1 / 19

Crop Production

Sustainable Small Acreage Farming & Ranching. Crop Production. Crop Management. Managing Crops. Water Climate Soil Pests Rotations and cover crops Tillage Harvest/Post Harvest Equipment. Water . Capacity – quantity available Check regulations – water rights

khalil
Download Presentation

Crop Production

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Sustainable Small Acreage Farming & Ranching Crop Production Crop Management

  2. Managing Crops • Water • Climate • Soil • Pests • Rotations and cover crops • Tillage • Harvest/Post Harvest • Equipment

  3. Water • Capacity – quantity available • Check regulations – water rights • Crop requirements – specific to crop • Irrigation methods • Drip, sprinkler, furrow

  4. Climate • First and last frost dates (growing season) • Average low temperatures (Hardiness zones) • Growing degree days (no. of days accumulated above a certain temperature) • Fruit ripening • Monitoring insects

  5. Working around the Climate • Appropriate varieties/cultivars • Cultural practices • Raised beds • Transplants instead of direct seeding • Season extension tools • Greenhouses • Tunnels • Cold frames • Row covers • Plastic mulches

  6. Season Extension Tools

  7. Season Extension Tools (cont.)

  8. Crop Rotations • Increase biological diversity • Break disease and pest cycles • Nutrients from soil at different depths • Diversify the economics of your operation • Spread out labor needs (through season)

  9. Cover Crops and Green manures • Keep it covered: • Prevent erosion • Shade out weeds • Prevent freezing and thawing of soils • Hosts for beneficial insects • Incorporate it: • Add nitrogen • Increase organic matter

  10. Use of Cover Crops/Green Manures • Identify your problem • N source, fight weeds, soil builder, erosion • Identify when you could fit them into your rotations • late summer, winter, spring ? • Identify the right type of cover crop • Depending on use, what does well

  11. Types of Cover Crops • Clovers (sweet) • Hairy Vetch • Rye • Barley • Medic • Winter peas • Sorghum-sudan grass hybrid

  12. Use of Cover Crops

  13. Soil Cultivation: Purpose • Promote good soil structure • Break up soil pans • Aerate the soil • Incorporate mineral and organic materials • Control weeds • Create particulate seed beds • Mange some pathogens or insects

  14. Soil Cultivation Methods • Deep tillage, shallow tillage, surface cultivation • Timing and type of tillage depends on: • Soil moisture and texture • Climate and season of year • Cropping system • Soil condition

  15. Impacts of Excessive Tillage • Decrease soil organic matter • Reduction in soil biological activity • Destruction of soil aggregates • Reduction of nutrient & water holding capacity • Loss of soil pore space and decreased gas exchange

  16. Conservation Tillage • Initially may require more to incorporate cover crops, organic mater • Improved soils may not need as much • Incorporate more shallow (surface only) • Subsurface tillage equipment - sub-soiler or chisels • Disadvantages: • More herbicides, reduced mineralization of O.M., therefore lower nutrient availability in cold climates

  17. Check out Steve Groff’s web site: Cedar Meadow Farm Permanent Cover Cropping System http://www.cedarmeadowfarm.com/ Minimum Tillage of Vegetables?

  18. Harvest, Handling and Storage • Timing is everything • Don’t forget needs for increased labor • Proper equipment and process • shading, washing, cooling • Sorting and packing • Temperatures for storage

  19. Equipment • What you need vs. what you want • Consider cost/benefit advantages • What you can afford • The right piece for the job • Save for equipment – don’t go in debt

More Related