Rainfall simulator on the road again

ODELL, Ill. — The Illinois Soybean Association’s new-look rainfall simulator trailer hit the road for a demonstration at a central Illinois school.

John Pike, an independent research agronomist, consultant and certified crop adviser who operates Pike Ag in Marion, gave a demonstration March 17 to St. Paul Grade School students in Odell.

“This is a preseason demonstration with the new rainfall simulator trailer that the Illinois Soybean Association has for my demonstration project. We’ve taken all winter to get it wrapped and I’ve got the equipment mounted in it now. So, this is kind of a trial run before I get into the summer field day season,” said Pike, who also serves as ISA’s Soy Envoys consultant, a Field Advisor author and is the southern Illinois coordinator for Nutrient Research and Education Council nitrogen management research conducted by the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association.

“With the project in process last year I was getting different equipment to put everything together before it was a complete package. I did demonstrations in front of about 1,000 people last year at various events. We’re using this school program as a test run.”

The rainfall simulator demonstrates how soil reacts to rainfall, depending on its structure and tillage management.

Pike’s demonstration compared runoff and water infiltration in tilled soil samples from a nearby field and from his southern Illinois farm, as well as no-till soils with different cover crops.

The simulator collects water at the runoff and saturation points of each soil sample, indicating differences in pore space and soil structure.

“The primary purpose of this is for farmer and industry training. Our main focus is for soil and water conservation field days, to be a part of the Illinois Soybean Association’s display at the Farm Progress Show and other events around the state,” Pike said.

“We can talk about cover crop management and some of the water quality research that’s going on around the state and how all of that fits together.”