Fall 2020 - 20

STRONGER SOIL
maybe changing the teeth, changing the spacing, maybe
you need shields, maybe you don't need shields. You have
to evaluate what you're doing on every row and every side
of the row. "
" Every one of your cultivations is important, but your
first cultivation is most important, " Rossman said. " You
want to get the soil as close to the plant as you can. "
In soybeans this year, the weeder was used three times
followed by three cultivations. The first pass with the
weeder was three days after planting. " The crop emerges in
six to seven days, " Rossman said.
The second was when the soybeans were about oneinch
tall but not yet in the trifoliate stage. The third trip
was after the first cultivation because the weeder will
sometimes move more soil up around the plants. " I plant
at a higher plant population because I know I'm rough on
the seedlings, but you've got to try to keep the field clean, "
Rossman said. Soybeans are planted at 180,000 to 200,000
seeds per acre in 30-inch rows.
The three cultivations were spread out with the last one
just before the rows closed. Root pruning is a concern with
a late cultivation but the goal is to control late emerging
weeds.
Most of the corn this year was also cultivated three times
with the weeder used once after planting. " The drawback is
time, " Rossman said. " When it's time to cultivate corn, you
need to be planting soybeans. Through June and part of
July, you're glued to that tractor seat cultivating. "
" It's a lot of work, especially in mid-summer and you lose
some areas to weeds and then in the fall, after harvest, after
you settle up, you've made some money, " Rossman said,
" and you know you're growing something people want. "
GETTING ORGANIZED
Rossman serves on the board of the Michigan Organic
Food and Family Alliance (MOFFA). The non-profit was
organized in 1992 to promote organic agriculture and
develop and support local food systems.
MOFFA offers grower training through workshops
called organic intensives. " They are one day workshops
on one particular topic - cover crops, weed control, new
technology, " Rossman said. " MOFFA also has publications
that are top notch - to help growers with their organic
endeavors. " It also offers a directory of organic producers.
Rossman's role as an organic inspector continues. " I like
getting out on the farms, " he said. " I like to see what the
growers are doing, hear their stories, hear their challenges. "
" Being organic isn't just doing the right thing in the field.
It's doing the right thing with the right documentation
because that's how you're certified, " Rossman said. " Most
farmers like being organic; most of them don't enjoy the
paperwork. It's not for the faint of heart. "
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Fall 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Fall 2020