Soil School: Cover crops and cattle with Ken Schaus

[@jakebakker8224]

Ken is a great steward of the land and a professional. A great example of good agriculture in this province.

[@mpccenturion]

Thank you! Cheers! High Altitude here - 720 ft ALT - New Brunswick Here. Been learning for 8 months - Appplied what I leanred this summer. Going to replant this spring!

[@wenatahakwano3718]

Looks like a ton of land there. Do they bale, silage thoses cover crops? When rotational grazzing, how to they manage to graze all that land before some of the crops mature. Thanks Just getting into cover cropping here in zambia still a lot to learn.

[@stephenpayton660]

Have you had any issues with radish plugging field tile?

[@RealAgricultureMedia]

Hi Stephen, Ken says, "We have had some plugged tiles with fine roots Not necessarily radish. I feel 60 to 70 days is enough growth and the covers should be terminated in the fall to prevent this from happening."

[@chrismclaughlin9302]

Great video that makes some excellent point.

[@RealAgricultureMedia]

thanks Chris, glad you enjoyed it.

[@benwilliams3539]

What's a good cover crop option for clay soils which also get soaked for half the year (over 1500mm rainfall each wet season) then super dry the other half

[@user-wisrcounty]

This is life goals right here

[@matthewsaxe6383]

Great video, thanks. I'd be curious to see a side by side plant nutrient comparison of before the investment and now.

[@kenschaus8190]

Its hard to do a side by side comparison when we do the entire farm

[@nathanbrearley2536]

What tillage tool was the farmer using before corn planting in the spring?

[@kenschaus8190]

We use a Lemken Helliodore Working the soil about 3 inches deep or 1/2 inch below seed placement One pass

[@tallcedars2310]

We are seeding a diverse crop next spring and wonder about chickweed? It covers te soil in the garden that makes it a great ground cover.

[@doncook3584]

Regenerative Ag ❤💪

[@muzaffarali2117]

Any material regarding sugarcane repeated crops and its effects on soils with remedies?

[@richardwaechter5426]

My cattle and sheep love grazing oats and peas.

[@robvanderstar9165]

No mention of herbicide? The rye was mowed after the soya was up?

[@kenschaus8190]

Sprayed the covercrop off late in the season with Roundup

[@kenschaus8190]

The Rolled Rye we did spray off with Roundup The soys are crusher beans and there was some weed pressure A heavier stand of rye would have helped This year we added more and see next to no weeds

[@robvanderstar9165]

@@kenschaus8190 when is late in season? Are these round up ready beans? what are ''crusher'' beans? what is rolled rye? I have never heard these expressions in Quebec

[@kenschaus8190]

@@robvanderstar9165 terminated late in the season End of October Crusher beans are RoundUp Ready and we planted green soybeans and roller crimped the cereal rye at anthesis

[@juliecayley16]

This is a great video with a really great message thank you Ken! How can we motivate farmers to prioritize soil health on rented land?

[@kenschaus8190]

With the price of land we have the land owners happy to keep the rents in check keeping their farms erosion free and organic matter levels maintaining or gaining

[@mikepowell8611]

Is there any soil life? Worms, fungus, that sorta thing?

[@kenschaus8190]

The top of the ground is covered with worm castings and the rest of the bacteria and fungus you would need a microscope to see What i can tell you it looks better every year we farm and my inputs are going down in cost with steady yield improvemnets

[@Redlinesixtynine]

What would be a good bloat free , after wheat, cover crop that cattle could use for late fall grazing, thanks.

[@shelbydavis3311]

Ryegrass.,triticale, brassicas

[@RealAgricultureMedia]

From Ontario's Christine O'Reilly: Frothy bloat can occur when livestock are grazing lush pastures, including some fall cover crops. The risk is highest in plants with low levels of indigestible fibre (lignin), because these move through the rumen very quickly. Brassicas and clovers are typically considered higher risk than cereals and grass species, but slow GDD accumulation in the fall can keep lignin levels low in these plants as well. To transition livestock onto cover crops, producers should turn the animals out when they are full, which prevents them from gorging on the cover crop. Once they’re on the crop, keep them on it rather than pulling them off and having to re-introduce them. Moving livestock in the afternoon gives them fresh grazing when they are less inclined to eat, helping moderate intakes. There are also products that contain poloxalene that can be added to feed or the water source to help break up the rumen foam, but these may be less effective in a cover crop grazing scenario where livestock tend to drink less and the goal is to minimize supplemental feeding.

[@Redlinesixtynine]

@@shelbydavis3311 not sure if I can get triticale here in SW ontario. Are some brassicas more bloat free than others? thanks.

[@Redlinesixtynine]

@@RealAgricultureMedia Thanks.

[@levibarkey1499]

If they made it more affordable for putting seed down A lot of more farmers will be doing it

[@alexbrown979]

Wait so he spends $40/acre on cover crops but doesn’t graze it???

[@kenschaus8190]

We could graze it but have very wet falls and early snow some years . Feed the land back with the biomass above ground and below . There aren’t any fences either on this land. We do graze some on the farms with good fences

[@yolo_burrito]

Wow, a farmer that cares about the water leaving his farm. US sugar gives zero Effs about the water leaving their farms.