As young farmers, Kari Olson and her sister Nicole Strafelda share that the only way they know how to raise corn, soybean and wheat is practicing no-till and managing cover crops.

“We came into this operation when it was already full no-till and doing cover crops, so this is our normal,” Kari says. “In fact, I've never tilled a field in my life, and I hope I never have to.”

The sisters are in business with their parents Rob and Lonna Olson, Hawley, farming 2,300 acres with Robert Olson Farms Inc. and raising roughly a third each of no-till corn, soybeans and wheat. Rob started the transition to no-till 17 years ago, with the corn ground being the last to convert. All acreage has been in no-till for five years and in cover crops for six.

The opportunity to secure a low interest Environmental Quality Incentives Program loan prompted Rob to buy a John Deere 1890 no-till drill. He started with some soybean acres on lighter ground while his dad still planted conventional.

“It was kind of scary at first as things don’t look that good,” Rob says, reflecting on when he started no-tilling. “The soybeans were shorter but when you looked at the yield, it was the same.”

Yet, the idea of reducing tillage and restoring soil health held appeal, and he continued to expand acreage in no-till as well as sowing cover crops.

“It’s made farming fun again,” Rob says. “Plus, it’s really rewarding to see our daughters take the next steps in soil health.”

Seasonal overview

Cover crop seeding takes place throughout the growing season for the Olsons. Following the combine during August wheat harvest, Kari says they plant biostrips — an Angassiz seed mix of four pounds of radish and six pounds of flax — with oats or peas in between 10-inch seed openers. They let volunteer wheat grow and serve as a cover crop.

“This year [the week of Aug. 24], we are trying something new and flying on some oats and radishes into the beans before leaf drop,” Kari says. “We have never done this before, but I got some EQIP funding to try new ideas.

Cereal rye and radishes are broadcast in corn in June during sidedressing at the V4-V6 growth stage.

“We tried [a cover crop mix of] 27 pounds cereal rye, 2 pounds radish and 1 pound rapeseed in 2018, but stuck with just 28 pounds cereal rye and 2 pounds of radish in 2019,” she says. “In 2020, we did add some balansa and berseem clover into the mix to experiment with.”

Come spring, they will burndown the cereal rye, either before seeding or right after.

“It all depends on the soil moisture,” she says. “We like to seed green when possible as the ground is so mellow and soft.”

Rob planted 20-inch corn rows in 2019 and again this year, since that is what their John Deere 1790 is set at for higher yields. The practice has both positive and negative impacts for cover crops. The pro? Early canopy helps with weed control. The con? There limited sunlight for cereal rye and radish growth.

They plant soybeans and wheat with 10-inch spacing using their John Deere 1895 no-till drill.

They use both sidedress and mid-row banding when applying fertilizer. In wheat, their 20-inch mid-row bander drills urea and ammonium sulfate (AMS). They also add monoammonium phosphate (MAP) with the seed in 10-inch spacing. On soybeans, depending on soil tests, the mid-row banders apply a blend of MAP, potash and AMS.

“Those mid-row banders are also used for our fall biostrips [radish and flax cover crop] because they line up with the corn rows for the next spring and provides a ‘natural’ strip till to blacken up that corn row,” Kari says.

Corn is fertilized at planting with a 10-34-0 starter and a two-by-two of 28% nitrogen. At V4-V6, corn is sidedressed at the same time cereal rye and radishes are broadcast with a Gandy box mounted on the sidedress bar.

The Olsons plant an 80 to 85-day corn and usually go with soybeans averaging .04 to .06 in maturity.

“Semi-flex ears and upright leaves for the narrower rows as well as seedling vigor and dry down are traits we look for in corn varieties,” Kari says. “When choosing varieties for soybeans, we look for traits such as early emergence, standability and seedling vigor.

They plant a couple different wheat varieties and have found that Linkert works best for their growing conditions.

“Straw strength is a big component in the no-till game to keep the wheat from lodging and creating a thick mat on the soil surface,” Kari says. “Linkert has been able to stay standing for us compared to any other we've tried as well as yield consistently.”

Over the years, the Olsons have tapped Centrol Crop Consulting, Twin Valley, for crop management expertise.

Worth the wait

Farmers who get into no-till farming and managing cover crops quickly learn that patience is a virtue. Kari notes that they are usually a few days behind the neighbors when getting into fields in the spring.

“On the flip side, it's a blessing because when we get to the hot, dry days of summer, our fields are good at retaining that moisture and holding it longer under that residue as well as staying cooler,” she says, adding, “I would say our biggest advantage with no-till and cover crops is the consistency and continuity. We strive for a consistent base hit instead of the occasional home run and I think that is a good mentality to have — to avoid the lows.”

Yields haven’t necessarily improved due to these practices, yet they have remained comparable and consistent, she says. Plus, they have lower input costs due to reduced fuel, fertilizer and labor, and less equipment wear and tear.

Retaining moisture and preventing runoff have been key, especially with the last two years’ rainfall amounts.

“Our soils have the ability to infiltrate that moisture faster,” Kari says. “We're seeing less ponding and drowned out spots. The soil is becoming so forgiving. The wet fall of 2019 was a true test for our no-till. The trafficability of our fields really showed us that what we're doing is working. We didn't get stuck once and barely made any ruts because we were able to stay on top of that residue. And with the cover crops, we're not losing that precious topsoil anymore and we're breaking up compaction.”