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period is less than one year an annual grain cover crop of barley, winter wheat or sorghum or <br />Sudangrass will be used, Seed Mix #2. At times, the size or shape of the retopsoiled areas and <br />shape of the reclaimed area in relation to a management unit may be insufficient to warrant <br />establishment of the perennial irrigated pasture species initially. When this occurs, and the <br />period before establishment of permanent irrigated pasture will extend beyond a year, Seed Mix <br />#3 - Temporary Reclamation will be used. This mix will provide interim stabilization as well as <br />organic matter benefits when incorporated during tillage and seedbed preparation prior to <br />seeding of the irrigated pasture seed mixes. <br />Prior to final seedbed preparation, soil conditioning and weed control tillage will be carried out <br />on all retopsoiled areas utilizing techniques such as ripping, chisel plowing and/or disking. <br />Ripping and chisel plowing will relieve topsoil compaction, aid in controlling weedy species, <br />and will leave the site in a temporary roughened condition reducing wind and water erosion <br />potential. Disking will be used to condition soil, break up clods, and control weeds prior to <br />seeding. If annual weeds are a problem, several tillage operations may be required to get <br />adequate control. Harrowing and cultipacking prior to seeding will be conducted as needed in <br />order to provide the smooth, firm seedbed required. In any areas that may be poorly drained, <br />tillage will be timed in order to reduce bogging, excessive compaction and excessive cloddiness <br />caused by tillage when soils are wet. The best period for tillage in these areas may be in the <br />early spring prior to the irrigation season (prior to mid-April). Section 2.05.4(2)(d), Topsoil <br />Redistribution, contains additional information on subsoil and topsoil conditioning. <br />Seeding will be done either with a cultipacker type seeder or a drill equipped with double -disk <br />openers, depth bands, and packer wheels. A cultipacker may be used behind the drill to also firm <br />the seedbed. Either of these two types of seeding equipment will provide the greatest level of <br />success in terms of proper seed placement and firming of the soil around the seed. Seeding <br />depths are usually about 1/4 inch deep for the species to be seeded, and never more than'/2 inch <br />deep. Seeding will primarily be done using the alternate row method where all grasses are <br />seeded in every other row and the legume is seeded in the remaining rows. This method <br />decreases competition, especially for species such as birdsfoot trefoil which can be somewhat <br />difficult to establish and are poor competitors in the seedling stage. This method is an accepted <br />method for establishing good pasture and will assure the desired proportion of grass and legume <br />species over the life of the pasture. If it is determined that the drill seeding method is not <br />desirable for a particular area, then a broadcast seeder may be utilized to distribute the grass <br />seed onto the surface of the ground. A large tractor mounted broadcaster having the capacity of <br />holding several bushels of grass seed might also be used and the tractor will traverse the field <br />such that overlapping of the seed will occur. After the seed is broadcast, a spring tooth harrow <br />will be dragged over the field to bury the seed approximately 1/4 inch. Since not all of the seed <br />will be covered, the seed rate will be increased 50% over the drilled seed rate. If the harrow is <br />not utilized, such as in a topsoil stockpile situation, then the broadcast rate will be doubled as <br />compared to the drilled rate. <br />Section 2.05.4(2)(e) Page 3 May 2015 <br />