Farm Profile--
Johnson Family Farms, Madison, SD
(Reprinted with permission of Cooperative Development Services)
Farming is a family tradition for Charles and Allan Johnson, organic farmers and hosts of the 1998 Harvest Festival held September 19 near Madison, SD. In the mid-1970's, the Johnsons' father, Bernard, considered farm chemicals a health hazard to both humans and soils. In 1976 he abandoned the small amount of herbicides and commercial fertilizers he had been using. In 1981 following a severe stroke, his sons began farming on their own. Charlie and Allan choose to continue farming organically out of respect for their father's beliefs and because they believed that to do otherwise wasn't right for the land or the environment.
The Johnson brothers purchased their parent's 400 acre farm from their mother and have since purchased and leased additional land to employ themselves full time on the farm. Together they farm 1800 acres with 1200 of that tillable. The soil type is Egan soils, which is well drained and has a medium to high fertility. The annual precipitation is 23 to 25 inches.
The Johnsons have a six year rotation which includes alfalfa, rye, soybeans, small grains and oats underseeded to alfalfa. This rotation is in stark contrast to the corn and soybean rotation employed by most farmers in the area. Their fields respect natural waterways and wetlands leaving them to benefit the farm in nature's own way. Buffer strips around wetlands for instance are hayed, recapturing nutrients that would otherwise have washed out of the farm's system. In addition to the crop diversity the Johnsons run a commercial cow-calf enterprise and a farrow-to-finish hog operation.
When transitioning land to organic production their goal is to disrupt weed cycles and build fertility as quickly as possible. Alfalfa is the key crop used in making the transition, as it does both of these jobs beautifully. Alfalfa fixes nitrogen, improves soil quality with its deep tap root system and helps to clean fields of weeds. Each field is kept in alfalfa for tow years. Most years the field produce three cuttings with yields running form 2.5 to 3.5 tons/acre.
The alfalfa is chisel plowed in the fall of the second year, working it three times. The last two workings are with 16-inch sweeps, which kill all the roots and viable crowns on the alfalfa. Winter rye is then seeded at a rate of 1 to 1.5 bushels/acre covering the fields with a green mulch for the winter. In mid-May of the third year the rye is disked down and planted to soybeans around the first of June. The soybeans are planted in 30-inch row spacings at a seeding rate of 160,000 to 170,000 seeds per acre.
The Johnsons rotary hoe the field three to four days after seeding to take care of weeds such as pigeon grass. Rotary hoeing later than this may reduce plant populations if the crop is in the "nook" stage, or just breaking above the ground. The Johnsons do a second rotary hoeing about a week after the first, when the beans are leafed out and about an inch tall.
To control weeds that evade tillage (such as cocklebur, Canadian thistle or wild sunflower) the Johnsons employee family members, and neighborhood youngsters for hand weeding. The weeds are cut off at ground level with a corn knife. Between the tillage and hand weeding the Johnsons estimate their weed control in soybeans cost them about $21 to $26 per acre compared to herbicide treatments that would cost $20 to $50 per acre. Their yields are typically 30 bushels per acre.
Following harvest in October, the Johnsons chisel plow the soybean stubble. Chiseling leaves plant residue and soybean roots on the soil surface to help provide protection from winter winds. The Johnsons chisel from northeast to southwest, perpendicular to the area's prevailing northwest winter winds.
In the fourth year of the rotation, the Johnsons plant a cereal grain with an underseeding of alfalfa. The Johnsons have steered away from corn acres because the crop is a heavy user of nutrients and provides conditions that encourage weeds. The Johnsons prefer oats because it is an inexpensive crop to grow. Wheat is the least favorite choice because growing condition in the area result in poor protein levels.
Seeding rates are 2 bushels/acre for oats and 1.5 bushels/acre for wheat. Typical yields for cereal grains are oats- 60 to 70 bushels/acre and wheat- 20 to 25 bushels/acre. The alfalfa is seed using a grass-seed attachment on the press drill. The alfalfa is seeded at a rate of 8 pounds/acre. Normal alfalfa seeding rates range form 15 to 20 pounds /acre but the Johnsons believe this seeding rate gives them a satisfactory stand under their management conditions.
The two key principles of the rotation that empower it to sustain soil quality and yields are:
- two years of alfalfa and soybeans (which fix substantial amounts of nitrogen);
- alternating cool-season and warm season crops (helping to break weed cycles)
