ALTERNATE CROPS
By Clif Issendorf, Newburg, ND
1. Clif Issendorf - farm with brother, Tom - Dad, Elmer, son, Jon, and plant manager Randy.
2. We have a minimum-till farm operation on heavy soils. Concord airseeded, Gates harrow, 100 ft. shielded Flexicoil sprayer, two spray coupes, two 9600 combines, two 22' Sund F.P. Pickups, two straight headers with finger reels & lifters, and a Bourgault field cultivator with a Valmar applicator.
3. Field peas for 8 years - Tremendous rotational crop. Trapper F.P. grow 3 feet, fall over, grow 3 feet more. 6 feet of vine picked up with a 22 foot Sund pickup and difficult to combine 4 year average 30 B/A.
4. Prof. semi-leafless upright yellow F.P. 2 years experienced 1995 & 1996 50 B/A average 1997 50 to 60 B/A - no hail. We had 3 hail storms and 12 inches of rain in 3 weeks - 6 inches one evening.
5. Majoret semi-leafless upright green F.P. 1 year experience 1997 40 B/A. Some hail damage.
6. Benefits of a 1/3 F.P. rotation with wheat and barley
A. Cuts nitrogen bill in half.
B. Less tan spot, septoria produces higher quality of grain.
C. 90 day semi-leafless upright straight combinable F.P. pickup will do an excellent job of picking downed F. P.
D. Plant first, frost tolerant. 84 days to maturity. We have 1/3 of our crop in the bin, before Jon goes to school, with a short labor supply, extremely important.
E. F.P. have two months more ground water recharge that sunflowers.
F. F.P. create larger soil particles to absorb rainfall, therefore you have less runoff.
G. F.P. do not have a blackbird problem.
H. F.P. do not have a grasshopper problem.
I. F.P. do not have a problem with Big Bertha.
J. F.P. are a soil builder, not a soil depleter, no need to add sulfur after a field pea crop
K. F.P. provide you a chemical rotation opportunity Sencor has a group 5 mode of action.
Green $4.50/B #2 Ray, ND
Canadian Markets yellow $3.40 to $3.90/B US dollar
Green $4.80/B Carman, MB US dollar
Local elevators $3.00 to $3.25 feed peas
P.L. 480 Food for Hungary People Bid Market
8. Wheat - ND lost its number one wheat producing title to Kansas - GOOD!!!
We get a good price for our wheat one year in six or more. I cannot afford to wait three more years for a good wheat price in ND, if the winter wheat crop fails, if I have high protein, and if all else fails, give ND wheat growers a few pennies more one year out of six, so they will be our back up wheat supply, forever. Not anymore, if you don't pay me, I am not going to grow it! I will not survive. We are looking at corn and tricalle to replace more of our wheat and barley acres.
If you can grow 30 B/A wheat, you can grow 30 B/A peas, this saying was true with the old trapper field peas, but with the new semi-leafless upright varieties we can out yield our scab infected wheat by 10 B/A or more.
IB wheat 1995 35B/A F.P. 1995 Profi 50 B/A IB wheat 1996 36B/A F.P. 1996 Profi 50 B/A
IB wheat 1997 26B/A F.P. 1997 Profi & Maj. 40 B/A Hail and excess water reduced 1997 Yields.
Field Peas fit the rotational needs of farmers!!!!!
Plant a crop that will reduce you nitrogen costs, be a soil builder, and add quality and yield to the crop following field peas.
FIELD PEAS WILL BE A PART OF ISSENDORF BROTHERS CROP ROTATION SYSTEM!!!!!!!