Agronomic Innovations for Sustainable High Row Crop

Productivity

Kendall R. LamkeyDepartment of Agronomy

Iowa State University

The Five Factors

1. Energy2. Erosion3. Nutrient Management (Water Quality)4. Carbon (Organic Matter)5. Climate Change

THE PROBLEMSCorn-Corn and Corn-Soybean Rotations

Biomass production in annual cropping systems

Summer Autumn

Dry

mat

ter p

rodu

ctio

n (m

ass

/ tim

e)

Annual grain crop

Spring Winter

Missed opportunities for resource assimilation and dry matter production

Additional opportunities for resource losses

Dry

mat

ter p

rodu

ctio

n or

re

sour

ce lo

ss(m

ass

/ tim

e)

From:LiebmanAnexHegenstallerMoore

The Raccoon River Watershed Story

Hatfield et. al. 2009. J. Soil Water Cons. 64:190

The Raccoon

River Watershed

Story

Hatfield et al. 2009. J. Soil Water Cons. 64:190

The Raccoon

River Watershed

Story

Hatfield, J. L. 2009. J. Soil Water Cons. 64:190

The Raccoon

River Watershed

Story

Hatfield, J. L. 2009. J. Soil Water Cons. 64:190

The Raccoon

River Watershed

Story

Hatfield, J. L. 2009. J. Soil Water Cons. 64:190

The Raccoon

River Watershed

Story

Hatfield, J. L. 2009. J. Soil Water Cons. 64:190

0

5

10

15

20

Nitra

te-N

(m

g/l)

1/4/

005/

30/0

07/

21/0

012

/4/0

02/

8/01

4/6/

015/

10/0

16/

5/01

7/2/

018/

21/0

112

/12/

011/

15/0

22/

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10/0

25/

14/0

26/

6/02

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/02

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/02

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1/02

1/15

/03

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/03

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/03

5/14

/03

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6/30

/03

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/03

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/03

1/23

/04

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044/

6/04

5/4/

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2/04

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/04

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/04

12/1

3/04

3/4/

054/

19/0

55/

17/0

56/

15/0

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15/0

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26/0

510

/14/

0512

/2/0

51/

25/0

63/

3/06

3/31

/06

5/2/

06

Date

Raccoon River at Van Meter, IA, 2000-2006 (USGS data)

Nitrate-N (mg/l)

"Unfortunately, the Raccoon River has the highest averagenitrate concentration of any of the 42 largest tributaries in theMississippi River Basin." -- Des Moines Water Works, 2007

EPA limit

Why is this important?

In, 1991 the Des Moines Water Works (DMWW) constructed the world’s largest ion exchange nitrate removal facility

Hatfield, J. L. 2009. J. Soil Water Cons. 64:190

THE PROBLEMSNutrient Management

http://www.sare.org/publications/bsbc/bsbc.pdf

Jaynes et al. 2001. Nitrate Loss in Subsurface Drainage as Affected by Nitrogen Fertilizer Rate. J. Environ. Qual. 30:1305-1314

Jaynes et al. 2001. Nitrate Loss in Subsurface Drainage as Affected by Nitrogen Fertilizer Rate. J. Environ. Qual. 30:1305-1314

THE PROBLEMSSoil Erosion

Pictures Courtesy of Dr. Andrew Manu, Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University

Iowa 2008

Soils

• Iowa Leads The Nation In Water Erosion (Source: NRCS National Resource Inventory, 2003)

• 128,500 Thousand Tons/Year• 5 Tons/Acre Average• Erosion Is Not Evenly Distributed Across The

State• Not All Eroded Soil Leaves The Field

Soil Erosion Impacts

Kazemi, Masoud, L.C. Dumenil, and T.E. Fenton. 1990. Effects of accelerated erosion on corn yields of loess-derived and till-derived soils in Iowa. Final report for Soil Conservation Service, Agreement No. 68-6114-0-8, Des Moines, IA.

Loess- And Till-Derived Soils Differ In Their Inherent Productivity

Corn Yields Are Sensitive To A-horizon Depths

Slide Courtesy of Dr. Rick Cruse, Agronomy, ISU

Iowa Daily Erosion Project

http://wepp.mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/index.phtml

THE PROBLEMSClimate Change

Weather …… Is Changing

– Days Are Cooling Off– Evenings Are Warming Up– Dew points are increasing– Winter is warming up– Frequency Of Extreme

Precipitation Events Is Increasing

Graphs from Dr. Gene Takle, Agronomy, ISU

The Good News Is …

There are solutions …

The Solutions

• Cropping Systems/Management• Bio-Filters• Strategic Placement of Perennials• Riparian Buffers• Tile Flow Management• Hydrology• Wet lands• Integration of Crop and Livestock Systems

THE SOLUTIONSBio-Reactors

Bioreactors

• Carbon Source (Wood Chips)• Microbes Colonize Wood Chips, Use

Them As Energy, Break Down Nitrogen In Water, And Expel It As A Gas

• 50-70% Of Annual Tile Flow Through Bioreactor

• Will Remove 25-35% Of The Nitrogen

Pictures and Information courtesy of the Iowa Soybean Association’s Environmental Program

Pictures and Information courtesy of the Iowa Soybean Association’s Environmental Program

THE SOLUTIONSStrategic Placement of Perennials

Biocomplexity of Integrated Perennial-Annual Agroecosystems

Dr. Heidi Asbjornsen (ISU-NREM)

Dr. Matt Helmers (ISU-ABE)

Dr. Matt Liebman (ISU-Agronomy)

Dr. Matt O’Neal (ISU-Entomology)

Dr. Lisa Schulte (ISU-NREM)

Dr. Nancy Grudens-Schuck (ISU-Agricultural Education)

Dr. Rick Cruse (ISU-Agronomy and Director of the Iowa Water Center)

Pauline Drobney (Land Management and Research Demonstration Biologist, Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge)

Dr. Randy Kolka (U.S. Forest Service)

Dr. Mark Tomer (USDA-ARS)

Concept

Conceptual Watershed Designs

2008 Results

4/10/2

008

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6/6/20

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008

6/26/2

008

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7/8/20

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008

10/6/

2008

10/22

/2008

10/24

/2008

11/6/

2008

Cum

ulat

ive

surfa

ce ru

noff

(in a

cre-1

)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12100% Row-crop10% Perennial Cover at Toe Slope10% Perennial Cover in Contour Strips20% Perennial Cover in Contour Strips

Date

4/10/2

008

4/17/2

008

4/18/2

008

4/25/2

008

5/25/2

008

5/30/2

008

6/3/20

08

6/5/20

08

6/6/20

08

6/8/20

08

6/12/2

008

6/26/2

008

7/7/20

08

7/8/20

08

7/17/2

008

7/18/2

008

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008

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008

10/6/

2008

10/22

/2008

10/24

/2008

11/6/

2008

Cum

ulat

ive

sedi

men

t exp

ort (

lb a

cre-1

)

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

100% Row-crop10% Perennial Cover at Toe Slope10% Perennial Cover in Contour Strips20% Perennial Cover in Contour Strips

Visual Examples

THE SOLUTIONSCropping Systems

Team Members: Ken Moore, Professor, ISU Agronomy Kendall Lamkey, Professor, ISU Agronomy Jeremy Singer, Research Agronomist, USDA-ARS NSTL Roger Hintz, Assistant Scientist, ISU Agronomy Keith Kohler, Research Technician, USDA-ARS NSTL Scott Flynn, Graduate Research Assistant, ISU Agronomy

Collaborators: Darren D. Goebel, John Deere & Company Mike Edgerton, Monsanto

Perennial Cover Crops Sustainable Cropping Systems for Harvesting Corn Stover for Biomass

Source: Jeremy Singer, USDA-ARS, Ames, Iowa

Perennial Cover Crops

Design Split plot 4 Reps

Treatments Groundcover (Main)

• Bluegrass• Creeping red fescue• White clover• White clover and red

fescue

Objective 3 Develop management systems that minimize competition between corn and the groundcover

Management (Sub)• Control• Glyphosate (pre and post)• Paraquat (pre) and glyphosate (post)• Strip tillage (fall) with glyphosate

(post)• Strip tillage with paraquat (pre) and

glyphosate (post)Funded by Sungrant

Treatment Stover C Root C Shoot C Net C gain Grain yield Stover yield

______________________kg ha-1_______________________

2008

Control 3885 5668 - 13071 8783

KYB 2617 7082 511 1925 9249 6050

CRF 1825 9235 1228 4795 6258 4247

2009

Control 5011 - 11867 11520

KYB 4724 236 12768 10860

CRF 4568 456 11364 10500

Objective 3 Develop management systems that minimize competition between corn and the groundcover

Objective 3 Develop management systems that minimize competition between corn and the groundcover

Treatment Δ mass

RS to R6

Water use

RS to R6

WUE

g m-2 cm g DM/cm H2O

Control 1258 28.6 44

Bluegrass 1154 26.6 43

THE SOLUTIONSWetlands

http://www.conservationinformation.org/pdf/CTIC_wetlands_02.pdf

Helmers et al. 2008. Water and Nutrient Research: In-field and Offsite Strategies.

THE SOLUTIONSRiparian Buffers

Photo Courtesy ofDepartment of Natural Resource Ecology and ManagementIowa State UniversityPhoto by Tom Schultz

Buffers Can1. Cut sediment in surface runoff as much as 90%2. Cut nitrogen and phosphorus in runoff by 80%3. Entice and support 5 times as many bird species as row cropped or

heavily grazed land4. Allow water to infiltrate 5 times faster than row cropped or heavily

grazed land5. Remove up to 90% of ground water nitrate6. Cut stream bank erosion by as much as 80% from row cropped or

heavily grazed land7. Reach maximum efficiency for sediment removal in as little as 5

years8. Reach maximum nutrient removal efficiency in 10-15 years9. Increase soil organic carbon up to 66%10. Be most effective at upper reaches of a watershed

http://www.buffer.forestry.iastate.edu/HTML/Extension.html

Photo Courtesy ofDepartment of Natural Resource Ecology and ManagementIowa State UniversityPhoto by Tom Schultz

THE SOLUTIONSCrop – Livestock Integration

From: Dr. Ken Moore, Agronomy, ISU

Pasture

Feed

CropsLivestock

ForageForage

Grain

ResidueManure

Meat

Inputs

Products

EconomicFactors

SociologicalFactors

EnvironmentalFactors

INTEGRATED CROP-LIVESTOCK SYSTEM

Hay

The Good News Is … The Problem Is Solvable

• Strategically Putting 10-15% Of Our Row Crop Acres Into Perennials.

• Use of Riparian Buffers around or streams and waterways

• Strategic use of wetlands• Changes in Cropping Systems• Attention to Hydrology

Conclusion

So we can do this … If We Want To

“The wealth of Illinois is in her soil and her strength lies in its intelligent development”

- DraperInscription that exists on Davenport Hall – which

once housed the agronomy department on the Champaign-Urbana campus