Wayne County Farmer Shares Conservation Success Story
Continuing his great-great-grandfather’s legacy, Greg Dickey started farming when he was only 8 years old. He now grows corn, soybeans, wheat and milo with his two sons, Tyler and Gavin, who each have their own roles on the farm. According to Greg, he plants corn and milo, Gavin plants all the beans and wheat using no-till, and Tyler (who also serves as a Director on their SWCD Board) does all the spraying with a drone and ground rig, along with making drone videos showcasing their conservation farming practices on TikTok.
He has also been involved in several research projects, including a nitrogen rate study with the University of Illinois. Greg said, “I worked on it with my crop consultant, and he was in touch with the university. It showed the sweet spot here is 180 lbs, so I have been on a quest to lower my nitrogen rates for several years. We are running no more than 180. Last year, we got down to 160, and it worked fine in some fields, but others needed a bit more.
His youngest daughter works for the company where they purchase fertilizer, and they
have participated in some trials with that company as well, including tissue testing to identify nutrient deficiencies. Although they do purchase some products from this company, he tries to stay away from fungicides and other chemicals. Explaining why he’s not a fan of fungicides, Greg said, “I grow white corn, and it seems like it does not need any. All these chemicals are not selective; they kill good with the bad. I’m trying to be careful to not kill the beneficials because then there will not be anything to control them.”
He’s also President of the Wayne City FFA Alumni, and they have been hosting field days for about 12 years just around the corner from his farm. They had 220 children from seven different schools come to the plots last year for a career day. About four years ago, they started a soil health test plot on 18 acres using three different tillage practices. Across the plot, they use the same seed, herbicides, etc., and the only difference is tillage. They have six acres in conventional tillage, six acres in no-till, and six acres in cover crops (using no-till).
Describing these results, he said, “The first year, the conventional corn was the best by five or six bushels per acre. The no-till was about the same as the cover crop. The next year, we had soybeans, and it had leveled out with everything across the plot. You couldn’t tell the difference in yield. Last year was the third year, and it was supposed to be corn again, but we got to the end of June and decided that we didn’t want to plant corn at the end of June, so it went to beans again, and it got pretty dry in August.
I can’t remember the numbers for sure, but it was a 20 bushel/acre difference… the cover crop (no-till) was better than the other two by 20 bushels per acre. Pretty eye opening, and that goes along with what you read and what you see… it takes three to four years to really see a difference, and that’s what we saw on the third year. We have it in corn this year, and I’m excited to see what the difference is going to be. We’re going to try to keep it going as long as we can.”
Greg is also continuing a family tradition by serving as the Wayne County SWCD Chair, a role previously held by his stepfather. As Chair for the past 15 years or so, Greg has been hosting field days on his farm and recently held a Cover Crop Field Day on August 18, which gave participants the opportunity to witness a Vortek Air Seeder in action, view cover crop comparisons, and explore a soil pit. Describing the success of the Vortek Air Seeder, Greg said, “I have been cover cropping some of the farm for about 18 years now. About seven years ago, I really committed and bought a seeder. We tried different seeding methods, and everything was hit and miss until I bought this system. We got into a drone so we could get them done by the seeding date. If you get a rain right after you do it, it’s good. It is on every time, it never misses.”
Greg believes there were about 90 people in attendance and was excited to see many new faces this year. Wayne County Conservation Planner Davonne Long attended the field day and said, “The Dickey family has always been on the leading edge of technology and research. They were one of the first in the area to plant cover crops and have had great success. The Cover Crop Field Day is a statement to how dedicated the family is to promoting the benefits of cover crops and soil health.”
Three years ago, Greg demonstrated the difference that cover crops make during a field day where he compared the soil temperature in his field to that of his neighbors. Greg said, “I just went out with a temperature gun with a laser point in the neighbor’s cornfield in the middle of August. Pretty hot that day, it was up near 100, but in between the rows, even with the corn tousled, the soil was over 120 degrees. And I went into my field and scraped the cover back, and the soil temperature was under 80… And his, I dug down six inches to find any moisture whatsoever. And as soon as I pulled the cover back, I had moisture sticking to my shoes right there on the surface.”
When asked about other benefits of the conservation practices that he has implemented, Greg said, “So many, many benefits… some benefits are probably not even recognized yet, but the bottom line is you still must make money. And I’m getting more yield with less inputs and not losing any fertility. Not losing any soil. It’s a win-win-win.
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