As his grandson races to meet him after school, Larry Thorndyke works to improve his farm so this excited sixth-generation boy can farm the same land his grandfather, and grandfather’s father farmed. It’s hard work and takes commitment, but he says protecting the soil is the first step to protecting that legacy.
“Why can’t we make our soils a better soil — my philosophy is to leave the ground better,” Thorndyke says. “I have a 5-year-old grandson who can’t wait to farm, and I want the opportunity to be there for him.”
He farms in the floodplain, so conservation isn’t just a ‘nice’ thing to do, it’s a must for him and his family. The trendsetter was the first farmer in his area to employ strip-till, and now more and more farmers are trying the practice each year. He views his highly erodible soils as an asset he needs to protect and improve — just a couple of the many reasons he added cover crops to his farm.
Constant Learner
Strip till was a no-brainer and an easy switch for the Piper City, Ill., farmer. He moved 100% of his corn acres to strip-till or no-till. It’s a different system that takes special management, equipment and can even change the way you plant cash crops.
“The biggest challenge is getting horsepower right,” Thorndyke explains. “Now we’re pulling a 12-row, strip-till bar with a 320-hp tractor. Our top end speed is about 5.5 to 6 miles per hour.”
A far cry from what he was used to with conventional tillage, it took time, experimenting and asking experts what worked for them to figure it out. While it could be easy to get discouraged, Thorndyke was eager to get it right to see the soil health benefits.
“I have highly erodible soil, I couldn’t just keep letting it wash away year after year,” he says. “Our soil organic matter, with strip-till and cover crops, has increased .3%, which isn’t a ton, but it is going up.”
In 2012, his organic matter was 3.2% and five years later, in 2018, he hit 3.5%. Thorndyke plans to test his fields again in 2021.
Cover crops were the next natural step. They started about six years ago and continue to experiment with how they plant it and what seed mixes they use.
The first two years they planted cover crops successfully with aerial application, but the third year was a disaster. The past couple years they’ve used highboys to plant the crops while the cash crop is still growing. Seed to soil contact is still a challenge, and he thinks switching from a four-way mix to a one or two could help alleviate some issues.
“It’s something we’re still getting right but we’re not going to stop,” Thorndyke says. “When we get hard rains and I see my neighbors with ponds or runoff, and most of my fields just soak up the water, I know I’m doing something right.”
Constant Improvement
While he’s excited about the soil improvements he’s made, it’s not good enough. There’s always something new to try and ways to improve. For example, while Thorndyke sees better water infiltration than most in his area, he wants to make it better.
“I’d like to add more tile and drainage,” he adds. “Even with cover crops I have too many holes with water where I’m losing productivity.
“If you don’t look for change, you’re not growing. And when I say growing, I don’t just mean in acres — you have to learn every day and don’t just settle for the status quo. I’m seeing results from conservation that show me it’s worth it.”
His interest in conservation and good soil health practices has only increased since he first got started over a decade ago. Thorndyke sees it as a way to not only preserve the farm for his son and grandson, but also a way to maintain control of decision making on the farm.
“I want to do it the right way on my farm on my own before the government starts to mandate what we can and can’t apply,” he says. After seeing mandates and restrictions in states like Maryland, he’s cautious to avoid seeing the same thing happen in Illinois.
