Two, three and four decades ago, most farmers took great pride and pleasure in looking across their recently planted fields and seeing green seedlings emerging against a backdrop of black soil. That looked beautiful then. Still does.

Today, some farmers look across their land and see residue cover. That looks beautiful too.

The benefits of residue can far exceed the way the field looks. In case you don’t know, residue cover is developed without tillage across today’s Kansas countryside.

This buildup of soil structure with the remains of crop field stubble and other residue can be a farmer’s best friend. Uniformity is the key to a successful no-till farming system.

When producers think of uniformity, they should think of it every day of the year. When they look at their fields they should see uniformly spread residue, uniform soil conditions and uniform soil moisture.

This same uniformity is something producers must work at continually over the long haul. Members of the Thompson Farm & Ranch in Norton County understand this concept. Richard and sons, Michael, and Brian, represent the fifth and sixth generations to farm in northwestern Kansas.

On their family farming operation, they focus on their most important resource ­– the soil. They know their livelihood is dependent upon it being healthy and productive. They believe their soil not only needs to be conserved, but rejuvenated with best management practices such as rotational grazing, cover crops and no-till.

The Thompsons have been continuously no-tilling since 2000 when they gave up conventional tillage.

“The most difficult time for those beginning no-till occurs during the first three to five years,” Michael says. “That’s when anything and everything that can go wrong, will go wrong. Believe me, I know. We’ve experienced it.”

Producers tend to blame these problems on no-till without realizing it is something in their system.

“That’s why you need a friend or another producer who has been successful at no-till to share his (or her) experience with you,” he says. “You can’t afford to make all the mistakes by yourself.”

The Thompsons understand a producer cannot go back to conventional tillage to level residue. Level residue begins at harvest time with uniform distribution of straw and chaff. If a producer has clumps, piles and bunches of the residue from a crop, the next implement that goes through the field will plug up.

Cover crops have also helped the family reduce the number of chemical applications applied in a season and the need for pesticides.

“The residue of cover crops provides an armor for the soil by buffering the impact of rain and creating a protective layer to reduce weed pressure,” Michael says. “They also create habitat for wildlife, pollinators and beneficial insects.”

So often producers worry about how much rain they receive.

“We like to keep, and use, the moisture where it falls,” Michael says. “That’s where cover crops and residue are critical.”

The use of cover crops has also helped provide their cattle operation with supplemental grazing. The Thompson family uses high-stock density grazing with daily moves. While cattle are grazing cover crops it allows their native range much needed rest and recovery, allowing more grass to be grown on their range acres.

The family continues to add windbreaks, and have begun work on a more permanent water facility for their cattle.

While it’s hard to figure exactly how much extra moisture the Thompsons gain with the use of their no-till program, it may be the equivalent to five extra days of moisture each year.

Regardless, the use of continuous no-till farming makes their system work and causes buildup of the soil structure.

The Thompsons label no-till in conjunction with cover crops a win-win situation. That includes their cropping and livestock operation.

John Schlageck, a Hoxie native, is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas.

Since being elected to the Kansas Legislature in 2012 Representative Sue Boldra has put funding education a high priority. Sue is uniquely qualified to understand the real needs of education and how legislation can help or hurt teachers and students. She’s able to put her direct experience as a teacher in high school and college classrooms to educate other legislators about realities of the needs of our schools.

We urge you to re-elect (vote) for Sue Boldra on November 8. Review her record on legislation such as HB2326 and SB36. You’ll see she brings her experience to the table for the good of our students.

Mike and Vallerie Karl, Hays

Democrat Eber Phelps wants voters to believe he puts good government ahead of party politics. But the public record proves otherwise.

Phelps has made a career of advancing his party’s pernicious liberal agenda. Take, for example, Phelps’ unrestrained enthusiasm for Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. She proved to be the most rabidly anti-life politician in state history, receiving huge donations not only from infamous late-term abortionist George Tiller, but from out-of-state lobbyists like EMILY’s List and Planned Parenthood, all to ensure the slaughter at Kansas abortion mills would continue. When Sebelius and her cronies in the pharmaceutical industry tried to establish a tax-subsidized human cloning and harvesting industry in Kansas, Eber Phelps gushed about Sebelius in the opinion section of the Hays Daily News, admiring her “vision” and her concern about “giving kids a healthy start in life.” Seriously, Mr. Phelps? Not very healthy for those who’d have been on Sebelius’ macabre chopping block.

And speaking of chopping blocks, what about Phelps’ material support of Kansas’ notorious abortion industry? Recall that he campaigned vigorously to unseat Attorney General Phil Kline, who’d made news investigating Tiller and Planned Parenthood for manifest violations of state law. Phelps supported pro-abortion Republican-turned-Democrat Paul Morrison, even though it was common knowledge that Morrison had been bought and paid for by Tiller. Despite this, Phelps tried convincing Hays Daily News readers that Morrison “never will play favorites or bend the law to suit the persons involved in a controversy.” Phelps’ true colors were downright vivid when he wrote that Morrison “will not pursue a narrow, ideological agenda, as has been occurring in the Kansas attorney general’s office for the past four years, and he will not embarrass us by causing us to be held up to ridicule nationally, as has happened during the tenure of the incumbent.” Why did Kline’s efforts “embarrass” Phelps? Why did Phelps feel that investigating malfeasance, including injuries and deaths of young mothers, falsification of medical records and refusal to report evidence of rape, was a source of “ridicule” for Kansans? And why would Phelps so derisively characterize attempts to stem the bloodshed of abortion as the pursuit of “a narrow, ideological agenda”? The answer is obvious: Eber Phelps has no objection to butchering children.

So, what happened after Phelps helped advance their careers? Morrison, whose integrity Phelps swore was “unquestioned,” resigned in disgrace after his attempts to undermine the state’s abortion investigations came to light. And Sebelius went to Washington and took charge of Obamacare, masterminding a health care travesty and fiscal nightmare that promotes abortion, encourages euthanasia and tramples the civil rights of Catholics, Evangelical Protestants and others who respect human life.

Contrary to the mendacious smear campaign Phelps is waging, Rep. Sue Boldra has broken with Gov. Brownback and the Republican leadership whenever the issues required it. A widely respected professional educator and business owner, she has voted consistently to protect Kansas schools, farmers, businesses, families and the arts. Eber Phelps, on the other hand, repeatedly voted to raise our taxes, drastically cut funding for K-12 education and slash funds for law enforcement. And, ever the obliging party hack, Phelps voted against common sense voter ID laws that would ensure the integrity of our elections.

With the White House now up for grabs, the last thing Kansans need is another liberal in Topeka undermining our state’s efforts to resist the appalling abuses of federal power that a Hillary Clinton administration would bring. On Nov. 8th, I’m voting pro-life, pro-liberty and pro-Kansas: I’m voting for Sue Boldra and for Rick Billinger, as well.

John Francis Borra, Hays