Evaluation of residue management practices on barley residue decomposition

Optimizing barley (hordeum vulgare L.) production in Idaho and other parts of the Pacific Northwest (PNW) should focus on farm resource management. The effect of post-harvest residue management on barley residue decomposition has not been adequately studied. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the effect of residue placement (surface vs. incorporated), residue size (chopped vs. ground-sieved) and soil type (sand and sandy loam) on barley residue decomposition. A 3-mo laboratory incubation experiment was conducted at a temperature of 25 to 30 °C at the Aberdeen Research and Extension Center, Aberdeen, Idaho, USA. Following the study, a Markov-Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) modeling approach was applied to investigate the first-order decay kinetics of barley residue. An accelerated initial flush of C-mineralization was measured for the sieved (Day 1) compared to chopped (Day 3 to 5) residues for both surface incorporated applications. The highest evolution of CO2-C of 8.3 g kg-1 was observed on Day 1 from the incorporated-sieved application for both soils. The highest and lowest amount of cumulative CO2-C released and percentage residue decomposed over 50-d was observed for surface-chopped (107 g kg-1 and 27%, respectively) and incorporated-sieved (69 g kg-1 and 18%, respectively) residues, respectively. There were no significant differences in C-mineralization from barley residue based on soil type or its interactions (p >0.05). The largest decay constant k of 0.0083 d-1 was calculated for surface-chopped residue where the predicted half-life was 80 d, which did not differ from surface sieved or incorporated chopped. In contrast, incorporated-sieved treatments only resulted in a k of 0.0054 d-1 and would need an additional 48 d to decompose 50% of the residue. Future residue decomposition studies under field conditions are warranted to verify the residue C-mineralization and its impact on residue management

1967 Farm Business Summary: Monroe, Niagara, Genesee Counties

This report is a summary of the 1967 farm business records of 22 Monroe, Niagara, and Genesee County dairymen. These farmers are cooperators in the Extension Service farm business management program of the three counties. There are approximately 40 counties in New York State in which such projects are operated in cooperation with the College of Agriculture at Cornell. Farmers participating in the farm business management program keep financial and physical records of their farm business. Throughout the year Cooperative Extension Agents assist the farmers in keeping, closing and using their records. At the end of each year, the records are summarized by the Department of Agricultural Economics at Cornell and meetings are held to analyze the records and study the principles of farm business management. Between 1960 and 1967 the number of dairy farmers in New York State decreased from approximately 40,200 to about 26,300. Projections based on this trend indicate that the number of dairymen in 1975 will be approximately 16,500. One of the major factors that will determine whether a dairyman of today is a dairyman in 1975 is his ability as a manager. Some dairymen will expand, others stay at about the same size and still others will quit farming. It is a challenge to each dairyman to decide upon the best course of action for himself and his family. A study of your business records and budgeting of some possible changes for the future will help you to make this decision. The primary objective of these business management projects is to help cooperators do a better job of keeping and using records, and thus improve their skill as farm managers. This report has been prepared in workbook form for use in a systematic study of individual farm business operations. The 1966 data from 731 New York dairy farms and the 1967 data from the 22 Monroe, Niagara, and Genesee County dairymen can be used for comparison. The summary and analysis presented in this booklet should also be useful to farmers in this area who are not enrolled in the business management projects. Others connected with the agriculture of the area, such as teachers of agriculture and farm credit representatives, should also find it useful in teaching farm management and analyzing farm businesses

Ontario County: Farm Business Summary 1967

This report is a summary of the 1967 farm business records of 27 Ontario County dairymen. These farmers are cooperators in the Extension Service farm business management program of Ontario County. There are approximately 40 counties in New York State in which such projects are operated in cooperation with the College of Agriculture at Cornell. Farmers participating in the farm business management program keep financial and physical records of their farm business. Throughout the year Cooperative Extension Agents assist the farmers in keeping, closing and using their records. At the end of each year, the records are summarized by the Department of Agricultural Economics at Cornell and meetings are held to analyze the records ans study the principles of farm business management. Between 1960 and 1967 the number of dairy farmers in New York State decreased from approximately 40,200 to about 26,300. Projections based on this trend indicate that the number of dairymen in 1975 will be approximately 16,500. One of the major factors that will determine whether a dairyman of today is a dairyman in 1975 is his ability as a manager. Some dairymen will expand, others stay at about the same size and s till others will quit farming. It is a challenge to each dairyman to decide upon the best course of action for himself and his family. A study of your business records and budgeting of some possible changes for the future will help you to make this decision. The primary objective of these business management projects is to help cooperators do a better job of keeping and using records, and thus improve their skill as farm managers. This report has been prepared in workbook form for us e in a systematic study of individual farm business operations. The 1966 data from 731 New York dairy farms and the 1967 data from 27 Ontario County dairymen can be used for comparison