Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 25, 1982)
The Heppner office monitors erosion The Heppner office of I he Soil Conservation Service is monitoring water erosion on several farms in Morrow County. Specifically of inter est is the value of crop residue for protection against water erosion. Farms with signifi cantly contrasting amounts of residue have been selected for this study, Preliminary site work has concentrated on measuring initial residue cover and on making field observations. Our documen tation includes the presence or absence of structural conser vation practices and measur ing Universal Soil Iiss Equa tion parameters. In addition, farmer's records of tillage Alterations, fertilizer and her bicides applied, seeding and yield are tteing recorded. This information will be used in a crop budget computer pro gram to estimate and display the shortrun annual onsite costs of farming These costs can then be related to soil conservation practices. For example, maintaining addi tional residue cover may decrease equipment costs, but increase herbicide costs. This changes the cost per acre of producing grain. The compu ter program estimates these costs and can derive the cost Iter ton reduction of soil erosion, depending on the conservation practice! s se lected. Currently, the selected mon itoring sites are being observ ed for erosion and photogra phic records of erosion events are being kept. Residue cover near 3(H) lbs. per acre has not shown to provide adequate protection against water ero sion. At least I.imki lbs. per acre of crop residue is recommended at seeding time, Every tillage operation reduces residue cover and destroys soil structure. A pulverized soil with low resi due cover is obviously condu sive to erosion. Observations so far indicate that this type of soil condition tends to freeze very densely. This is probably strongly influenced by a lack of pore spate and by the limited residue incorporated in the top few inches of the soil. Furthermore, this soil thaws slowly, leaving a layer of saturated soil on top of dense, impenetrable frozen soil below. Snow melt and -or ruin on top of this soil quickly puddles dnl! furrows. Obvi ously, up-and-down slope fanning encourages runoff in this situation. In contrast, a soil with residue exceeding I.IMKI lbs. tr Abrams and Kuhn Attorneys at Law 267 N. Main Heppner, Oregon per acre at or near the soil surface has several advan tages over the low residue condition described. Soils with higher residue cover have usually been tilled fewer times and this suggests less soil compaction, better infiltration and moisture holding capa city, and more effective ground insulation. Residue tends to improve soil tilth and create a mellow soil condition. Soils with high residue at or near the surface may tend to freeze less densely, and con sequently thaw more rapidly with warm temperatures. Asa ' Irrigation study initiated As a result of the Morrow SWCD Natural Resource Con servation Program and the federal Resource Conserva tion Act. irrigation water management was identified as an area of need in Morrow County. The problems originally identified in the irrigation area were inadequate distri bution systems, ground water overdraft, over irrigation, limited stream-flows, high water tables and a general lack of information on farm efficiencies which is often 50 percent or lower (many times 30 percent) compared to an ideal 70-80 percent. Runoff & soil data collected on Turner land Runoff and soil erosion data is being collected in Morrow County on land farmed by Ken Turner in the Stingle Canyon area, five miles northeast of Heppner. It is one of six sites installed in northeastern Ore gon and is part of the ongoing agricultural research pro gram being conducted coop eratively by OSU and USDA ARS at the Agricultural Ex periment Station based in Pendleton. This specific pro ject is in its third year of operation. In two complete erosion seasons. 23 runoff and soil loss events have been observed. Fifteen of the 23 events (65 percent) involved frozen soils, 14 (61 percent) involved snow melt and 12 events involved both. Frozen soils, snowmelt, and high dewpoint tempera tures have been the three key factors involved in large soil loss events. Rain or snow accelerated the loss when the other factors were present. This specific combination of climatic variables interacts with various soil related factors in producing runoff events. Data suggests that Phone 676-9141 result, moisture from snow melt or rainfall readily pene trates instead of puddling on the surface. The next phase of our erosion monitoring will be to measure residue and soil moisture as spring tillage begins. We are interested to see the impact various reduc tions in residue have on soil moisture conservation. Hope fully, higher residue cover will show a significant improve ment in moisture conserva tion, higher yields and redu ced erosion. To overcome some of these problems, the Soil Conserva tion Service has directed a special emphasis program ' into this area . The objective of the project is to increase nnfarm efficiencies. This can tie done by developing water management plans which ac count for system capabilities, soil water capacities, soil intake rates, crop needs, including allowable moisture stresses and rooting depths during various growth stages. Coupled with economic con siderations, the program will ultimately assist irrigators in making the best decision with the resources available. excessive soil compaction, resulting from seeding or reseeding when the soil moi sture content is high, greatly increases the potential for large soil losses. Alternative ly, high contents of surface residues and rough surface configurations greatly de- Call Fertilizer (k Chemical Meeds i n 1 1.1 Herb Ekstrom, Jr. Elioteoin Farm Cftemicals IONE, Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon, crease the potential for soil erosion. Further research is needed to document the effects of surface residue, canopy cover, surface roughness and tillage practices on soil ero sion losses. Also documenta tion of the incidence and severity of soil frost is needed and the role residue manage ment plays in this process. Knapweed, from page Banvel. This recommended rate has proved effective in large scale application also. Banvel by itself is not effec tive. Tordon is too expensive unless multi-year residual effect occurs, but more study needs to be done concerning residual effect. Also, studies We Have The Chemicals To Do The Job For You! Farm Chemicals & Petroleum Dealer PETTYJOHN OIL COMPANY IONE 422-7254 Uo For All Your OREGON 422 Thursday, February 25. 1982-seven sprayed with the recommend ed spray rate would require re-spraying the following year. Timing of spraying is criti cal. The best time for spraying is when the first plants are in the bud stage. Only plants growing at the time of spray application, for instance in the spring, will be killed. Fall growing plants will not be effected. Cost of flying on the 1 spray and the chemicals in 1981 was $5.50 per acre. If an infestation is spotted on your ranch, spraying would be advisable to prevent fur ther spreading of the weed. Before knapweed does be come a problem on your range, pay close attention to roadsides, disturbed areas and range encroachment of - 7505
