nd of prepared seedbed that allows plants to peg similar to conventional peanuts.”
He says with sandy soil, the difference is not as great and Spanish peanuts seem to respond better to no-till on heavy soils than do runner types.
Propps uses a ro-till system and plants with a John Deere MaxEmerge planter. “I use a furrow opener in front to clear about two inches to plant,” he says.
“I had to buy no new, specialized equipment to switch to conservation-tillage.”
He relies on peanuts (600 acres) and wheat for grazing for his farm income. “I can't make a profit on cotton, grain sorghum or any other grain crop,” he says.
He uses Abound fungicide, especially in fields with a history of schlerotinia. “I'm a little more cautious because of the residue on the surface,” he says.
“I've saved at least five trips across the field with reduced-tillage,” he says.
Coe uses a ro-till system and says his yields for the past three years have been excellent.
“I run a ripper ahead of the planter and the ro-tiller behind,” he says.
Schantz says rotation often dictates how many reduced-till peanut acres he can plant. “I have none this year,” he says. “We plant a diverse crop mixture and the good herbicides we use for peanuts may not permit planting some vegetable crops for several years. We have to look three years ahead to get our rotation in order.”
He and Bailey also use a modified ro-till system.
Schantz says saving trips across the field and gearing down to smaller equipment saves money. “But the big benefit is erosion control,” he says. “Economically, we see little difference in production costs between conservation-till and conventional, but conservation advantages are huge.”
Bailey says conservation-tillage offers more flexibility. “With conventional-tillage, our fixed costs are much higher because of the equipment. We can reduce tillage and cut those fixed costs down and have more flexibility with variable expenses.”
Schantz likes to plant oats as a cover crop, and he prefers spring planting instead of fall or early winter. He says crop residue is more manageable with a shorter growing season. He also uses a burndown herbicide for over-wintered cover crops.
“I prefer to plant in a live crop and planting the cover in spring allows me to plant the peanuts and come in with Poast to kill the oats.”
He says one of his biggest weed problems with ro-till peanuts is volunteer plants from subsequent crops. “Peas are particularly bad to volunteer and cause trouble,” he says.
“Hard-seeded varieties are the worst. Guar also causes some volunteer problems.”
Mark Conklin, a Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) area agronomist in the Caddo County area, says farmers here have tremendous challenges to control erosion.
“We have a lot of deep sand that, without proper management, shifts and wind moves it off fields. Crop residue management to put organic matter into the soil is critical to maintain soil health,” Conklin says.
“We have a lot of peanuts in the area and without proper soil management, conditions for cropland can unravel in a hurry. A two-inch rain can create serious erosion problems overnight.”
Conklin says most peanuts grown in the area are planted into a cover crop. “It's essential to protect seedlings from blowing sand.”
That Oklahoma wind offers significant challenges to peanut farmers who are adopting best management practices, including reduced-tillage systems, to protect their crops.
Erosion and economics also encourage Southeastern peanut growers to change the way they grow peanuts. “Conservation-tillage in peanuts is here to stay,” says Baldwin.