Few operations on the farm have as much impact on economic profitability and environmental protection as nutrient management, and with the tools and technologies available today, few practices are as cost effective or easy to implement. Harvested wheat fields are prime candidates for intensive soil sampling, utilizing grid or zone sampling schemes to identify nutrient variability in the field. Managing fertility on an intensive basis is the key to maximizing the economic and environmental benefits of today’s technology. Areas of fields with deficient nutrient levels can be located and be brought up to sufficient levels, boosting yield potential. Identifying areas with excess nutrient levels offers the opportunity to reduce nutrient application rates in those areas, while still maintaining full yield potential. Modern variable rate application equipment can utilize the data layers generated by intensive soil sampling to precisely apply prescribed fertilizer rates on a sub-acre basis. Gains in crop productivity typically more than compensate for the additional costs of lab testing and high-tech fertilizer application equipment. Harvested wheat fields also offer an excellent opportunity for mid-summer cover crop establishment. Cover crops can be put to work scavenging nutrients, building nitrogen for the next crop, improving soil tilth and breaking up deep compaction on these open fields. Boosting soil biology through the use of cover crops can help cut fertilizer and herbicide next spring and make fields more resilient to heavy rains and seasonal droughts. Specific site conditions and cropping needs will dictate the best cover crop species. Some cover crop species with strong taproots are particularly well suited to breaking up compaction, while others with fibrous root systems improve soil structure and tilth. Blending several cover crop species together not only broadens the range be benefits, but also helps ensure establishment success. Weed control and stemming the proliferation of herbicide resistant weeds should be top of growers minds as well. While cover crops can suppress weeds, they don’t necessarily eliminate weeds. Escapes that go to seed can create problems down the road. Termination plans are important to develop at seeding. Both herbicides and tillage can successfully terminated cover crops, but management plans, including back up plans, need to be in place. Managing open wheat fields through the summer and into the fall with intensive soil testing and cover crops offers to growers the opportunity to improve their farm economics in both the short and long-term.
