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
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Farm Chemicals &
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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
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