #5402-66000-005-00D. This project's working hypothesis is: No till practices permit cropping system intensification beyond the long term standard system of wheat fallow because no till improves capture and retention of the incident precipitation. Data collected from 1986-1997 showed that cropping systems with 3 and 4 year rotations were superior to 2 year wheat fallow systems with 70% increases in annualized grain production and 25-40% increases in return to land, labor, capital, and management. The wheat corn or sorghum fallow is now the standard of comparison rather than wheat fallow. In 1998, a 3 year continuous wheat corn millet
and a 4 year continuous wheat wheat corn millet system were initiated. Soybean (Roundup Ready) replaced millet from 1999-2001, but was found to be unprofitable, and proso millet was reinserted in the systems in 2002. Wheat yields in 2003 were extraordinary, given the dry conditions in fall 2002, because above average precipitation in the spring created ideal conditions for winter wheat. Yields after fallow were the highest on record at the Sterling site, 3620 kg/ha averaged over all soil positions. Wheat yields at Stratton and Walsh were average to above; 2550 and 2420 kg/ha, respectively. Summer rainfall was below normal, and so corn yields were depressed: 2070 and 2570 kg/ha at Sterling and Stratton, respectively, which is half the long-term mean yield. Despite the dry summer, proso millet yields were 2280 and 1440 kg/ha at Sterling and Stratton, respectively. Stored soil water from the spring precipitation set the stage for the high proso yields. Mung bean was grown for the first
time instead of millet at Walsh, but it only yielded 270 kg/ha. 5. Describe the major accomplishments over the life of the project, including their predicted or actual impact. Dryland corn acreage increased from 23,700 in 1986 to 305,000 in 2001; a 13 fold increase. Sunflower acreage increased from 63,000 in 1991 (first year of records) to 195,000 in 2001 but dropped to 130,000 in 2002. There is no official record of proso millet acreage in Colorado, but unofficial sources report increased acreage. Overall summer crop acreage has increased by about 500,000 in Colorado since 1986. Assuming that summer crops are grown in a 3 year rotation (wheat summer crop fallow), it means there are about 1,500,000 acres under more intensive cropping systems compared to 75,000 in 1986. Conversion of 1,500,000 acres in CO from wheat-fallow to wheat-summer crop-fallow has increased net return by $22, 275,000 per year, based on an increased return of $14.85/acre as documented by the most recent economic
analysis. Intensive cropping systems also improve both air and surface water quality because they provide high amounts of year around cover that reduces soil erosion by 80 to 99%.
Impacts
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